So what is the best way to attach fiber optics to an LED? I've never done this before.
I would think that binding the fibers together into a bundle with some heat shrink tubing or something, cutting them flush with each other and encapsulating them into a plastic straw or something and sticking an LED into the other end would be best. Then to seal it all, lock it all together with epoxy glue or something. How do you guys do it? Could I flood the inside of the straw with a glue gun's glue to trap the fibers into place, and then use epoxy putty to surround the area and bind it all together?
How to attach fiber optics to an LED?
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TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan
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How to attach fiber optics to an LED?
Greg
Plastic modeling and other nerd stuff in Japan on my YouTube channel
My WIP modeling page on Tumblr.
One day I was walking and I found this big log. Then I rolled the log over and underneath was a tiny little stick. And I was like, "That log had a child!"
Plastic modeling and other nerd stuff in Japan on my YouTube channel
My WIP modeling page on Tumblr.
One day I was walking and I found this big log. Then I rolled the log over and underneath was a tiny little stick. And I was like, "That log had a child!"
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Mr. Engineer
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TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan
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I just found this site:
www.instructables.com/id/How-to-attach- ... to-an-LED/
It says that using a hot glue gun is fine. The stuff melts at a much lower temperature than any fiber optic will, I imagine.
What you can do (and I've tested this myself) is using a lighter to burn the tips of fibers to give them a bit of a mushroom effect, which will refract the light across a wider area.
A friend of mine recommended filing the 5mm LED's top surface flat so that the light won't be focused towards the center of the bulb.
I'm working on lighting up several ships from the MPC Hoth Rebel Base diorama set: the Rebel Transport (3mm LEDs), the Millenium Falcon (LED tape), and 2 X-Wings (fiber optics).
For the X-Wings, I first got some 5mm fiber optics but they are too small. So I got some 7.5mm and they look better. What I will do is drill 8mm holes into the two X-Wings' thrusters. I'll mushroom the ends and pull them into the X-Wings. Then the 8 fiber optics (4 for each X-Wing) will be attached to an LED dipped in Tamiya Clear Red underneath the base. I hope it works!
EDIT:
I found this site that talks about using heat shrink tubing:
http://thefiberopticstore.com/faq/how-d ... to-an-led/
www.instructables.com/id/How-to-attach- ... to-an-LED/
It says that using a hot glue gun is fine. The stuff melts at a much lower temperature than any fiber optic will, I imagine.
What you can do (and I've tested this myself) is using a lighter to burn the tips of fibers to give them a bit of a mushroom effect, which will refract the light across a wider area.
A friend of mine recommended filing the 5mm LED's top surface flat so that the light won't be focused towards the center of the bulb.
I'm working on lighting up several ships from the MPC Hoth Rebel Base diorama set: the Rebel Transport (3mm LEDs), the Millenium Falcon (LED tape), and 2 X-Wings (fiber optics).
For the X-Wings, I first got some 5mm fiber optics but they are too small. So I got some 7.5mm and they look better. What I will do is drill 8mm holes into the two X-Wings' thrusters. I'll mushroom the ends and pull them into the X-Wings. Then the 8 fiber optics (4 for each X-Wing) will be attached to an LED dipped in Tamiya Clear Red underneath the base. I hope it works!
EDIT:
I found this site that talks about using heat shrink tubing:
http://thefiberopticstore.com/faq/how-d ... to-an-led/
Greg
Plastic modeling and other nerd stuff in Japan on my YouTube channel
My WIP modeling page on Tumblr.
One day I was walking and I found this big log. Then I rolled the log over and underneath was a tiny little stick. And I was like, "That log had a child!"
Plastic modeling and other nerd stuff in Japan on my YouTube channel
My WIP modeling page on Tumblr.
One day I was walking and I found this big log. Then I rolled the log over and underneath was a tiny little stick. And I was like, "That log had a child!"