# lucite sign machining request:



## greenlight (Oct 26, 2008)

I work in a private club where flash photography is discouraged. I'm tired of telling hundreds of people per night to turn off their flash, and I need a sign that I can carry in my pocket and light up with my flashlight. It needs to be four inches per side, maximum.

The lights that I tend to use are Inova X1.v1 (blue or green), so I suspect that there are specific colors of lucite that react brightest to those wavelengths. Can I get some advice on this, please? (My best guess is that green LEDs make yellow lucite glow, and for blue LEDs I want something more in the violet spectrum.)

This is the image that I want:








Please, if you have some lucite lying around, help me with this project! It will save me a lot of time and effort in my job, and help me get my message across while disturbing the fewest number of people possible.


----------



## Morelite (Oct 26, 2008)

Just an idea here, get one of those cheap keychain digital photo viewers and store a pic of your image on it then you can flash it around as needed.


----------



## greenlight (Oct 26, 2008)

Well, what I have been doing is making a sign on paper at work and shining my flashlight on it, but it looks cheap.


----------



## G1K (Oct 27, 2008)

Greenlight,
Check your PM's

Ryan


----------



## dat2zip (Oct 28, 2008)

I have acrylic sheet I can engrave that image on if acrylic (cast acrylic) is acceptable.

I have 1/16" and a lot of 1/16" stock.

What base color (clear?).

Let me know if you want me to cut this. Do you have the graphics draw in vector or scalable image?

Laser engraving would frost the image. That may not be solid enough. An alterative is to use two different material for the solids or use a adhesive back material for the image and press that onto clear stock.

Here is a sample geocoin I made. The 4 squares were cut individually and then glued into the larger coin.





Wayne


----------



## dat2zip (Oct 28, 2008)

I did not find the symbol in vector graphics or scalable format. I drew the following.






If this is acceptable I can either laser engrave this on clear which would result in the image frosted or possible in reverse where the symbol is clear and the white area is frosted.

Wayne


----------



## greenlight (Oct 28, 2008)

I managed to trace the image in Illustrator:
*no flash *





*This is the scalable image link.*

Wayne, I appreciate your offer to help, and taking time to work on the artwork. I also like the idea of leaving the logo clear and the surrounding areas frosted.

My goal is to get this engraved into 1/4" colored lucite since it looks so cool when illuminated. 

But, any sign would help. If it's easy for you to do, please let me know what you can make.

-greenlight


----------



## dat2zip (Oct 28, 2008)

I think the best method would be solid black and the image clear or frosted clear. This way when it is lit only the image is presentable.

In the clear and frosted version the whole panel will light up. The solid black with clear inlay is more difficult since it requires cutting of black and the clear inlay and then it has to be glued together. The results are very nice and worth the effort.

Can you save the file in a older version of Adobe Illustrator or in another format. I'm using Corel Draw 12 and 13.

Once I get the symbol I will start work on it later this week. What is the time line on this?

Wayne


----------



## greenlight (Oct 28, 2008)

Thanks again for your interest. There is no timeline, this is something I have been thinking about for years. I finally had enough of "please turn off your flash".

The black background isn't necessary. I'm sure it looks great, but I want my sign to be as visible as possible.

Here is an Illustrator 9 version.


----------



## Sabrewolf (Oct 28, 2008)

A Quickie way to pull this off is using Black Vinyl
from your local autoparts store that they sell for
pinstriping. It can be applied to a regular glass
or Plastic lense from Any flashlight.

I have done custom pinstriping before, and
can possilbe whip up something for you if the
other members are too bizzy  
You can also "Frost" lucite/glass with a good
media blaster (sandblaster) and fill in the
other areas you don't want light to shine through
by use of acrylic paint that is used for storefront
windows or glass paintings. Glass Etchant is aslo
a possibility 

Trus me fellas, i don't want to step on any toes!
I am just here to help 

Robert M.


----------



## greenlight (Oct 29, 2008)

Thanks, Sabre, for your suggestion. I'm just needing a simple sign, so any tips help.


----------



## Sabrewolf (Oct 29, 2008)

I was bored again... 
It was just a Quickie, hehe






Let me know what you think


----------



## greenlight (Oct 29, 2008)

Where are the beamshots?!?!
That might work, but it's not what I'm looking for. I intend on holding the sign with one hand and lighting it up with my flashlight in the other.

The 'no flash' printout on the transparency is closer, though. Will you send it to me?


----------



## Sabrewolf (Oct 29, 2008)

greenlight said:


> Where are the beamshots?!?!
> That might work, but it's not what I'm looking for. I intend on holding the sign with one hand and lighting it up with my flashlight in the other.
> 
> The 'no flash' printout on the transparency is closer, though. Will you send it to me?


 

I have a color laser printer, so any color you can think
of is possible. Then i can just mail you the cutouts 
Even though the toner that the laser prints with is
plastic in itself, the transparency is quite thin. I can
also laminate the sheet to make it thicker and more
pocketable . If you want, i can print on a thicker
cover-sheet style paper (67lb) and laminate that too?
I just did the flashlight insert thing to show how the
small you can get this setup going to fit in your pocket
and just wip it out with one hand to flash in people's
faces. It won't "project" on a wall because you need
optics to make it work, but it is easily done.

Let me do some experimenting with the optics, as i 
allready have 2 cut-down minimags with aspheric
lenses allready on them. Otherwise, let me know
what you think.


----------



## dat2zip (Oct 29, 2008)

That last file works fine. Thanks.

Just want to make sure I have got this correct.

You want a square 3" X 3" 1/4" with the symbol portion clear and the rest frosted?

Wayne

Edited: What's the diameter you want?


----------



## Sabrewolf (Oct 29, 2008)

Dat2zip has a nicer looking idea than my rinky-dinky
transparencies 

My vote is for him to do it :candle:  :twothumbs

I dontswanna step on any toes either


----------



## dat2zip (Oct 29, 2008)

Sabrewolf,

Your transparencies look great. hopefully we can help him out. 

Here's an acrylic frosted version. This one is 1/2" in diameter. I am not clear what size to make this.







Wayne


----------



## Sabrewolf (Oct 29, 2008)

dat2zip said:


> Sabrewolf,
> 
> Your transparencies look great. hopefully we can help him out.
> 
> ...


 
I have an idea on coloring your lucite..
Boil some water with fabric dye, or Rit-Dye as
they call it, and drop in those nice pieces you
made there.The "frosted" areas on the lucite
will take the color very nicely, and just slightly
color the clear parts for a nice effect.

Do you have any Vinyl Pinstriping to cover
the clear parts to make a nice silhouette
image of the lightning bolt? 

I did try an aspherical lense with the tiny
transparency printout i made. I does 
project on the wall very nicely, but it
has to be focused for different distances.
Dunnow, just throwing some ideas out there


----------



## greenlight (Oct 29, 2008)

Thanks, guys, for all that work. I really appreciate it. 

The gobo idea is fun, but I'm not going to be doing any flashing in people's eyes; I don't want to annoy my patrons. 

As for size, I went and measured my pockets and they will fit up to 4".

The sign has to be square, so that I can grip it by the corner.


----------



## PEU (Oct 29, 2008)

non related, but this thread gave me an excellent idea for Halloween, instead of the no flash sign, I will carve a pumpking and fit a flashlight with an amber K2 led I have lying around, my kid will love it for sure 


Pablo


----------



## dat2zip (Oct 29, 2008)

Here is a 3" square version in clear and fluorescent green.






I believe if you want to throw an image on a wall and make a portable projector I would think a tube extender with the symbol at the end of the tube would be ideal. The tube would block any extraneous light from the source. 

I think I'll play with this idea and see what I can do.

The 3" square works well. I had to hold the 3" square some 6" or more away from the end of the light to get a proper focused image on the wall. By then there was light that was sidespilling that was not hitting the symbol. That might be some cause for concern if someone was looking towards the source.:thinking:

Wayne


----------



## dat2zip (Oct 29, 2008)

I made a 1" round version and fashioned a paper tube to slip over the end of the light and to hold the symbol at the other end.











With an Aleph Mule light (no secondary optics) the image projected looked like.






With an Aleph A19 light the projected image looked like.






The reflectored base light created multiple images and they created a blurred projected image.

I have another idea regarding the frosted area. The acrylic comes with paper backing on both sides. I can laser score the symbol and the frosted area can be peeled off. The exposed area could then be painted. After painting the remaining paper could be peeled off exposing the areas.

All pieces are are cut from 1/8" sheet stock.

Wayne


----------



## Sabrewolf (Oct 29, 2008)

Quoted by Dat2zip
"The reflectored base light created multiple images and they created a blurred projected image.

I have another idea regarding the frosted area. The acrylic comes with paper backing on both sides. I can laser score the symbol and the frosted area can be peeled off. The exposed area could then be painted. After painting the remaining paper could be peeled off exposing the areas.

All pieces are are cut from 1/8" sheet stock."

Thats along the lines of my thoughts. Very nice work indeed!
I wish i had a plotter cutter and 
lucite mill! Ohh well, another toy
for another day!


----------



## greenlight (Oct 29, 2008)

dat2zip said:


> Here is a 3" square version in clear and fluorescent green.


THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I NEED!! Thank you so much!!




> I believe if you want to throw an image on a wall and make a portable projector I would think a tube extender with the symbol at the end of the tube would be ideal. The tube would block any extraneous light from the source.
> 
> I think I'll play with this idea and see what I can do.
> 
> ...


Projecting the image is a cool idea, but it isn't a requirement for this job. I just need something that I can pull out of my pocket and light up with my flashlight for a moment.


----------



## mcmc (Oct 30, 2008)

Neat work! I would love to find a use for engraved acrylic, I'd be begging you to do me something if I could find something, dat2zip!

Wait, I'm an amateur magician! I think I have something I can think of =) hehe.

Just out of curiosity, greenlight, what do the patrons say when you light your sign for them? Do they get it? And do they sometimes respond negatively?

Are you the bouncer?


----------



## dat2zip (Oct 30, 2008)

I'll try making another one larger as requested later this week and round the corners and give more space around the perimeter.

I do remember meeting you at a CPF get together. I remember since you gave us those magnetic alien things.

Wayne


----------



## greenlight (Oct 30, 2008)

Hehehe...

I'm not a bouncer, just an usher. Up until now I have had to lean in and yell in the photographer's ear about the flash protocol. They often can't hear, and the patrons nearby get disturbed. 

My paper/pen sign did help get the message across a lot eaier/quicker, but it looked so crude, just a piece of paper folded 2x with just a lousy drawing.


----------



## greenlight (Nov 4, 2008)

I came home from voting and getting my free Starbucks coffee and my signs were waiting for me on the porch. YES! I have needed this little thing for so long it's not even funny anymore. You have made me so happy!! 

I'll be able to use them this weekend. 

I sent you some cash. Go buy yourself a sandwich to go with your free coffee.


----------



## greenLED (Nov 4, 2008)

Shine that fluorescent green sign with a blue LED for maximum effect! :rock:


----------



## greenlight (Nov 4, 2008)

The blue LED works great with both signs. They appear brighter with the frosted side towards the light source. Even without a light they're very visible.


----------



## dat2zip (Nov 5, 2008)

Glad you like the signs.

I made the last one 4" and rounded the corners. I also pulled in the image some allowing you to grip it as you requested.

We got our coffee this morning on the way to the platers. I can get a Subway footlong and share it with Cindy someday. 

Thanks!

Wayne


----------

