For my maquette, I went with the proof of concept/thin slice approach. I took one of my lines of text and cut it out of acrylic using the laser cutter. I then spray painted the acrylic so that the light would only shine through the holes the laser cutter made. Then to try and make the individual bulbs look less noticeable I put two layers of acrylic over it that have a frosted finish, which helps dull down the bulbs.
I think for my actual model I will need to get LEDs that have bulbs that are closer together on each strip so the letters have the same amount of light going through them at all places.
Shopping List
-LED strips
-acrylic
-Large Sheet of Lexan or other acrylic
-Plywood
-Pixelblaze(maybe)
Timeline
-By 9/22 have all materials in hand
-By 9/29 Have acrylic laser cut
-By 10/6 Place and Program the LEDs, put lexan over the top
-By 10/13 Finish project and fix any outstanding issues
Looking good so far! Once you get everything, I would play around with changing the distance between the light source and the sheet of acrylic. You can get different amounts of diffusion that way
This looks great! I like the look of the letters on the sign; the laser cutter was a good idea, as it did a great job making smooth cuts on the acrylic. If you are planning to get the pixel-blaze I would make sure to order that very soon as to get it delivered the quickest way possible, you need to pay more for shipping.
This seems like a great start, you should allow yourself a good amount of time to plan with different lights and what you want your final look to be.
It’s a good thing you tested out the lights under the letters now so that you know to get bulbs that are closer together. Overall, it looks great though!
I Like the font that you chose for the artwork. If you want to have holes in the letters that usually have them like the “B” or “A” for example, maybe you can glue some heavily frosted acrylic or something over those areas.
I like your timeline. It seems reasonable and makes sense for your project. I’m wondering what you’re planning to use to make all of the text scroll though?