Creating LED Light Projects: A Follow-Up to Faux Neon Lights Using Laser Cutters

In this follow-up project, I wanted to explore more ways to create unique and interesting lighting effects using LED lights. As previously discussed, making faux neon lights using a laser cutter is a great way to achieve this effect. However, some viewers suggested adding more complexity to the design by connecting multiple LEDs in series or creating animations. To address this, I delved into various options for controlling and manipulating LED lights.

One of the tools that caught my attention was the barrel connector splitter. This device allows you to wire up different parts of your lighting project to have different effects, making it possible to create unique and dynamic displays. The splitter is particularly useful when working with multiple controllers or microcontrollers, as it enables you to connect them to a single power source.

For this project, I decided to focus on creating a LED display that resembles the iconic TDK logo from the movie Blade Runner. I began by designing the shape of the logo using Adobe Illustrator and then cutting out the acrylic pieces for the letters. Next, I taped together the COB (Chip On Board) LED strips and used a combination of origami and routing to create the desired shape. To achieve the neon effect, I laser-cut a mask that would allow only certain areas of the light to pass through.

To add more depth and interest to the display, I experimented with mixing different lighting effects. By adjusting the brightness, flicker rate, and color of the LEDs, I could create a range of dynamic effects that added visual interest to the design. For example, by increasing the flicker rate, I could achieve a strobe-like effect that created a sense of movement.

To take this project further, I decided to explore other options for controlling the LED lights. In addition to using a barrel connector splitter, I also experimented with a microcontroller-based approach. This allowed me to program the LEDs to respond to specific inputs and create even more complex lighting effects. While the microcontroller method offered greater flexibility and control, it also introduced new challenges and limitations.

One of the benefits of using a microcontroller is its ability to handle multiple inputs and outputs simultaneously. This allows for more sophisticated lighting designs that can be programmed to respond to different triggers or sensors. However, this approach also requires a greater understanding of programming and electronics, which may not be suitable for all levels of expertise.

In contrast, the barrel connector splitter provides a simpler and more straightforward solution for controlling LED lights. While it may not offer the same level of complexity and customization as a microcontroller-based system, it is an effective tool for creating dynamic lighting effects without requiring extensive programming knowledge.

For my final project, I decided to combine elements of both approaches to create a unique and visually striking display. By using the barrel connector splitter to control multiple controllers and microcontrollers, I was able to achieve a range of complex lighting effects that added depth and interest to the design. The use of COB LED strips provided a bright and uniform base for the lights, while the acrylic pieces and laser-cut mask helped to create a distinctive and eye-catching shape.

The resulting display was a striking representation of the iconic TDK logo from Blade Runner, complete with pulsating lights, strobe effects, and dynamic color changes. The use of LED lights created a futuristic and otherworldly atmosphere that perfectly captured the essence of the movie's dystopian world.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone it's norm from tested and to wrap up this week i have a quick and simple show and  tell uh maybe even a consider a tool tip that's a follow-up uh on my recent projects making use  of some led lights so a couple weeks ago i did a project showing how to make uh these faux  neon lights uh using a laser cutter although you can use cnc or even carving by hand with  some off-the-shelf uh silicone tube lights that have the effect of uh neon glow and i  was really pleased with this project uh seems like you guys out there liked it as well and  i read in the comments a really wonderful idea someone asked to make it look more like a neon  light could i wire in a way so maybe not all the lights were connected together um in series maybe  they could have there could be one light that was flickering or i could do it in a  way to create like a neon animation the way you see neon lights sometimes have tubes that run  in some type of sequence to create the illusion of multiple frames of animation and totally you  can absolutely do that it's great idea and so in looking at ways to control or maybe create  some different effects with led lights you could do it very simply with a board like this so this  is adafruit's trinket board it's super cheap it's under 10 and really powerful allows you to connect  ground power has a gpio and runs arduino codes so you can go into their libraries  and if you want to do some light programming you can script out you know addressable leds  i don't need the functionality of this in fact i don't even need any gpio for the type of led  strips i'm using because they're basically dumb led strips they're not individually addressable  all i need is power and ground and so doing a little bit more research um i  happened onto a company that makes this this comes from prop and scenery lights  they're a company out of the midwest i believe michigan and they make uh lighting products for  theatrical um installations and presentations for theater essentially which they often do need  lights and they have an off-the-shelf turnkey connector here that is a barrel connector and  much like you would have for example a dimmer that could be connected that connects from your  power to what you would plug into your led strip uh you could also string along this which has  a built-in controller as well as buttons that then give you the ability uh to have a variety  of effects and they saw i believe three different versions of this uh i bought a few to try them out  there's one that allows for more like flame lights flame like lighting effects so if you want your  led lights to simulate the kind of pulsing glow of you know embers and the flame or you know a  candle light or a campfire you can plug this into just the barrel connector so here i have  power 12 volts to a dimmer standard dimmer and then this connector here and i'll plug it into  my neon light and i'll bring it up to you now the exposure of this is that is such that it's pretty  bright already but i think you can see some of this pulsing effect and if i press the different  mode buttons there you go that's a different pulsing effect for sure and there's also a speed  button so i can change between different speeds i believe 10 different speeds  and also a dedicated brightness button as well if i want to just tune the brightness without having  to use that dimmer but this is a super neat little off-the-shelf plug-and-play device that has the  functionality that i might want to create just a little more life into these lighting uh lighting  projects for example i have my lightsaber stand that i made a couple weeks ago as well and if i  plug in this other plug-and-play connector this one is one for more blinking and strobe effects  which i thought could be cool i can plug that in and you can get what looks like you know a shorted  electrical signal or you know a strobe light and just like the other connector there are three  buttons on here you can change your different between different modes so here's a more steady  strobe as well as a second button to adjust the speed of the effects so very slow blink to  a much faster blink and can cycle through and this one has pulsing effects as well  which i think is super cool i love the idea that this connector which goes for under 10  you can buy them in multiple packs and if you pair them with like a a barrel connector splitter  uh then you can wire up your lighting projects so that different parts of your lights and your signs  your signage that you're making or whatever you're making can have different effects and while it's  not programmable it's not as robust as if you go with a microcontroller it is something that just  works immediately and for my purposes it's just something that's nice to have for all types of  prop and diorama projects and speaking of dioramas and signage i was trying to come up with a new  project that would let me test and have fun with this controller and i ended up wanting to do  something in sixth scale because that's that's my jam uh and i wanted to also try instead of  using the silicone led lights doing something that would be a smaller scale so i turned to the cob  chip on board led strips i talked about a couple weeks back as well and the idea that i settled on  is inspired from the world of blade runner and if you remember toward the end of the film deckard's  fighting with roy batty and they're on a rooftop and behind them the backdrop they're beautifully  lit by the side of the building which has this tdk electronics company in the logo in a neon light  i've always loved the look of that sign i think it makes a really interesting recognizable uh  backdrop uh in that world so i went to the laser cutter and cut out a couple pieces of acrylic  uh designed in illustrator and what i ended up doing was then kind of taping the cob led strips  and doing a little bit of that led strip origami and routing them around the shape of the letters  this is the k of that tdk and i found red and also white colored led strips so that should be  just fine and then to get that neon shape because it's not very malleable here and you can tell that  the corners are kind of ragged i decided to do was just create a mask so also laser cut the shape  then that's going to go on top and allow only the light i want to pass through also wired it  with a couple different inputs so then i can mix and match these little controllers and i have  basically four different inputs we'll try some flickering we'll try some pulsating lights again  trying to give some life to this neon so it's not just a static light at different brightnesses so  let's do some photos let's capture some video i'm going to grab some six scale stuff that might be  thematically in this realm and appropriate and head over to the photo setsodoyou\n"