How to Make a Neon Sign LED Part 2 (feat. CNC Cut Back Panel)
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- Опубліковано 26 лис 2024
- Here a sign maker with over 30 years of experience in the field and 12 years of experience selling and developing LED products for the signage industry explains how you can create a custom-made LED neon sign using LED Neon Flex.
You'll need the following items:
Acrylic panel (between 5mm and 10mm thick) with your design cut out using a CNC, approximately 3.5mm deep and 6mm wide.
LED Neon Flex:
www.ledsignsan...
Tinning Cable:
www.ledsignsan...
Adhesive:
www.ledsignsan...
End caps:
www.ledsignsan...
Free form neon flex:
www.ledsignsan...
www.ledsignsan...
See Part 1 of our tutorial here • How To Make a Neon Sign
Thanks for watching!
Spectron LED Ltd
Refreshing to see a video of someone who actually knows how to do the task and who can explain it as well. So many of these videos are produced by those who are neither. Thank you sir.
Thanks for the kind feedback, Sam. We appreciate that!
I've been making LED neon signs for a few years. First time I've seen the MitreBond brand of glue...going to try it! I always leave the protective covering on the face to be sure I don't mess it up with glue. Then peel it off after completed. Very thorough video!
Hi thank you for your kind comment it is available on our website for the full specification. Yes the beauty is because there is no spray it does not get messy and you can be very accurate with it. Plus a tip is if you happen to spill a little bit of glue where it shouldn't be you can quickly use the pen to remove it before it dries.
The best video I've seen about neon signs so far... i don't think i need to watch another
Thanks for your kind feedback!!
Your video is the best so far. Making time to talk about the history is mind-blowing. I have been trying to learn this skill for sometime but always get confused on where to get things like the acrylic board(type or specs), where to make the design cuts, whether to use led and cover with neon strips or just just prefixed neon led lights. I really need helpful 😢.
Best video on LED neon by far. Thank you!!!
Thanks, Katy!!
This is an EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT Tutorial!
Thank You sir for providing these instructions.
nice
I love how seamless the individual pieces become!
My mind is "Open" now, thank you 👍
Glad to hear that!
this was so straight forward and easy to follow. Thank you!!
I'm glad I found your video and channel. Looking for instructions to do these signs myself to hang from inside my shop behind clear glass windows. Cheers!
Thank you! Glad it's been helpful 😄
May I know the name of the font? Nice font indeed!
Very Nicely Made 😍😍👍👍
Explained Perfectly 🙏🙏
Love from India
Thank God for a detailed explanation! This was awesome. Not just some fast moving video with crappy music! I’ve subscribed!
Thanks for the nice feedback!
Great , thanks , because of you , it will be endless night without sleepeing :-)
😆
i love this stuff, i have been using it got my RGB addressable strips to create heaps of lighting designs, running on a madrix server, triggered from my lighting console
Great tutorial! Thank you for sharing. However, I am having a hard time finding the thin jumper wires. Could you tell me where to find them in the US, or what I should be searching for?
IMPRESSIVE, most helpful tutorial. Thank you!
I have joined your channel as the video was very good, I would love to make a sign for my grandson, but don't have the tools to make the plastic backing so can you show how that is cut out please, Thanks Bob in the UK
Hi Bob, thanks for the follow. Sorry, we outsource our CNC cutting so there are no plans for us to release a tutorial on this just yet.
Our Neon flex is designed for outdoor use as it is IP67 rated. Just make sure that any connections are fully encased in a silicone end cap with silicone gel inside to prevent any salty air or water getting near the connections.
Thank you sooo much.This was exactly what i was looking for and your way to explain things are very clear.
Thanks for the feedback, Ralf! Good luck with your projects.
Wich software do you use to carve?
i wish you could show up how the wiring goes from one to another more bit closer,
Where would I buy the Leds from in the US?
We ship to the US from our website www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home
Excellent!
You can upload a video tutorial with the acrylic channel perforated with the cnc or laser technique so we don’t have to use the glue please?
Yes, this tutorial is using a CNC cut channel! Hope it helps
Brilliant video. Thank you so much for this quality content!
How deep did you made those grooves for led neon?
We used a 5mm acrylic and the channel is around 3 - 3.5mm.
I missed the power consumption or voltage requirement if any. What's too much a 9 volt, 12 volt? Is a USB 5 volt enough?
Thank you for great tutorial!
Glad it was helpful!
Very well done, you provide complete and understandable info, great job, thank you 👍
Glad it was helpful!
Excelente presentación. Gracias por tanto. Un abrazo desde colombia.
Excellent Work & Thank you for sharing
How many amp of battery supply you use for these lamomo 12v led strip
The neon flex we use is 8 watts per metre.
Thank you so much for the demo❤
This is so beautiful. subbed, liked, and definitely checking out more of your stuff
Thank you for your kind comments.
hello good job, I have question , I have cnc but how do I make letters single line
Easy way is to draw a single line in the centre of your letter style in Adobe Illustrator or similar. Thanks
Ottimo video potrei avere il link per comprare il neon led grazie
how does this kind of sign do outdoors? does silicone degrade in UV? I was thinking of this for a boat
how are you getting the design cut out onto the acrylic ?
I don’t know why they all never show how the acrylic sheet cutout is done.
In terms of the cut point being 10mm apart, what is the best thing to do if the point I need to cut sits in the middle of that? Cut it shorter and have a 5mm gap either end of the length? (I may be misunderstanding it though). Similar question re trimming the bits that meet at a cross roads - can it just be cut ad-hoc or does it need to align with a cut point?
Cheers, great vid.
Good question Rich. We cut it ad hoc, so that the neon doesn't come up short at cross joins or ends. We cut into the side of the silicone tube to get access to the solder points. Once we have soldered our cable on, we then close the tube back up and glue it together. As the cut is on the side, it's not really visible when glued back together. We only recommend you do this if it's an internal sign with no chance of water ingress.
What type of Acrylic sheet do you use? a) Cast Acrylic b) Extruded Plexiglass d) Polysterene e) Polycarbonate
Cast acrylic
What thickness is the most appropriate?
@@christopherayettey4390 5-10mm
Nice work, thanks.
When you design your grooves, is the length of the channels calculated so that the cut marks on the strip line up perfectly at the ends?
It's near enough, but not exact as you can cut the side of the neon to expose the solder pads then close it back up again
The acrylic panel is between 5 and 10 mm thick. In this video example, what is the width and length of the acrylic panel?
Can you run Led sign with batteries?
We believe it is possible, but it's not something we have tried. Let us know how you get on!
Hello there!! what model of the machine do you use to cut the acrylic or what machine for starting do you recomend? Im new on this.Thanks!
Please could you show the Cnc and cad part. I am looking to make this but unsure how to create the offset from the font before cutting on my Cnc
Hi Marc, we don't have any plans to show the artwork side at the moment, but there are lots of tutorials on how to use Adobe Illustrator already on UA-cam. We also outsource our CNC cutting to a third party.
How deep are you machining the acrylic for the channel and what thickness material do you typically start with? At the moment we do most of our signs with 3d printing but I have a large CNC router for our larger signs but have yet to use acrylic backers.
Hi we machine to a depth of 3.5mm
What font did you use when making your acrylic cutout?
Hi Brennan, that font is our own design.
Thank you for great tutorial keep going 👏🏻
You're welcome 😊
Hello, thanks for the video and the information! I was a bit confused about this product but your summary about its history helped me 😅. Quick question, where do you buy your free form neon flex? I’m looking for it in Chinese stores (AliExpress, Temu) but i haven’t found the specific “free-form” version of it.
Hello David, you can purchase this online here www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/leds/led-neon-flex/8mm-freeform or email us at sales@spectronled.co.uk. Thanks!
Very professional! Thanks for sharing
Who is the manufacturer of this 'Free Form LED Neon' that you are using? I like that it stays to the form you bend it to. Great video!
Hi! You can purchase from our website, ledsignsandlighting.co.uk. We ship worldwide!
How can I make outdoor sign which can be operated with batteries?😊
You should make a tutorial how to design the letters of the word
Nice, what is the font type, please?
what type of cnc machine do you have and how big is it? I have been looking into one just dont know what to get. any infomation will be greatly appreciated
This is so helpful, thank you
Hello, Thanks for the good video, Is there a tutorial on how to do the design on corel draw or AI and transfer this to g code of the cnc machine ?
Hi Ben thank you for your comment, Unfortunately no we do not have a tutorial on how to design but I'm pretty sure they will be lots of videos already uploaded to UA-cam.
Spectron can you please help i wanna know how do you design yohr text in adobe and put it into a gcode for the cnc to engrave
Explications trés précises et claires. Merci pour le tuto👍
Merci.
I'm finding soldering and keeping the joint tidy, extremely difficult. Is there an alternative to making that electronic connection (can I just superglue it for instance?)
Use a scalpel carefully slit open the silicon skin and lift out the PCB to do the soldering, Mitre Bond it back together afterward. We also have the 2 parts system which you may find it easier to do. Hope this help.
Awesome! How would one go about making a sign like this weatherproof for outdoor use? Looking to make the same sign with the word “Vacancy” but would need it to be outdoor all the time.
Thanks! For external use, you need to be absolutely certain that any connection and exposed end of the neon flex has been waterproofed using waterproof end caps and silicone. We also recommend you put the sign in a Perspex box for added protection!
What are the options for NOT having a plastic base cutter/laser ? Excellent item and demonstration....
Thank you Dave. You can glue this straight onto any flat surface of any substrate. Use a jigsaw and then wet and dry should give you a nice edge finish to any shape you desire.
Nice vid...what is the thickness of the acrylic?? And how deep was the cutpoint??
We use a 5mm thick acrylic and the cut point for the neon flex is every 10mm
@@Spectron hi...i mean how deep is the engrave on the acrylic..thanks for your response.. Appreaciate it..
@@gamerzhub08 Hi there, it's about 3.5mm deep 😊
What is the benefit of Machining the groove rather than just gluing the flex to flat acrylic?
Hi Ramon, it's neater, more secure and faster to create, particularly if you use a winged neon that clips in rather than using glue.
@@Spectron what machine did u use for such accurate carving?
@@kimofficial8613 CNC machine
beautiful sign
Excuse me, can you tell me what the font is?
Hi, thanks! We made this font in-house 😄
Hello how deep do you need the Grove for the led to fit in
The depth of the channel depends on the thickness of the acrylic panel you are using. For a 5mm thick panel, cut a channel approx 3.5mm deep. For a 10mm thick acrylic, cut the channel a minimum of 5mm deep.
how did you get the single line font for the text? I'm trying to make some wedding signs with my cnc router and I cant find any text that isnt bubble writing
Hi Brent, we created a file using Adobe Illustrator. The font is our own. Could you elaborate on what you mean?
I’m having the same issue, looking for a single line text, so I can have a 5mm channel for the light to sit in
How does each letter get its power when you did three separate power connections? How are they joined at the rear to make one final connection?
The letters are joined together and the end piece is connected to the power supply. The sign is quite small and uses less than 3m of neon flex so we can do it this way without seeing a voltage drop and inconsistencies in brightness. If the letters were larger, we would need to connect each on to the driver. You can only use about 2-3m of neon flex in one continuous run before needing to run directly to the driver. Hopefully this makes sense, but feel free to contact us for more info.
Yes that's great thank you. I did wonder if the brightness would drop off over a certain length. Brilliant, thank you for replying so promptly 👍
I have a sign and I dont want the last letter there anymore. If I just cut the wire connected to the last letter will the rest of it still work? The power is coming from the front one. Thanks!!!
It depends on how the rest of the letters are wired up. If one letter is wired to the next in a chain then yes, cutting off the last letter should be okay and the sign should still work. For certainty though, send us a wiring diagram and we can check for you - sales@spectronled.co.uk
excellent tutorial , thanks for doing and sharing , subbed immediately .
hello, a question, what kind of wire do you use to connect the led strips? I guess it's copper, but what thickness?
It is 28 AWG
Do you have the amazkne ljnk of it in my country they do not order from your site
Great video. Thank you. Question though. Is there anywhere that sell the pre groved backs already made so I can just finish it up or is there someone that does this sort of thing to order?
Hi you could purchase the CNC router bit and then anyone in your local area with a CNC machine could produce the back panel for you. Spec available here www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/accessories/tools/CNC-Cutter
Could you do a video on designing the artwork for CNC cutting?
We've no plans to do any videos on this at the moment. We use Adobe Illustrator and you should be able to find lots of beginners tutorials already on UA-cam :)
Your "LED Neon Flex (we've used 5mm white neon flex with a 10mm cut point" link in your description doesnt work
Should be working now :)
@@Spectron You're welcome
Can you give me a link for a wire connecting between each cut. Thanks
www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/accessories/neon-flex-accessories/28awg-electrical-cable
Where did you bought the machine to cut the acrilic??
What temperature do you like to solder at?
600
600 or 1000 watts
Beautiful job.
Thank you so much
I'm trying to find the part one video, but the one linked is just a totally different project. I need to know the CNC side :)
Hi Dan, part one is showing you how to install the LED neon flex onto a flat back panel with no routered channel. We don't have a video on CNC cutting, sorry!
@@Spectron Thank you for the reply! The thing I need to know the most is, how deep of a channel would I need for the LED neon flex to fit into? I'm looking to get RGB, and then LOTS of colors of Neon Flex, very soon. Do you work with US hobbyists? Is your lighting too expensive for hobbyist sign makers?
@@Spectron I'd actually love to talk to someone on the phone. Do you have a support/sales line i could contact someone?
@@DanPerry-t8s No problem! So it depends on the thickness of your acrylic and partly personal preference. We use a 5mm thick acrylic and the channel is 3.5mm deep. You could use a 10mm acrylic with a channel about 7mm. Basically, you want to maintain the integrity of the acrylic and see the top surface of the neon! We do sell to lots of hobbyists worldwide. The shipping to the US from UK is from £28 and the neon is £36 for 5 metres. Feel free to call us on +44161 236 8828 for more info!
Wow, brilliant video.
I've clicked the link for the 5mm but no product showing? 🤔
Do you have another link?
Also what else do I need, neon led, end caps, mitre bond, tinning cable & power supply? Thanks
Hi MK, apologies, the link for the mini neon has now been uppated! (www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/winged-neon-flex). And yes, the other components needed are tinning cable, power supply, end caps, mitreBond (if not using our cnc cutter), and a back panel.
@@Spectron hi thanks for that but link still not working. Saying page not found 🤔
What solder wire you use
28 AWG pre soldered cable, which we sell on our website!
Love this, where can you purchase this led flex please
Thanks! You can purchase the neon and accessories on our website www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/leds/led-neon-flex
Great job, but one question
As far as i know neon leds can be cut into 2.5cm pieces meaning that each segment should be a multiple of 2.5cm in terms of length, how can i measure that when im designing the sign? Because i cant cut the strip at middle of those 2.5cm parts so its gonna be short or excess if i don’t design the acrylic sheet grooving length
Our neon flex has cut points / solder pads every 10mm interval. You can cut the neon anywhere really, as long as you miss the actual led chip. If you cant access the solder pad, just cut the silicone tube to expose it, solder the cable, then seal the tube back up with glue.
Spectron LED thanks :))
Hallo there may you please help me with a way I can contact you I'm interested in this and want to create it in my country
Hi Diana, you can contact us at sales@spectronled.co.uk
What software do you use for the cnc
This is so good, thanks v much.
Thanks Sam 😄
Great video, keep it up!
What’s you use to test the connection?
Crocodile clips and a power supply
What if the end of your letter does not land on the cut line?
You should be okay to cut beyond the cut line as long as you don't cut through the led chip. We use them for guidance, but do try and design your signs taking into account the cut points.
Hi, thank you for the video. Does it matter if we use type A or type B plug for the led neon signs?
Hi, our Winged Neon Flex is 12v so any 12v driver or plug in adaptor is fine as long as the watts are matching the total watts you use per metre of neon flex. I would recommend a constant voltage driver to power any neon flex.www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/accessories/led-drivers
Awesome" I like the way u teach thanks I seriously want too learn from u
Thanks for sending us that nice feedback! We are here to help, so reach out if you have any questions :)
Wow, so that's how the professionals do it. Can you connect multiple pieces of neon flex in parallel? is it designed to keep the same tone, or brightness if multiple pieces of different length are connected in parallel?
Hi Adrian, yes you can but you will need to power them from both ends to ensure no fall off in colour.
@@Spectron Thanks very much for the response. That's what I was hoping to avoid :D Trying to cut my soldering in half. I have many, many joints to do.
@@adrianvanderzandt4310 Good luck with it! If you have any other questions, feel free to get in touch 😊
Can please which Cnc router you used or which one you recommend? Thank you
Hi Adbul, we recommend you use our special CNC cutter www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/winged-neon-flex-CNC-cutter and the winged neon flex for fast and easy installation of neon flex. We will publish a new video on these products soon so you can see how they work.
Wonder what size the groove is? exactly 6mm or 6.5mm/7mm?
Hi - we use our CNC cutter for the winged neon, which is approximately 7.5mm.
Perfectly done
Great video but where do you get the plastic and what machine do you use to cut the design
We get the acrylic from local trade suppliers and a flatbed router cuts out the plastic
I have a project with like 9-10 different flex neon colors, I see colored end caps are available, if I just use clear end caps will it make a noticeable difference or should I just buy a pile of corresponding colored end caps for each color of flex neon?
Hi John, we would recommend either using the waterproof end caps which are clear and slip over the end of the neon, or using the corresponding coloured end caps.
Stupid quest but im new new at tryin! After u attach the dc connector that do you plug it in to do we hav to put a plug on it?? Sorry im confused
We use a desktop power supply with a male DC connector on the end. This already has a plug on it.
Hello I have a question. I made a neon but my problem is some of the ends are not lit. The light is not continuous. I guess it can't go with 1/2 inch cut. What should I do. THe led I got has 1 inch intervals (back of neon)
Hi, our neon flex has 10mm cut points and is lit to the end. www.ledsignsandlighting.co.uk/leds/led-neon-flex