Sharks with Frikkin Lasers!
One of the very first projects completed with the Glowforge (codename: Bismuth) is our "CAUTION: LASER IN USE" Shark sign! Josh and I use this sign to alert each other that we're running Bismuth (which is currently situated in the kitchen for window access).
Josh and I agreed to a design concept and I made it happen. Our wants: An on/off switch that illuminates a sign that indicates if the machine is running. We wanted it to be perpendicular to the wall and sticks out in the air a bit so that it's obvious. We wanted it to utilize the frosted clear acrylic with LED combo to light up the sign. So with that, I started on ideas.
First step was designing the vector file--I learned a lot about Inkscape with this, I never really had the need to use this program before. I luckily thought through the entire process before printing: With creating a clear-acrylic sign, the more lit up parts need to be more engraved, which really translates to: you have to invert your image colors! Once designed, it was on to engraving it on clear acrylic.
Next I had to focus on the frame and LED parts. I harvested the innards of a LED base for a desk knickknack and 3D printed a base that I wanted the box to go over. Since the sign is battery powered, I needed a way to access them to change when they eventually get drained. I'm really proud of my soldering work on this one, I'm still very very much a noob on electronics.
I went through a few iterations of frame design but ended up deciding on an open-ended one so that the pane can be changed out if we would ever want. I prototyped in cardboard a few times, then printed on Basswood and used a mahogany polyurethane finish.
I am very happy with the turnout of this project, so much so that I'm offering the Shark pane file up for sale on Etsy!
Until next time!
Cheers, Kate