Testing a new 2-part style of LED "neon"
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- I saw this a while ago and decided to get some to try. It's designed to go into routed channels as a "bendable" LED strip with a separate diffuser section that presses into the routed channel.
Not having a router, I used one of my existing 3D printing scripts to make a square frame with rounded edges.
What you see in this video is my very first attempt at using the materials, and other than having to refine my LED tape laying techniques, it worked very well for a first try (just 5 minutes to complete). The videos showing this material being used in factories, show them using a pointy tool to help dress the LED tape around bends and corners.
For pro users there are two tools for cutting the material. A curved one for the round ends of the routed channels and an angled one for mitres on right angled corners.
There appear to be a few sellers of this material on Aliexpress. You buy the material and LED strip separately, but they choose the matching LED colour for you. The combined price is comparable to the rolls of integrated LED neon strip. It was much easier to terminate the wires on this stuff, and unless glue is used it is probably quite easy to repair sections.
Here's a link to the listing I bought this tape from:-
www.aliexpress...
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/ bigclive
#ElectronicsCreators
That's the best fake neon yet, advantage being that the LEDs are illuminating directly outward rather than from the side. Quite an innovative strip design which allows bends too.
Neon and blown glass is an art form. Blink open or closed.
@@tomtheplummer7322 it is an art form and priced as such.
@@tomtheplummer7322 watched a guy blowing neon tubes for a display. It is indeed an art. An art that one doesn't see a lot of anymore given the new tech like this stuff now.
@Max Power ah cool so you found a source of blown glass neon tubes?
@@tomtheplummer7322 meh
LEDs are magic to an electrically challenged person like me. They’re so tiny and low powered, but put out a lot of light for their size. Appreciate your vids Clive. Been watching you for years now!
It looks like the tape has the tracks curving together between the LEDs. You could probably improvise with a single hole punch to remove the plastic in the strip that is adjacent to where the tracks come together to help it flex around bends without having to cut and rejoin the sections of the strip or have it wrinkle up. Might be worth a try to see if it gives a neater way to route it around the corners.
For me, so many uploads of yours are a learning experience.
Pretty cool Clive. Thanks for showing new things.
That LED strip is exactly what I've been looking for. Not for the fake neon effect, but deformable across the strip without resorting to a custom PCB. I can now scratch that itch, and also make some personalised signage for family too.
@@topline2554 The substrate of the LED strip being able to be deformed across the strip. I'm not aware of them being able to be deformed in that direction without overstressing the traces prior to 2021. Flex Neon (with the strip mounted vertically within the diffuser) have indeed been around for quite some time but could only be formed in one direction.
What would be nice next, is for addressable LEDs that can be controlled over the power lines and be able to be formed in the same way as these. The problem seems to be overstressing the traces when they lay parallel. (I suspect the conductors lay very close to each other along the midline on these new ones Clive showed here) Maybe one day, the substrate can be used for heat conduction, and the ground, with just a single trace along the midline for power and communication.
@@squelchstuff Are you suggesting that you fdm the power line? You would require circuitry to interpret the modulation, especially if you are using dimming or rgb LEDs, but these LEDs are also susceptible to fluctuations on power rail. There are already individually addressable RGB LED strips available that are flexible across the strip that simply use a dedicated data channel.
@@ollie4022 Yes, modulating the power line was my line of thought. By reducing the number of coplanar conductors, they can be situated close to the neutral bend line reducing the strain. As you rightly point out, there are a number of other complexities to overcome, not least of which is the extra processing to demodulate and demux, and then a noisy power rail which can already cause trouble now. All said, technically possible, but practically, not so easy.
It seems that strips that could be formed in more than one direction went under my radar. It was maybe around 2012 while I was exploring an idea that warranted bending in two planes (spherical surface) I'd largely abandoned and forgotten about it until Clive's video, and this thread has been most enlightening (pun not intended). A cursory search of patents after the revelations show that S-Type/Zig-Zag etc strips appeared sometime around 2015.
@@squelchstuff I mean what you are suggesting may definitely be possible and would result in an even thinner strip. Also, yes, LED strips that are this flexible have certainly not been around for a decade they are a relatively modern invention, however I am unsure as to the exact date.
Always glad that you aren't afraid to show the first attempt and any mistakes along the way.
I imagine you could use some optically clear adhesive to join the ends of the diffuser cord to help keep the light continuous. Like the kind you'd use to repair/bond a new phone screen.
E6000 is the glue! I love that stuff...
@@rockstopsthetraffic - I've been using E6000 for theatrical type stuff since 1993 or so. It's basically Shoe Goo on steroids, or perhaps a cross between rubber cement and hot melt glue.
Having worked in factories, can confirm once mastered, it goes fast and easy.
Clive, that is a very good-looking LED lighting system. When you first showed the insert, I was thinking that it looked like some red licorice with two white bands.
I love these strips! I used them on a Bike Party bicycle powered by a Talent Cell lithium battery. It looks amazing and doesn't kill the battery.
Very cool! I love when you do glowy things! Though I love most anything you do on the channel. You make everything interesting! Cheers!
My favourite part of your banter is the self deprecation. You’re an honorary Canadian for sure.
the warm glow of neon. its a lovely thing
Very nice display of someone who knows how to slice, but doesn't think too much about the slice. A glorious feeling when you measure to 0.00_ tolerance and fiddle the settings resulting in a smack on tolerance fit.
Very cool Big Clive! The uses for various shapes of light would be fun. I'm thinking you could make, besides signs or decorative shapes, light rings for photography or ambient up lighting shapes. Sconces. Probably a good thing I don't have a 3D printer! 😀
Not yet you don't....
This looks very good. It opens quite a bit of flexibility for neon-like signs. Very fun.
Big Clive gettin' kinky with lights! 😻
Great episode as always. 😺🍻
Would probably work nicely in a routered groove in wood - furniture, cabinets, cornices, etc.
Or a routed groove in plexiglass
Rev. Clive! Hallelujah! I see the light!!
From your Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks-taking you mean.
@@sugarhieroglyph Nope, I can give thanks to all those around me, friends loved one and neighbour’s . Sorry you’re so jaded that you cannot take well wishes at face value. Shalom.
6:15 "that is not bad at all" says BigClive, marveling at his new creation. 😂
That is blooming impressive Clive, I have to say that this will look amazing in shop signs 👌🏻
That would be ideal for a giant digital clock, except my 3D printer isn't large enough to make the channels for the seven segment displays, I've always wanted a "wall" clock the size of the wall in my (for lack of a bette word) Lab, although I could use aluminum channel.
you could devise a 1/4 printing segment, and the connection, you can print almost everything with any size printer, but you need to find work-arounds.
You might be able to get a 2nd hand router pretty cheap and use either wood/engineered wood product or plastic. And wear an N95 or FFP2 dust mask if you do that.
You can split the print into multiple pieces with interlocking ends, and use this type of tape for that.
@@PhilXavierSierraJones exactly this. You'd only have to design three sections - straight, corner, and 'T'. Maybe some extra stuff like colon and AM/PM.
I have a similar thing I did with a tool block (for holding small screwdrivers, tweezers, etc). The pieces dovetail together. New set of tools? just make a new block and slot it in.
Oh, also a soprano Ukelele in three parts. The neck bolts onto the body, but half the headstock is a separate print with a biscuit joiner. For something like that you design it whole, then slice it into parts to fit the printer.
Another opinion is to use straight LED strips for each of the segments. 20 years ago, straight neon tubes would be the choice.
I'm currently waiting for the 10Watt upgrade for my Diode Laser cutter to arrive, then I'm going to cut my business logo ( as per my YT logo ) from MDF and use something like this to backlight it :)
Your videos on this stuff has got me interested in getting some to experiment with. Very good.
Cool as hell, great job Clive. Gratz on getting it in one!
Well, chalk this one up to a perfect project from the start to finish! Amazing! I am going to get some to play with!
That looks so cool. They are getting very close to the look of real neon. :)
Except that neon is cylindrical and emits light 360° around its length... May not seem like a big difference, but when neon is mounted with stand offs, it illuminates the signage under it from the back of the bulb, creating a unique, almost 3D look.
would love to see you have a play with the new cob linear strip Clive - they look even more linear than that (though it's a very good product there), and because it can be essentially direct view I'd hazard a guess at being even brighter. oh, and full RGB too!
I've featured the COB strip in a video.
I've been eyeing them for a while now. Any AliExpress store you recommend?
Here's the video where he looked at the cob led tape.
ruclips.net/video/GxHQrRiBpo0/видео.html
@@bigclivedotcom gah! That's what I get for not keeping up to date. I shall peruse with great interest, cheers as ever!
For led strips to go around bends there are some specially made for this purpose.
The actual strip is like waves allowing so much to do a perfect 90 degree bend tightly.
Well done Clive you've passed your interview, when can you start in our Chinese factory ;)
No. I'd need to do it in 30 seconds to work in one of their factories.
Big Clive sign coming up I see 😎 nice job buddy 👍
Ah, Clive, from one tinkerer dude to another, no weirdness meant, but the way you say "Sharpah" is nothing less than adorable.
Great, that brings the old nice Neon signs back
Looking top notch. Fabulous idea.
Very nice!
Since the tubing is already coloured I guess you might have used white LED strip as well and get the same result.
The matching colour is more efficient, but white does work.
@@bigclivedotcom You didn't happen to buy some plain white tubing as well? I wonder how well it'd work with an RGB-strip, but with white tubing; that way you could change its colour as needed/to match whatever atmosphere you're aiming for.
This really makes me want to make a design I thought of a long time ago very possible!! Sweet!!
This one looks so sweet, I'm already jealous!
Now I’m dreaming of “Blade Runner”-esque decor. Thanks
This reminds me of all the tiktok videos about "why our signs are so much cheaper than other neon signs"
Routered grooves for LED strips in the underside of kitchen worktops - especially in the overhangs of islands - are getting pretty common now. I could see this being used to give a better overall finish and a more linear output than just leaving the bare tape as is the current norm. It could especially give a really nice effect with an almost clear 'diffuser' style over an RGB strip.
Also useful for the underside of wall cabinets, too.
I like it.... I like it a lot 😁
Well, the bane of shelf LEDs in groves is usually that (a) grooves are shallow and the diffuser doesn't diffuser so well so you see spots from individual LEDs (solved by a more opaque diffuser, or by deepening the groove which is clearly usually impossible sure to the thickness of the woods panel) and (b) terrible thermals of the resulting light - if the LEDs are run bright and consequently hot, being sandwiched in a groove of a very good thermal insulator and covered by a diffuser is not so good for them to say the least.
@@BoraHorzaGobuchul
We mostly deal with 30mm or 40mm thick quartz, granite or solid surface (resin/stone composite) these days. It would be easily routered to take this kind of strip and diffuser - even the thinner 20mm solid surface tops would be fine with an 8mm deep groove. Being stone based they also have very good heat dissipation properties, so no problems for us there either 😁
Normally you’d put led’s in an aluminium channel with a clip in diffuser rather than leave the leds in a rebate, which does diffuse the light nicely and also protects against the backing tapes adhesive failing and the strip falling out (the channel is mechanically fixed). The neon diffuser looks lovely but it’s thickness will cut output, it’s more for looking at directly rather than a wash diffuser
Well I just bit the bullet and ordered 50m of this stuff for an idea I have got my new studio, thank you Clive
Looks really good. Have a great day everyone, from Canada.
As a signmaker the first 7 minutes to me was just like "why is he working so slow?" Guess that just comes from years of experience. Love the end result though might steal some led strips from work and buy some of that stuff.
Hey Clive. Could you please do a teardown, schematic and discussion about some GaN products, in particular USB power supplies/chargers? I'm interested to know why they're the new thing and how they differ from age old silicon.
I think the idea is that they can operate at much higher frequencies for driving smaller transformers. But that doesn't seem to take into account the extra stress it will put on the output capacitors.
@@bigclivedotcom I haven't looked in to GaN marketed powersupplys, but why would the higher switching frequency stress capacitors? You'd probably use large ceramics directly across the output smoothing out all higher frequency components, and have bulk electrolytics in a similar function as with lower frequencies, if they are even necessary. I don't think electrolytics will do a good enough job at multiple MHz, and the super low ESR of ceramics allows way smaller capacitance values.
I think this would work great for filling in the T-slot extrusions of a 3D printer!
Nice project, good job, congrats
That's very interesting and the led strip is quite nice as well plus the color looks good I like it.
Bloody Amazing! And so quick too
A really nice result!
That’s actually pretty cool. I’m digging it.
The high street store Next have some one off signage and i managed to get a good look. it appeared that the led strip was clear plastic sub straight with 45 degree triangular cut after every led. Looked ideal for this, ive looked online but i suspect they must have got it made for them. Its available now but at the time it was had to find.
I'm kinda surprised they didn't just form the strip with little triangles chunked out of the edges by a machine since it would make it even easier to route around corners. If you're using a frame mold you could also dispense with the extruded diffuser strip entirely and just pour in diffusive resin.
That was a great looking light in this video. I used to want to learn how to make real Neon signs and refurbish old advertisements. LED arrays have come a long way in later years!
Really nice effect. And that diffuser makes me think of strawberry and cream liquorice
Oooh, that's super cool! I've never seen these strips that are meant to sort of pleat around corners. that's very cool!
@BigCliveDotCom try wiping the printed bits down with iso alcohol; plastic is oil & some juice gets out when you heat print it = better adhesion 😁😁
And ordered some white 8mm and 12mm .. I will try and build a house number sign from it.
Clive, How do you think this would do with the White diffuser clipped into 12mm plastic trunking with WS1812b LED's under? My theory is that if the white silicone lets the RGB through with little to no lux loss, it would make for a great way to edge windows, doors and walls etc that doesn't look horrible in the daylight... if you don't get what I mean, look up DrZzZ's guide to mounting outside LED's.
Looks very good.
How about something similar to those spotlight rails, where you have separate LED modules that you fit between two powered rails moulded into the housing, then add the diffuser as you've done here.
So, we will be seeing you name in lights soon :)
That is cool stuff.
That did work very well. Interesting.
Looks great Clive wish I had a 3D printer
Much better than the 3 m led strips 15 years ago when they were introduced .We had loads of failures Turns out the LED strips needed to be potted or mounted on glass or metal .let me tell you the shelves got warm ! Over driven LED would melt the adhesive on the strip and they would just fall out .
That rubber diffuser looks tasty
Thank you Clive that was very helpful and informative, the new tech is getting better and better, well done China for a change.
I had a strong feeling of déjà vu watching this.
I've made a few videos featuring the all-in-one LED strip.
Shell/Aral using the same LED´s in plastic tubes (fake neon) to make it cheaper, they use a aluminium strip under the LED strip as heatsink and just push it into 2m long platic tubes with endcaps. Getting thoose around corners is rly hard, better cut it and connect it with short cables cuz the led´s are bright enought to light up the corners 1-2cm gap.
Peace from Germany
looks nice. you could paint the inside of the 3d printed housing to refllect more light through the red neon part..
If you moulded a "Sawtooth" protruding on inside edge of the curve on your holder, ( the flat surface where the strip sticks) you would get a natural "fan" effect which would curve the led strip.
Even a small dimple every 5(?) mm would induce a "crimp" on the inner edge?
I saw on a 3D printing group that someone had created a Home Alone prop using that LED strip to pretend to be the red hot charcoal starter that Kevin hangs on the doorknob to heat it up.
It looked really good.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing.
That would be beautiful as a script...
beautiful contraption
It's always a good day when your butting up is successful
I had bought a roll of this stuff at an online auction in my town I paid $10 for a 100' roll of red and I strung it across the ceiling of my son's room and he loves it.
The light looks so beautiful, there's so many applications I can see for useing this, the first thing that popped into my head, was this would make an amazing coaster.
Put a little lithium battery in the middle, make it USB rechargeable or maybe even solar powered, it would look lovely.
Maybe I'll try and make one if I get round to purchasing a 3D Printer 😁😁👍
That's really cool! Great vid.
true blue clive the kid, "i saw this thing in a video, i think i can do that!", now we are doing that!
I wonder how well the LED beads on the lacquered wire strings would work.
Never knew this existed ! Wow !
Love your channel
There’s so many varieties of this stuff popping up on Aliexpress right now I have been tempted to try some of it purely for curiousity to see first hand and if it’s really as good as they say, so thanks for this video so we don’t have to. The ‘RGB COB LED Strip 24V’ has been catching my attention too! Hinty hint.
That's very clean ! Wouldn't a white led stripe need less power for the same light output ?
pretty neat looks pretty close to neon or cold cathod lightining we used in custom built computers back in the day.. like 20 years ago
Well Clive, looks like there's nothing stopping you from making one of those flamboyant cocktail bar signs for your workshop! A Palm tree and a soldering iron, perhaps?
With a small ultrasonic humidifier for the smoke effect from the soldering iron tip
@@Yrouel86 , For some reason, your comment reminded me of a scene from an old Leave It To Beaver episode where Beaver climbed up to and got stuck inside a billboard sign which had a giant teacup emitting steam like a hot cup of tea would.
@@goodun2974 saw that on one of the "classic" cable channels recently
All in pink of course :)
Pretty interesting, but the corners make putting the tape in quite a nuissance. Hopefully there's a lot of room between the tape and the "glowworm" (haha). The effect is really nice.
I'm guessing that's why there's an option to nick the side of the tape near the corner. Another method could be to slope the channel like a racetrack,
We installed some of this to replace a real neon sign at the UT Austin Union building. I was kinda disappointed with the application, their maintenance crew just ended up throwing the loop of LED into a backlit box.
Do you know of any tricks to create white, semi-transparent parts for LED glowing rings around buttons etc? The kind of thing you would put an LED behind and it would diffuse around the shape.
Clive, I guess you could use a leather worker's V-cut chisel, to make kerfs on the inner edge of the tape.
Works great. Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks.
It's not just 3D printed plastic, in my experience that tape doesn't stick well to anything. Even if you can get it to stay initially it always falls off quickly.
If you're not worried about the surface you are sticking too, a bead of cyanoacrylate would probably work quite well.
@@gavinstirling7088 If the tape doesn't come off the surface you're sticking to, it usually comes off the LED strip itself instead, especially if you're running it hot.
The only tape type I have found that sticks to virtually *anything* is a variety of special waterproof aluminum foil tape (made for sealing ductwork etc). It'll stick to parchment paper and it'll stick to things that are wet or underwater. Whatever the adhesive layer is made from, it's awesome. I'd love to find it used for double-sided tape.
Wow, first thought after video ended was, wouldn't a small solar panel and a couple vape batteries make it a interesting nightlight.
There's led modules on Alu strips that come in various shapes and sizes, including rectangles, circles, etc. So if you find one of the right size it's much better than a classic strip as it keeps shape, doesn't unstick, and has way better thermal dissipation (that's if your housing design lets the heat dissipate anywhere, of course).
Putting bright LEDs into a shallow plastic zero-airflow housing would be awful for any production device for obvious reasons.
Otherwise great video, but I can't help wonder how well this diffuser will stand up over time, ie won't it degrade structurally and also change color (usually stuff like that starts turning yellow after a certain time).
Sharp tool for curves, sharp but still rounded. Hold down, bend up at the point. Put point under next bit, and bend down. Hold down next piece with the point, and bend up, then put point under and bend down to make the next fold.
Basically using the point to make the up and down folds for an accordion style pleat to shorten up the inside. Just a guess, but I've seen rounded points used to do this for similar things..
Just hit me you could probably use an unplugged secondary soldering iron for the point tool, most everyone will have some cheap old straight iron with a rounded or chisel tip that would probably work for a point to fold pleats around. Just make sure you use colored tape or something on the handle so you don't mix up which iron with a hot one..
I wonder how well that would work with addressable LED strips. Can you get "clear" or "frosted"??
Thank you, very cool 👍
I am wondering how much that pink diffusor material will shrink in sunlight/ heat..
Any idea how well this works with a white tube over full addressable RGB LED strips?
I would suggest using a white led strip instead of red behind it it will give off a brighter colour through the filter!!
Subtractive filtering reduces light output. Using a matching wavelength gives the highest transmission and efficiency.