Here are some LED acrylic signs I made for the new game Pokemon go. I happen to play and some buddies do too so I just figured why not make them! Cast acrylic really is the way to go, and now that I can buy it at the same price as extruded no reason to go back.
Also made the bases out of MDF, been tweaking the bases for some time and decided to start using threaded inserts with hex bolts.
Those are pretty awesome. Iâm always curious about what bits/feed/speed people use.
Thank you! Here is some of the information on the cuts.
Cut the base with a 1/8th inch single running 60ipm with DOC .05, Top section was with a 1/16th double up-cut (just got my down-cut bits) running 80ipm with a DOC .03. I did some tweaking before the top section and Iâm sure I can run the 1/8th faster now. Using MDF.
The Acrylic was a 60 degree v bit running at 60ipm doing the full DOC of .04. I did a second pass to clean up the inside from extra bits of the acrylic.
I find it cuts better, deeper. As to brightness I only see a slight difference, I assume from more surface area to refract off of. If there is going to be a large amount of cuts you either need to cut shallow or have a brighter light source.
As far as thickness of acrylic I have only worked with two; .08 and .125. The former being extruded so I really canât touch on that subject.
Cuts ok for me using table saw.
Table saw is fine, since you are just taking a bit off. I do not do anything to my edges as I have them cut custom before they ship them to me, but I have used a wet/dry 2000 grit sandpaper for the edges after I have cut it (with a dull blade LOL).
Depending on how you are holding it down you can use the light while carving to kinda tell if itâll reach, how deep did you want to go?
Hey Phil, its better to âpolishâ the light side.
I use a sharpe blade, and pull it in angle over the area.
If its not good enough, I go over it with a bunsen burner, or hot flame, really Quick and fast, then is the area clear.
You should do a project writeup on this. Your base design, where you get your light strips from, how you wire them, where you order your cast sheets from, etc. Cool signs!
Thank you!! Yeah I was thinking about it, I just need to tweak the base a bit until its perfect.
That is a great idea, I am going to have to try that method when the need arises to âpolishâ it up.
@PhilJohnson I am pretty sure I have a flat section on mine as well, as I donât seem to get a point at the bottom (I canât see the flat spot). As to the glow, would you mind sharing a picture? The only time I have ever had a problem is with misalignment of the LED itself or too many objects in the way for the light to hit the top. Never had an issue with the paper personally but it does melt a tiny bit which is why I always run a second pass. I tried to do the extra pass at final depth but still find myself running another at full depth to fully clean out the cuts, even then I still use a soft toothbrush to âscrubâ them out.
I use a table saw. I suggest the blade height to be so it is barely extended above the surface of the acrylic. If itâs high youâre chopping off the acrylic. If its low your scraping off the acrylic witch is much less traumatic to the acrylic and will be a much smoother cut.
Is it hard or easy to take off? Mine comes with some weird secondary layer under the paper as an adhesive.
YES, I am fairly certain this is the case. I attempted to do a carve into acrylic after painting it black and it absorbed the light.
