Scavenging spare components from the MagicMirror project to build something cool!
I bought a few led strips along with the sensors I ordered for the MagicMirror project. After the frame for the MagicMirror was built, I was left with enough framing material to make another one. Having seen youtube content creators keeping their logo kept as part of branding on walls and tables, I thought of creating my own version.
Printed the logo on an A4 sheet and cut out a stencil using a paper blade.
Bought a 10mm acrylic sheet and pasted the stencil on top of it.
Using a rotary tool, scratched up the surface exposed by the stencil. Wrapped the frame around the acrylic sheet. Made grooves in the frame for the led strip and connected an RF controller for controlling the led light pattern.
Hooked it up with a 5V supply, and voila!
How it works
The light travels from the LED strip in straight lines through the acrylic and emerges at the top of the acrylic plate. To illuminate the pattern, the light beams have to be deflected into your eyes. Engraving the surface does just that: it puts tiny scratches that deflect the light rays hitting it. To get a very uniform deflection, all the scratches have to have the same orientation.
