How do you mean, you cut the lines and then sand down the ring???

 

The grooves are needed to disperse the light evenly across the ring (to make it look like it's glowing and not brighter in one spot than it is in another).

It is actually the basics of Total Internal Reflection. <-the beginnings of fiber optic technology.

__/___
/
/_____


Instead of the light going like above (through the transparent ring and actually at an angle out)

The grooves make it do this:

____________
/\ /
/ \ /
/____\/______

giving it that even glow all around the ring.

Very nice work. Props on figuring it out.

This basic property is what shoots information, through thousands of PURE glass fibers bundled into a cable, across the globe...making the internet what it is today.

 

I was wondering about that. I think it would make them look more like a neon tube that way.

 

^^^ What do you mean by sanding the edges of the ring. If someone could better explain this I might be able to give it a try when I make the next set.



I hope to be able to do the center ones sometime this week if I get the chance. I will also go about doing a DIY for them too. I thought about using 5mm but it would be alittle bigger. I used 5000 mcd 3mm ones and they turned out bright. I was going to make some for my headlights and planned on using 5mm.




To make the ring I used a mold with a inside diameter of about 2 5/16". When I do the DIY I will go over all this. smile.gif

 

great job man, its always great to see people proud of their own work. I think for a first shot you've got me beat pretty bad, mine sucked at first. But give or take 3 years of experience and you kinda get better y'know, lol. But just wanted to let you, I'm impressed.

 

Thanks, that means alot. I just took my time with them. I have been working on them little by little for the past couple of weeks. After a while they should get easier and faster to do. I might even try to make a rectangle one if the light will bend around for my friends car.

 

hehe. Make that DIY man smile.gif I've bought the stuff today and i'm going to do it on wednesday..

 

yeah... my "drawing" didn't quite turn out right. Guess you can't post spaces?

...and why can't you edit your own posts anymore?


anyway, that rectangle is going to be hard. I'm interested to see how it turns out. The only way I see it working it using 4 LED's at each corner and scratching grooves along the tubes to extend the glow. But who knows, you may figure somethin out.

You've inspired me to start playing w/ LED's. I just got my soldering iron and some resistors, just need to pick a color. Have you seen some of Mr. Hyde's work in the UK on his Tiburon? Cool stuff, I swear every light in his car is powered by a blue LED...plus some extra ones. It all looks factory too!

Keep it up mang, I'd like to see what improvements you happen upon.

 

LED's are great. You can do so much with them. I'm going to have to play around with making a square one, I have a couple of ideas.
I'm hoping to have that DIY for making the angel eye lights by thursday or friday.

 

a square will work. a corkscrew would even work. fiber optics are just awesome.