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Cast Acrylic Sheet
Pixel

Yaremwe na

Pixel

22. Nzeli 2026FI
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Cast Acrylic Sheet

Otto Röhm had worked on acrylic chemistry since his 1901 doctorate. His firm first used polymethacrylate as the sticky middle layer of laminated safety glass - and noticed that the polymer came away from the glass plates cleanly, leaving a clear sheet as smooth as the glass. Sold from 1933 as Plexiglas, the sheet went into aircraft canopies within the decade. **US 2,154,639**, "Process for the manufacture of polymerization products", Röhm and Bauer, assigned to Röhm & Haas, filed 4. December 1935, granted 18. April 1939: methacrylic esters polymerised between sheets of glass and then separated from them, for "glass substitutes" whose faces are "as highly polished as the surfaces of the glass itself". **You use that polish**: an edge-lit sign whose engraving glows while the smooth faces stay dark, and two heat-bent offcuts that show how tight a bend the light survives.
Utangiye
3 hours

Amabwiriza

1

Cut the panel

Keep the protective film on. Score 3 mm cast acrylic 200 x 120 mm with the utility knife against a ruler, 8 to 10 passes, then snap it over the bench edge. Cut two 100 x 30 mm offcuts the same way.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Urupapuro rwa AkirilikiUrupapuro rwa Akiriliki1 igice

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Icyuma gikata cy'akaziIcyuma gikata cy'akazi
Umurongo w'IcyumaUmurongo w'Icyuma
Amadarubindi Asobanutse yo KwirindaAmadarubindi Asobanutse yo Kwirinda
2

Polish the light edge

Sand the 120 mm bottom edge flat, then run the Micro-Mesh grits in order until it is clear. Light enters here; a frosted edge scatters it at the door.

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Ibikoresho byo gukorora bya microme (urwego 9)Ibikoresho byo gukorora bya microme (urwego 9)
3

Engrave the back

Peel the back film. Draw your design on paper, tape it under the sheet, and trace it with the engraving point at medium speed, light pressure.

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Igikoresho gizunguruka (ubwoko bwa Dremel)Igikoresho gizunguruka (ubwoko bwa Dremel)
Umutwe wo kwandikaUmutwe wo kwandika
Amadarubindi Asobanutse yo KwirindaAmadarubindi Asobanutse yo Kwirinda
4

Slot the base

Cut a pine block 160 x 60 x 40 mm. Saw two parallel kerfs 3.5 mm apart, 15 mm deep, along its length and chisel out between them. Chisel a channel underneath for the LED strip to shine up into the slot.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Ikibaho cy'igiti cya pinusiIkibaho cy'igiti cya pinusi1 igice

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Umucumita w'IntokiUmucumita w'Intoki
Ibikoresho by'amasuka y'igitiIbikoresho by'amasuka y'igiti
5

Light it

Strip 5V, GND and DIN to the Uno's 5V, GND and D6. Install the Adafruit NeoPixel library and upload. Stand the panel in the slot.
edge_lit_panel.inocpp
// Edge-lit acrylic panel - batch 98, US 2,154,639
// A short WS2812B strip under the panel's bottom edge. Data -> D6 through the strip's own input.
#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

const int PIN = 6;
const int COUNT = 8;          // LEDs under the 120 mm edge
Adafruit_NeoPixel strip(COUNT, PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

void setup() {
  strip.begin();
  strip.setBrightness(60);    // keep well under full power when run from USB
}

void loop() {
  // slow colour wheel: the engraving glows, the polished faces stay dark
  for (long hue = 0; hue < 65536; hue += 256) {
    strip.fill(strip.gamma32(strip.ColorHSV(hue)));
    strip.show();
    delay(30);
  }
}

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Umurongo wa LED wa NeopixelUmurongo wa LED wa Neopixel1 igice
Umutwe w'insinga za Dupont (igabo-igore)Umutwe w'insinga za Dupont (igabo-igore)1 ikirundo

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Arduino Uno R3Arduino Uno R3
SparkFun Cerberus USB Cable - 1.8 meterSparkFun Cerberus USB Cable - 1.8 meter
6

Bend two offcuts

Heat an offcut along a line on the strip heater, turning it over every 30 seconds, until it flexes. Bend it 90° round a 6 mm dowel and hold until cool. Bend the second round a 20 mm dowel.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Umusumari w'igitiUmusumari w'igiti1 igice

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Igikoresho gishyushya umurongo kuri akirilikiIgikoresho gishyushya umurongo kuri akiriliki
Uturindantoki two gukomeza ibyumaUturindantoki two gukomeza ibyuma
7

Trace the beam

In a dim room shine the laser pointer into the end of each bent strip, never towards anyone's eyes. See where light escapes at the bend, and compare with the notebook.

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Icyerekana cya laserIcyerekana cya laser
8

Critical angle and bends

Gupakira ikaye ya Jupyter…
9

History & Context

**What the patent specifies:** methacrylic esters polymerised between glass sheets and separated, giving a glass substitute with glass-polished faces. **Modern build (derived):** commercial cast acrylic sheet, cut and heat-bent. Cast sheet is still made between glass plates; cheaper extruded sheet came later and is softer and more prone to crazing. The limits: acrylic scratches, cracks if drilled carelessly, crazes when solvents or stress meet, and burns.
Intambwe 9 - Image 1

Ibikoresho

5

Ibikoresho bikenewe

13

Blueprint zijyanye

Izi blueprint zisangira ubumenyi — uburyo, ibikoresho cyangwa amahame

Polycarbonate

Polycarbonate

na PennyDK

Mekanike

0
0
0
0
0
0
Laminated Safety Glass

Laminated Safety Glass

na MaryFI

Ubutabire

37
0
0
0
0
0

CC0 Umurenge rusange

Iyi blueprint yasohowe munsi ya CC0. Ushobora gukoporora, guhindura, gukwirakwiza no gukoresha nta kwemererwa.

Shyigikira Umuremyi ugura ibicuruzwa binyuze muri Blueprint ye Komisiyo y'Umuremyi byashyizweho n'Abacuruzi, cyangwa kora verisiyo nshya y'iyi Blueprint ukayinjiza nk'isano muri Blueprint yawe kugira ngo musangire inyungu.

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