To start out off, listed here are the supplies and instruments that this challenge wanted:

Supplies:

A design to comply with – I’ll get into extra element on what you want for this.

• Acrylic sheet – That is the background for the signal. The acrylic makes the neon look likes it’s floating and provides it extra depth, however you could possibly simply as simply use a sheet of plywood as a substitute.
• Printed brackets – I made a pair fundamental brackets at particular angles and a few brackets in a particular form to carry the neon lights.
• Neon LED lights – It’s like rope lights however higher! Due to how they’re designed, you get a a lot better subtle mild, so you’ll be able to’t even inform these are simply produced from a bunch of LEDs. Big tip: don’t get AC powered Neon LEDs. In what I discovered, AC powered lights solely let you reduce them each 20 inches; reduce between there and also you get a protracted lifeless part. DC powered LEDs had quite a lot of reduce lengths, however it was so much simpler to seek out one I might reduce each inch. This is the precise itemizing I bought from for this challenge.
• Energy provide -The outline of the Neon LEDs had a really useful one, so I went with that; 12V 120W.

Instruments:

• Sizzling glue gun/scorching glue – To stick the brackets to the acrylic. This will likely not work as properly for a wooden backing, so chances are you’ll wish to use screws.
• Tremendous glue – To stick the sections of LED too small to make use of brackets
• Soldering iron, solder, and wires – to attach every part of LED into one full circuit.
• Sharp knife – artwork knife, razor blade, exacto knife, no matter you could have that’s sharp and you may management.
• Mounting {hardware} – I used drywall screws and anchors, however relying on the place and what you’re  mounting in opposition to will decide what you want.
  Drill and drill bits – to make room for the standoffs for mounting.

Designing the template

Earlier than you dive too deep into this, you could determine what sort of signal you wish to make. After all, I did a MatterHackers emblem, however the important thing factor to recollect when designing your signal is to consider how every part will join to one another: the place are the road breaks going to be, the place will separate islands join to one another, and many others. The neon mild is versatile, however not tremendous versatile; don’t count on to make a pointy 90° flip, quite a gradual bend. To extra carefully replicate the MatterHackers emblem, it labored finest to create lineart of it – mainly simply the define – and use that as the bottom quite than making the emblem one stable shade.

Designing the brackets

Trying on the MatterHackers emblem, there are plenty of angles and straight traces, and never plenty of pure curves. This meant it was massively essential to maintain the lights straight alongside every path as a result of any waviness to it could be extremely apparent. Initially, I solely made brackets for the corners and you could possibly inform – it was a catastrophe. On the second try, mainly your entire signal was supported by brackets, which made meeting so much simpler too. Whereas designing the brackets, I used MatterControl to first do a mockup of the overall form of the sunshine and made the bracket to suit round it. I received fortunate and had the primary try match actually snugly on the sunshine however to not such a level that it was stressing the 3D prints. In the long run I had three kinds of brackets: straight sections, 120° sections, and one giant circle for the circle of the emblem (with a small cutout for wires to go via). Within the video you’ll in all probability see the outlet via all of the brackets, and that’s as a result of I initially meant to make these use screws, however surprisingly scorching glue held on approach stronger than I anticipated they usually weren’t obligatory. If as a substitute I needed to make use of a wooden backing, then they’d undoubtedly come in useful.

Designing and chopping the acrylic

We took the graphic create because the template and expanded the border of it ever so barely to have a little bit of unfavorable house across the signal. This additionally gave me a vector file I might make the most of to chop it out. I’ve plenty of instruments at my disposal. Not plenty of energy instruments however a ton of computerized instruments like 3D printers and CNCs. For me, it was so much simpler to create a vector file from the unique design and reduce it out utilizing a Shapeoko XXL and a ½” bit than it was to attempt to freehand it utilizing my nonexistent jigsaw or bandsaw. Use the instruments you could have out there to you to chop this half carried out, whether or not it’s chopping out a bit of plastic or making a pleasant wood background.

Printing the brackets

That is the simple half. I might suggest printing with as many perimeters as you’ll be able to since these must flex a tiny bit with out breaking. I printed mine with 4 perimeters at 30% infill and I used to be capable of get the brackets printed out in about eight hours on the Pulse XE.

Setup for meeting

Begin by printing out the design and tape all of the items again collectively into one huge template. You’ll wish to be as exact with this as you’ll be able to, as a result of this will likely be your information in assembling the signal. I simply used no matter tape was closest, which was blue tape, and started working taping every web page collectively like a giant puzzle. You’ll then wish to lay your acrylic sheet on prime of the paper and finalize your spacing across the edges, then tape the acrylic to the paper so it doesn’t slip.

Take your brackets and lay them out over your entire signal. Test for anyplace that appears prefer it may want extra help or the place it’d profit from a constraint to maintain its form. It’d be useful to take an image of it at this level, as a result of simply transferring across the neon mild will get in the best way of the brackets.

Minimize off an finish piece of sunshine from both finish of the LEDs; 5 inches needs to be sufficient. You’ll use this as a ruler so you will get on the finish of an entire part of LED to keep away from lifeless zones. It doesn’t matter the place you narrow via for this piece, simply watch out with the fragile strip of LED on the within, you wish to take away that in a single piece; don’t rip your ruler in half.

Meeting

Choose one main part of lighting and begin there. As soon as your glue gun is scorching and prepared, put a glob of glue onto the again of the bracket and press it onto the trail of your signal. Begin with issues like corners and distinctive shapes earlier than doing lengthy straghtaways; you don’t wish to put a straight piece too near a nook and never have sufficient room. Be sure you don’t go overboard with the glue – you simply need sufficient to squish between the bracket and the acrylic, however not a lot that it oozes out. It’s wonderful if it does, however your signal will look messier on a better inspection.

Maintain the “ruler” over the tip of the neon mild, matching up the solder factors of the sunshine to the ends of the ruler and begin marking the place every part ends (or each different, no matter works). When you’ve received a good size measured, weave the total size of sunshine via the brackets till you attain some extent the place they will’t make the flip as cleanly as you’d like (in my case the nook on the ends of the hexagon) and discover the reduce line closest to the place you wish to finish the lights. Fastidiously press your knife into the sheathing, being mild sufficient to not reduce via or scratch the strip inside. You’re first checking that your ruler was on the mark and that there’s certainly the tip of a piece the place you marked it and never proper via an LED. For those who can see that your mark was correct and there’s a reduce line seen, reduce alongside it and separate the 2 sections. Repeat this for the remainder of the lengths of sunshine on this part: threading it, lining it up, and chopping it off.

Upon getting all of your unfastened sections, rigorously tin the contacts every strip, and reduce,strip, and tin brief lengths of wire to bridge the hole between every part of LED. If the size of LED is just too brief to comfortably slot in a bracket (as within the bracket will crowd that space), I discovered that superglue holds the lights onto the acrylic rather well. It’s mainly a everlasting answer, so attempt to design your approach round this gap for those who can keep away from it (however it’s not such as you’d take aside your stunning signal when it’s carried out, proper?) Repeat this for the remainder of the signal. There’s going to be plenty of chopping, stripping, and soldering, however it would all be value it ultimately.

Mounting

Like I discussed earlier than, I needed this mounted on the wall within the background of our movies, so I wanted to do greater than an image hanging hook and name it good. After doing a little analysis, I used to be reminded of how glass is historically mounted on partitions: a gap via the glass, a standoff that screws into the wall, and a cap that threads into the standoff and thru the glass. Making a cap that has screws on it’s doable however would take some work to get tolerances down, however a easy friction match relying the layer traces can be simple sufficient. With half an hour’s work I modeled a standoff across the drywall anchors and the screws it got here with.

• Standoff – thick sufficient on the backside of the outlet to offer the screw sufficient plastic to press in opposition to, holes large sufficient for it to simply go via however not sloppily, and a small gap on the underside to suit the drywall anchor (since they don’t press in utterly flush with the wall).
• Insert – thick sufficient to have sufficient plastic for the screw to press in opposition to, sufficient house between the insert and standoff to help the acrylic
• Caps – Simply sufficient tolerance to press into the insert and never fall out, however simple to pry out if I must entry the screws once more.

After some experimentation with chopping holes in some scrap acrylic, I discovered that beginning with a pilot gap and instantly transferring to the total measurement drill bit shattered chunks out of the acrylic, progressively growing the dimensions of the bit brought on some chipping, and taping each side of the acrylic and taking it simple nonetheless fashioned micro-fractures within the acrylic. With one final try earlier than breaking out the soldering iron once more and melting the holes in it, I attempted a spade bit. It was good. Taking it simple I used to be capable of carve via the acrylic so much gently than an everyday bit, after which I might clear up the outlet with an everyday bit to get it to the precise measurement.

With the signal on the wall, I took a protracted part of wire and fed it behind the show shelf to the ability provide down beneath, reduce it, stripped it, and inserted it into the ability provide with its protecting case. All that was left was to show it on, and it really labored!

 So whereas this text is verbose, from begin to end, I actively labored on the MatterHackers neon signal for less than 5 – 6 hours, and that was nonetheless with trial and error going into it. I hope this provides you some concepts of an indication you wish to create, huge or small. Both approach, I’d like to see what you give you.

Completely happy printing!