Bigger Acrylics, lighting considerations

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BillK
Posts: 885
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 3:08 am

Bigger Acrylics, lighting considerations

Post by BillK »

I did this carving last year in a 12" x 12" by 1/2" thick acrylic, edge lit from the bottom only. This year I decided to make a 24" x 24" by 1/4" thick one for outside. The pictures really don't do it justice. I lit this one with blue LEDs on the two sides and bottom, then added about 12" of bright white to the top. Its a really nice effect, but very hard to photograph.

So not thinking too much about it, I hooked this up to my 12Volt 1 amp power supply. Everything came on nicely and stayed lit, for about 5 minutes when the power supply blew. Checked my wiring for shorts and everything was good. The problem was the 1 amp was just too small. I saw somewhere that the rule of thumb is about 5 watts per meter of lights. There are about 110 blue lights in this and maybe 18 white which I wired for maximum brightness, so I could count that as a meter also. So 15 watts total on 12 volts gives you 1.25 amps. Got a 12 volt, 2.5 amp power supply and everything is good for several hours outside. 15 watts of LED's really gives off a glow, as you can see.
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BillK
http://www.Facebook.com/CarvingsbyKurtz
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basecircle
Posts: 488
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:14 pm

Re: Bigger Acrylics, lighting considerations

Post by basecircle »

Very nice Bill.That is some kicking light.I think I can see the blue here in Detroit.Wow I like it. Basecircle

Keith Hodges
Posts: 584
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:46 pm
Location: North Little Rock, Arkansas

Re: Bigger Acrylics, lighting considerations

Post by Keith Hodges »

Know exactly where your coming from Bill. I did a 24 x 24 also. Ended up doing a 12 volt 5 amp that I had laying around. That was a year ago and still doing well. I did the RGB all the way around with a remote to change colors. Pretty impressive. One thing I learned from it. I don't want to do another. Lights were a pain. Mine was 1/2 inch thick, and really heavy. I used an aluminum U channel to conceal the lights, forming a frame. It was so heavy it needed to be hung from a frame above, too heavy to be supported by a standard wooden base. Anyway, yours is impressive, good job. Keith.
Being retired is hard work. Spending way too much time in the shop these days. (And loving it).
Shark Pro Plus HD, Vcarve Pro, Photo V Carve, Cut 3D, scan probe.

BillK
Posts: 885
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 3:08 am

Re: Bigger Acrylics, lighting considerations

Post by BillK »

Keith,
Weight was definitely a concern. At $19 for a 24x24 1/4" sheet I thought it was worth a try. I'll take a picture of the frame in the daylight, but as you know you need a 1/2" channel for the lights, so what I did was add an inner frame that butts agaings the acrylic and helps channel the light to the acrylic.
BillK
http://www.Facebook.com/CarvingsbyKurtz
Instagram: carvingsbykurtz
Twitter: @CBKwoodcarver

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