Greetings bright minds!
First I feel I should note that when I first registered for this forum it was based on a search for 'light wiring' and a sub-forum that looked suitable. It was only after registering that I realized this forum is centered around tactical flashlights, which I do not own. Nothing against such equipment of course – but not being military or a hunter they aren't gear I need. My EDC & evacuation bags have water-resistant headlamps as that is what my scenarios call for (evacuated well in the 2013 Alberta flood).
I come to you seeking to reduce my fool's tax in building a glowing costume prop. I believe I've a functional design, but improvements are always a plus! My related education is little more than high school electronics, revisited 20 years later. I can design & assemble simple LED, resistor & power supply circuits in series/parallel thus far. My most complicated build yet is my 24 LED parallel circuit for my 10" energon cube cup holder (with tubing)(I HAD to have a way of drinking in the bar y'know, as I can't reach my head in this costume).
I am building towards a costume prop for late April's Calgary Comic Expo (Canada). The prop is to resemble Optimus Prime's energon axe from the '84 G1 Transformers cartoon, episode 'The Ultimate Doom'. It will be worn with my G1 9.1 scale (except head) Optimus Prime costume, minus the rifle and with a silver bodysuit. The prop will be built with clear acrylic, 1/8" & 1/4" thick pieces. The objective is to make all parts glow to some degree in indoor lighting conditions. To make it look decent in outdoor full sunlight it will also be coated in a layer of transparent colored cellophane film (I could source automotive transparent paints, but they + the right PPE are tough to justify for this). The costume & prop aren't in the competition – this is all just for fun. I've competed there before, but it takes half the day without cash prizes, and I'll be there with my wife & daughter. I've access to unlimited acrylic as my company's carpentry shop has stored loads of it without protective cladding and so it is all scratched beyond typical use (and maybe because I give beer as thanks).
Cartoon reference: http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/300px-G1_Prime_energon-axe_zpsxvhtqqj4.jpg
Costume picture: http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/Martaxus/media/MainPose_zps0079f72e.jpg.html
Toy axe with V1 measurements reference: http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_4443_zpsa8pn68iy.png
V1 cardboard prototype reference (ignore grip appearance please): http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_4473_zpslorxsreo.jpg
Presently the thought is for the blade to be the only 1/8" piece, mostly to keep the weight down but also to not require as much structure (& weight) to keep it in place. All other parts will be ¼" thick. I haven't designed the grip structure yet, but it will involve reinforcements connecting to the shaft. With a 1/8" blade & 1 ¼" shaft piece on either side, the design is already estimated to be about 4.5lbs before electronics, etc. A channel will remain in the shaft to run wires to the grip.
While I've found references for edge lighting, I am sanding the faces of the plastic to cause the glow; I haven't found as much about this online, so I've been prototyping as I go. Getting a glow beyond about 6" of acrylic sanded with 60 grit with only a couple LED's is a challenge, but that's why this is interesting. =) I am hopeful the 8cw red or yellow, or 13cw white LED's in large groups will do better than my test versions.
I want the LED's, wiring & 3x AA battery pack to be concealed. There are two primary challenge areas: 1. lighting each side of the blade, and 2. lighting the 2' long shaft. As compared to prior projects, I'll be using pieces of 3 hole-wide lengths of solder-able breadboards to reduce wires involved and provide a mounting surface. (In the attached proof-of-concept picture the middle strip of copper is broken between sections) I'm using a Dremel tool to cut the pieces; I did the p.o.c. piece freehand and will improvise a miniature table saw with a plastic foot stool to improve the quality of cuts.
http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_4499_zpsi0mikqzk.jpg
http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_4498_zpsplazpccx.jpg
1. There are to be a pair of sets of LED's concealed within the shaft, with wires running down to batteries concealed in the grip. The larger of the two circuits is to be about 6.5" long, carrying 22 LED's facing into the larger blade section. This is where I'm seeking suggestions. My plan is to have 2 sections of breadboard wired together (as I can't find what I want in this length), and mount the 22 LED's, 11 resistors and leads to the battery pack to it.
On the p.o.c. piece I've mounted 4 LED's away from the board so I could attach me heat sinks to the LED's leads, and 2 LED's flush to the board. I destroyed 1 of the latter due to errors soldering…had to heat the excess solder 3x as it bridged on the back. Can you suggest a heat sink option that takes next to no space vs. the almost ¼" gap I had? I expect I can improve my technique enough to solder the LED's close to the board, but am curious to your thoughts. A ¼" spacing isn't desirable as it means widening the shaft pieces to cover the LED's/board, and that means additional weight. However, it gives the option of aiming the LED's slightly.
2. I want to light the shaft, but prototyping tells me I can't light the 2' length from the bottom alone. That means multiple sections need LED's, and the effect may be uneven. I can mount such LED's within the shaft, but this seems almost clumsy to me. Any thoughts?
As I'm still at the prototyping stage I am curious as to how others may approach building this prop, and what you think of the approach I'm taking.
Thanks for any help!
As advance thanks, please enjoy my past costume builds:
My 2016 8.5' Devastator costume (backlit eyes, though just using a simple 24-LED puck): http://vid1276.photobucket.com/albu...B-2B4E-4FE2-80C8-8829E2AB3F8B_zpsat63u2g0.mp4
My 2016 energon cube cup holder (24 7-color auto-changing LED's): http://vid1276.photobucket.com/albu...E-3AC8-4414-8428-DE073A05830E_zpsujwztg5k.mp4
Cartoon Megatron with backlit stomach panels: http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_2412_zps571xmbds.jpg and outdoors: http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_2422_zps9g2g1o4f.jpg
First I feel I should note that when I first registered for this forum it was based on a search for 'light wiring' and a sub-forum that looked suitable. It was only after registering that I realized this forum is centered around tactical flashlights, which I do not own. Nothing against such equipment of course – but not being military or a hunter they aren't gear I need. My EDC & evacuation bags have water-resistant headlamps as that is what my scenarios call for (evacuated well in the 2013 Alberta flood).
I come to you seeking to reduce my fool's tax in building a glowing costume prop. I believe I've a functional design, but improvements are always a plus! My related education is little more than high school electronics, revisited 20 years later. I can design & assemble simple LED, resistor & power supply circuits in series/parallel thus far. My most complicated build yet is my 24 LED parallel circuit for my 10" energon cube cup holder (with tubing)(I HAD to have a way of drinking in the bar y'know, as I can't reach my head in this costume).
I am building towards a costume prop for late April's Calgary Comic Expo (Canada). The prop is to resemble Optimus Prime's energon axe from the '84 G1 Transformers cartoon, episode 'The Ultimate Doom'. It will be worn with my G1 9.1 scale (except head) Optimus Prime costume, minus the rifle and with a silver bodysuit. The prop will be built with clear acrylic, 1/8" & 1/4" thick pieces. The objective is to make all parts glow to some degree in indoor lighting conditions. To make it look decent in outdoor full sunlight it will also be coated in a layer of transparent colored cellophane film (I could source automotive transparent paints, but they + the right PPE are tough to justify for this). The costume & prop aren't in the competition – this is all just for fun. I've competed there before, but it takes half the day without cash prizes, and I'll be there with my wife & daughter. I've access to unlimited acrylic as my company's carpentry shop has stored loads of it without protective cladding and so it is all scratched beyond typical use (and maybe because I give beer as thanks).
Cartoon reference: http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/300px-G1_Prime_energon-axe_zpsxvhtqqj4.jpg
Costume picture: http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/Martaxus/media/MainPose_zps0079f72e.jpg.html
Toy axe with V1 measurements reference: http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_4443_zpsa8pn68iy.png
V1 cardboard prototype reference (ignore grip appearance please): http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_4473_zpslorxsreo.jpg
Presently the thought is for the blade to be the only 1/8" piece, mostly to keep the weight down but also to not require as much structure (& weight) to keep it in place. All other parts will be ¼" thick. I haven't designed the grip structure yet, but it will involve reinforcements connecting to the shaft. With a 1/8" blade & 1 ¼" shaft piece on either side, the design is already estimated to be about 4.5lbs before electronics, etc. A channel will remain in the shaft to run wires to the grip.
While I've found references for edge lighting, I am sanding the faces of the plastic to cause the glow; I haven't found as much about this online, so I've been prototyping as I go. Getting a glow beyond about 6" of acrylic sanded with 60 grit with only a couple LED's is a challenge, but that's why this is interesting. =) I am hopeful the 8cw red or yellow, or 13cw white LED's in large groups will do better than my test versions.
I want the LED's, wiring & 3x AA battery pack to be concealed. There are two primary challenge areas: 1. lighting each side of the blade, and 2. lighting the 2' long shaft. As compared to prior projects, I'll be using pieces of 3 hole-wide lengths of solder-able breadboards to reduce wires involved and provide a mounting surface. (In the attached proof-of-concept picture the middle strip of copper is broken between sections) I'm using a Dremel tool to cut the pieces; I did the p.o.c. piece freehand and will improvise a miniature table saw with a plastic foot stool to improve the quality of cuts.
http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_4499_zpsi0mikqzk.jpg
http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_4498_zpsplazpccx.jpg
1. There are to be a pair of sets of LED's concealed within the shaft, with wires running down to batteries concealed in the grip. The larger of the two circuits is to be about 6.5" long, carrying 22 LED's facing into the larger blade section. This is where I'm seeking suggestions. My plan is to have 2 sections of breadboard wired together (as I can't find what I want in this length), and mount the 22 LED's, 11 resistors and leads to the battery pack to it.
On the p.o.c. piece I've mounted 4 LED's away from the board so I could attach me heat sinks to the LED's leads, and 2 LED's flush to the board. I destroyed 1 of the latter due to errors soldering…had to heat the excess solder 3x as it bridged on the back. Can you suggest a heat sink option that takes next to no space vs. the almost ¼" gap I had? I expect I can improve my technique enough to solder the LED's close to the board, but am curious to your thoughts. A ¼" spacing isn't desirable as it means widening the shaft pieces to cover the LED's/board, and that means additional weight. However, it gives the option of aiming the LED's slightly.
2. I want to light the shaft, but prototyping tells me I can't light the 2' length from the bottom alone. That means multiple sections need LED's, and the effect may be uneven. I can mount such LED's within the shaft, but this seems almost clumsy to me. Any thoughts?
As I'm still at the prototyping stage I am curious as to how others may approach building this prop, and what you think of the approach I'm taking.
Thanks for any help!
As advance thanks, please enjoy my past costume builds:
My 2016 8.5' Devastator costume (backlit eyes, though just using a simple 24-LED puck): http://vid1276.photobucket.com/albu...B-2B4E-4FE2-80C8-8829E2AB3F8B_zpsat63u2g0.mp4
My 2016 energon cube cup holder (24 7-color auto-changing LED's): http://vid1276.photobucket.com/albu...E-3AC8-4414-8428-DE073A05830E_zpsujwztg5k.mp4
Cartoon Megatron with backlit stomach panels: http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_2412_zps571xmbds.jpg and outdoors: http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y470/Martaxus/IMG_2422_zps9g2g1o4f.jpg
