SparkFun Electronics has bendable EL wire in several different colors.
Watch the video to get an idea on hw it works.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14697 ... i=64432826
Bendable EL Wire
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Photoflight1
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Bendable EL Wire
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Then Desperation is the Father of Invention
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Richard Baker
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Re: Bendable EL Wire
Thanks for the Link!
Great product- just need to dust off an old project to use it with...
Great product- just need to dust off an old project to use it with...
"The future is not what it used to be" - G'Kar
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Things go wrong and bad things happen- that is just the way the world is-
It is how you deal with it that tells the world who you truly are.
“Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” -Mark Twain
Deviant Art Gallery-
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Re: Bendable EL Wire
So what happens if you want shorter lengths?
“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
― William Goldman
― William Goldman
Re: Bendable EL Wire
This seems similar to the light sheets that have been around for years.
The drawbacks of this like light sheet is that you are dealing with high voltages to light the tube up, at least 100vac or more. This makes wiring and working with it hazardous for the average person.
The other is that the tube is a fixed length of 10' which makes it impractical for all except very large models. Randy Cooper's Star Destroyer is probably the minimum size that you could use it in.
The drawbacks of this like light sheet is that you are dealing with high voltages to light the tube up, at least 100vac or more. This makes wiring and working with it hazardous for the average person.
The other is that the tube is a fixed length of 10' which makes it impractical for all except very large models. Randy Cooper's Star Destroyer is probably the minimum size that you could use it in.
"Nothing to do now but drink a beer and watch the universe die."
"Basically what I do everyday."
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I'm Batman.
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Oh my God!! It's full of plastic peanuts!
Today is a good day to model!
"Basically what I do everyday."
I AM Spartacus!
I'm Batman.
Don't believe everything you see on the Internet!- Abraham Lincoln
Oh my God!! It's full of plastic peanuts!
Today is a good day to model!
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StarCruiser
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Re: Bendable EL Wire
It also doesn't appear to be very bright. Not sure if it would really work that well for lighting a model...
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Re: Bendable EL Wire
Not high voltage if an arduino is lighting it up. video shows it plugging into one. That would be 3 or 5,5 volts depending on the arduino model.
“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
― William Goldman
― William Goldman
Re: Bendable EL Wire
It states that the light strands needs to be hooked up to this board and hi voltage AC is required to light the strands.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12781
It seems to me that this product is made for architectural decoration or DJ displays mainly.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12781
It seems to me that this product is made for architectural decoration or DJ displays mainly.
"Nothing to do now but drink a beer and watch the universe die."
"Basically what I do everyday."
I AM Spartacus!
I'm Batman.
Don't believe everything you see on the Internet!- Abraham Lincoln
Oh my God!! It's full of plastic peanuts!
Today is a good day to model!
"Basically what I do everyday."
I AM Spartacus!
I'm Batman.
Don't believe everything you see on the Internet!- Abraham Lincoln
Oh my God!! It's full of plastic peanuts!
Today is a good day to model!
Re: Bendable EL Wire
EL wire is high voltage, it can be cut to length, and isn't very bright.
El wire is simply a copper wire coated with phosphorus with a thin wire wrapped around it, clad with a plastic cover to protect it from the elements. It is the wire version of light sheet or as they are called electro luminance panels. Both EL Wire and panels have the same issues and are worked the same way:
Light output- EL products work best in low light! If you have a watch with the glowing back light it is EL. To get an idea turn the watch backlight on during the day to get an idea what you will get from EL in a model. Some of the Star Trek studio models had EL lighting in places but in most effects shots the model lights are shot as a separate element on a dark stage, then matted on to an element of the ship in normal light.
Cutting - You can cut an EL panel or wire to shape or length as long as you don't sever the two connectors to the power supply. When cut the cut needs to be sealed to keep moisture out. Usually you can seal the cut end with tape. If left unsealed moisture from the air will cause the EL item to fail.
Power - EL runs off an inverter which turns your dc battery power into 110v+ ac. It is possible in some cases to wire EL products directly into a 110v line, but you need to remember the brightness is a function of both voltage and hertz. if during handling the thin wire in an EL wire breaks the wire will light up to the point of the break, but you can cut splice and seal the parts to restore the current flow, and operation.
Life - EL products have a relative short life. As the product ages it will start to develop dark spots and slowly grow dimmer. With a light bulb the given "life" in hours means for a run of bulbs half of the bulbs manufactured will at that point have failed, With Leds and EL the "life" rating means at that point the product will have lost it's output by 50%
El wire is simply a copper wire coated with phosphorus with a thin wire wrapped around it, clad with a plastic cover to protect it from the elements. It is the wire version of light sheet or as they are called electro luminance panels. Both EL Wire and panels have the same issues and are worked the same way:
Light output- EL products work best in low light! If you have a watch with the glowing back light it is EL. To get an idea turn the watch backlight on during the day to get an idea what you will get from EL in a model. Some of the Star Trek studio models had EL lighting in places but in most effects shots the model lights are shot as a separate element on a dark stage, then matted on to an element of the ship in normal light.
Cutting - You can cut an EL panel or wire to shape or length as long as you don't sever the two connectors to the power supply. When cut the cut needs to be sealed to keep moisture out. Usually you can seal the cut end with tape. If left unsealed moisture from the air will cause the EL item to fail.
Power - EL runs off an inverter which turns your dc battery power into 110v+ ac. It is possible in some cases to wire EL products directly into a 110v line, but you need to remember the brightness is a function of both voltage and hertz. if during handling the thin wire in an EL wire breaks the wire will light up to the point of the break, but you can cut splice and seal the parts to restore the current flow, and operation.
Life - EL products have a relative short life. As the product ages it will start to develop dark spots and slowly grow dimmer. With a light bulb the given "life" in hours means for a run of bulbs half of the bulbs manufactured will at that point have failed, With Leds and EL the "life" rating means at that point the product will have lost it's output by 50%
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Richard Baker
- Posts: 16324
- Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:23 am
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Re: Bendable EL Wire
I explored EL wire when I had a commission to create some display UFOs for a children's project. I was going to give the shapes some TRON-like glowing line patterns and an auto parts store had EL wire for interior tricks. The main problem was that it did not put out enough light to appear glowing with normal room lighting.
I was hoping the tech had advanced somewhat better over the years-
I was hoping the tech had advanced somewhat better over the years-
"The future is not what it used to be" - G'Kar
Things go wrong and bad things happen- that is just the way the world is-
It is how you deal with it that tells the world who you truly are.
“Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” -Mark Twain
Deviant Art Gallery-
http://phaedrus-3.deviantart.com/
Things go wrong and bad things happen- that is just the way the world is-
It is how you deal with it that tells the world who you truly are.
“Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” -Mark Twain
Deviant Art Gallery-
http://phaedrus-3.deviantart.com/
Re: Bendable EL Wire
“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
― William Goldman
― William Goldman
Re: Bendable EL Wire
Funny you mentioned side glow fiber optics.brt wrote: ↑Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:19 pm side glow fiber optics anyone?
https://thefiberopticstore.com/solid-core-side-glow/
I just made a neon sign for a building out of fiber optics, I used regular fiber but used an Exacto #11 blade to scrape the outside cladding off the fiber side facing out. To my surprise it glowed along the length of the fiber. As with the side glow I glued both ends on a led, one bend as it went around a corner but looks good.
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seam-filler
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Re: Bendable EL Wire
A light sanding with wet & dry paper will also do the trick - just so you get through the outer sheath. Another hint - paint some silver, chrome or black at what would normally be the receiving end of the FO - the bounce-back will ever so slightly increase the light coming out the side. Also, the light drop-off can be significant, so the longer the strand, the dimmer the output.swhite228 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 25, 2018 1:02 pmFunny you mentioned side glow fiber optics.brt wrote: ↑Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:19 pm side glow fiber optics anyone?
https://thefiberopticstore.com/solid-core-side-glow/
I just made a neon sign for a building out of fiber optics, I used regular fiber but used an Exacto #11 blade to scrape the outside cladding off the fiber side facing out. To my surprise it glowed along the length of the fiber. As with the side glow I glued both ends on a led, one bend as it went around a corner but looks good.
"I'd just like to say that building large smooth-skinned models should be avoided at all costs. I now see why people want to stick kit-parts all over their designs as it covers up a lot of problems." - David Sisson
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battlestar62
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Re: Bendable EL Wire
Thank you I never about this product until now it should help my modeling to improve. as I am sure will do the same for others. Lol sorry I know I have too much time on my hands but this site is very important to me. I have a life I just chose to spend a lot of it here.