Illuminated Plexi/Lexan Panel

[chunkitup]

I am attaching a pic of an amp that has the lit panel. I am doing the same thing with a logo of my design. What I need to know is if the etching on the panel is on the front or the back of the sheet?

[SysCrusher]

The back.

[guitarmike2107]

cool! is that panel just lit up by the two LED on the sides?

I have some 4mm Acrylic here that when I get a chance I am going to try this with my engraving machine

[Casey4s]

cool! is that panel just lit up by the two LED on the sides?

I have some 4mm Acrylic here that when I get a chance I am going to try this with my engraving machine

You have engraving equipment? Are you a business? (just curious)

[guitarmike2107]

I have just recently bought a laser engraving machine, Still learning to use it properly. It needs a service after moving premises now. You can see examples of what I have done here.

ENGRAVING EXAMPLES - MODULUS AMPLIFICATION

I am keen to get all the back lit and side lit ideas working, also want to try reverse engave filled with glow in the dark paint... .lots of ideas.

[Steve Conner]

http://scopeboy.com/scopeblog/wp-con...ninja-top1.jpg

I'm a big fan of the laser engraved, edge-lit thing This one is lit by two ultrabright orange-red LEDs at each end, and another two below the "Ninja Deluxe" logo.

You probably know this already, but you can't cut or engrave Lexan on a laser. It just burns and goes black. Cast acrylic is best.

[guitarmike2107]

Thats super pimped up steve. Is that faceplate just a clear faceplate, with a black chassis, or have you painted the perspex black?

Thanks

Michael

[Steve Conner]

It's clear and the chassis behind is black.

I don't think painting the back would work too well. Edge lighting relies on the light being trapped inside the plastic by internal reflection. It bounces around and can only get out where you engrave. I think the black paint might mess that up.

This is my favourite way of doing faceplates now. The laser also cuts the plexi to size and makes the holes. I don't own a laser, but I have a friend at the university Rapid Prototyping service.

To make one for an existing amp, I scan the old faceplate on a flatbed scanner, with a steel rule alongside it for scale. Then I trace over that in Autosketch.

For a new amp, I generate a paper template from the same CAD drawing as the faceplate, and use that to drill the chassis.

[echuta13]

What laser engraving machine did you end up purchasing if you don't mind me asking?

[imaradiostar]

That looks so slick- I love it!

We have an old t-tech circuit board router at work that we no longer use for circuit boards but it does a nice job on name plates. I need to find some of the above material to try the glowing thing. Anyone know where I can get it here in the USA?

jamie

[Steve Conner]

We said "acrylic" and "perspex", but that's the same thing as plexiglass, you should be able to get it at Home Depot or the like. If you're not lasering it, it doesn't have to be cast, but it does have to be clear. Tinted or coloured stuff won't work. Well, apart from the eye-bleeding dayglo stuff that my local plastics merchant sells.

[imaradiostar]

McMaster-Carr

I think I'm starting to understand better. I was picturing a clear version of the stuff used to make old Hiwatt and industrial logos- a thin opaque plastic laminated to a clear sheet. We use stuff that's white with a thin black laminate to make serial number panels for pelican cases on the hardware we ship out.

If I understand correctly you're using a clear sheet and the light only shows where it's been laser/rotary routed. Is that done from the front or the back of the panel?

Some guys at work here showed me some official light bulb housings from Navy hardware that used this lighting method- it's a bulb housing with a threaded cap and a rubber seal that allows airman-side bulb replacement but directs the light only into the acrylic.

jamie

[Steve Conner]

McMaster-CarrI was picturing a clear version of the stuff used to make old Hiwatt and industrial logos- a thin opaque plastic laminated to a clear sheet. We use stuff that's white with a thin black laminate to make serial number panels for pelican cases on the hardware we ship out.

Same stuff. The Hiwatt panels were white, not clear, with a black laminate. It's called Traffolyte, at least the English brand that Hiwatt used was. Traffolyte - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If I understand correctly you're using a clear sheet and the light only shows where it's been laser/rotary routed. Is that done from the front or the back of the panel?

Yes. The back. I don't know, it might work from the front just as well.

Some guys at work here showed me some official light bulb housings from Navy hardware that used this lighting method- it's a bulb housing with a threaded cap and a rubber seal that allows airman-side bulb replacement but directs the light only into the acrylic.

I got the idea for my faceplates from an ancient oscilloscope that used similar things to light a plexiglass graticule over the screen.

[imaradiostar]

We use Gravograph brand at work- it's sold by mcmaster.com. I love that place! There are a bunch more styles and variations available on the gravograph web site.

Of course the Hiwatt stuff was a white base- I didn't mean to imply anything else. I was just thinking the stuff you were using was clear acrylic with an added opaque layer.

I used to work for a place that made plastic laminates with metal screen between the layers for shielding. I wish I could still get that- I could make the whole front clear so you could see the inside of the amp.

The real limiting factor is the ancient software we use for the t-tech machine. I need a decent (but free) modern program to run the router, or at least to generate the plots so the ancient program will route them.

I think it looks so cool so I've got to figure this out!

jamie

[guitarmike2107]

Its a chineese made laser machine, desktop style that has a 300 x 600 bed, But its f-ing huge. There is a uk based company that does the supply and after sales service, which was the main selling point.. other than price of course. It works well, but I would love to compare it to one of the expensive pro machines.

There are similar companies in the states, selling chineese laser machines that is..

drop me an e-mail if you want more info.

mmortimer @ uwclub.net