Fiber optic strands crafts

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1 Fiber optic strands crafts The possibilities for lighting fiber optics range from simple to extremely complex, and can make a huge difference to the look of your project. When you are choosing lighting, keep in mind that the brighter your light is, the more visible your fiber optic illumination will be. Also, from a personal aesthetic perspective, I think staying away from out-of-the-box primary LED colors like green, blue and red, helps keep a fiber optic project from looking like a cheesy Christmas decoration. I usually go for blended or de-saturated colors for a more subtle and beautiful effect. Nicking or abrading end glow fibers: Damaging the cladding on the outs. However, as you can see in the second photo above, some light also escapes from the end of the fiber creating a bright point of light where the fiber is cut. The intensity of the fiber's glow depends on the intensity of the light source. For example, a 1 watt LED or a laser will illuminate the fiber more than a neopixel LED. The glow of the fiber is also brightest close to the source of illumination, and fades gradually, or sometimes discolors, as more light escapes along the length of the fiber. I have found that the glow of a side light fiber optic, lit with a regular neopixel LED at full brightness, becomes difficult to see, and slightly yellowed, about 5 feet from the light source. Solid Fiber Optic Ribbon: I first saw these as the light in the inside of illuminated ankle bracelets for biking, and later in a pair of costume suspenders I found a Michael's crafts. As you can see in the second photo, these fibers are basically just like other large end glow fibers in a slightly different shape. Their glow seems to appear more visible when they are encased inside fabric or another diffusing material like they are in the suspender s in the third photo above. I am not even sure if these ribbons are technically fiber optics or just another plastic material that transmits light fairly well, but I think they have a lot of potential for interesting uses. Because of the way they are constructed, with a cladding that is intentionally less effective, light gradually escapes along the whole length of the fiber creating a fairly even glow almost like a neon tube or el wire. individually addressable RGB LEDs with a microcontroller. I am just barely beginning to learn Arduino programming, but even with a minimum

2 of knowledge, it is fairly easy to find interesting lighting programs online and load them into your microcontroller. I talk about how I've done this in more detail in my Fiber Optic Fairy Wings Instructable, and there are many other great Instructables that go into much more detail about programing LEDs. Another, even easier way to access some great lighting programs, is to buy a pre-programmed chip like the Cool Neon Driver I used in my LED skirt project and wire that to addressable LEDs. This will give you many different lighting patterns to choose from and can be controlled by a remote. To take full advantage of the dynamic lighting possibilities of fiber optics, however, you really need programable lighting, or at least a light source that has been pre-programmed. One relatively simple way to do this is to use. I'll also be adding to this Instructable as I discover more fiber optic knowledge, but for now, this is what I know. One of the most important things to think about when you are planning a fiber optic project is, "how am I going to attach my fibers to my lights?" It's crucial create a clean strong connection between your light source and the ends of your fibers so that light shines directly into the fibers and makes them glow as brightly as possible. A big challenge in this is the fact that the fiber optics themselves are quite slippery and don't adhere to most glues very effectively. I have found that superglue and some epoxies seem to stick the best, but you have to be careful not to get superglue on the end of the fibers where is can cause clouding that effects light transmission down the strand. As I mentioned in the previous step, standard 5mm diffused LEDs are fairly easy to attach to fiber optics because you can slip a heat shrink tube over both the LED and the fiber optic bundle, shrink it down, add a little glue and you have a fairly strong connection between the two (see first photo). You can buy RGB addressable LEDs in this form from places like Adafruit, so you don't need to sacrifice programability. Step 10: Methods of Attaching Fibers to Wearables. Sparkle Cable: groups of end glow fibers intentionally nicked along the strands and bundled in a clear casing to create a sparkle effect. I personally think they look a bit cheesy, but I'm sure they would be great for some projects. Solid Core End Glow (not pictured): These are single strands up to 14mm in diameter encased in black PVC casing. I haven't actually used these, but they seem to be more like a side glow fiber that is encased so that light will only emerge from the end. They are mostly used in displays and water features to channel light to specific points. They could potentially be useful in wearables for a similar purpose. In addition to the basic distinction of side glow and end glow, you will likely encounter some of the following variations in your search for fiber optics:. The clear inner core allows light

3 to travel unimpeded down the length of the fiber while the cladding acts like a one-way mirror, containing any light that tries to escape the fiber by bouncing it back into the core in a process called total internal reflection. This combination of core and cladding allows light to travel along the fiber for great distances, even around curves, emerging at the other end nearly as bright as the original source of illumination. Depending on the quality of the fiber however, some amount of light may degrade, or be lost along the way. Some fiber optics make use of this light degradation, allowing a little light to escape through the cladding along the length of the fibers, thus creating an even glow that looks a bit like a neon tube. These fibers are called " side emitting " fiber optics. A few companies have started weaving fiber optics into textiles to create illuminated fabric. This is in theory an awesome idea, but so far I haven't been that excited by the results. Step 9: Methods of Attaching Lights to Fibers. Before attaching the fibers to your light source, you also have to be sure that the end of your fibers are cut cleanly to allow the maximum amount of light to penetrate. Side emitting fibers (also called side glow, or side light) are usually larger and more flexible than end emitting fibers. They seem to be available anywhere from 2mm to 12mm in diameter. NLED-Projects did with this Fiber Optic Top Hat ) and just attach the strands so the ends are visible as shown in the last photo above. White Core Side Glow Fiber, or Light Pipe: These are similarly flexible to the clear "solid core" side glow fibers, but have a white core embedded in the center of a clear strand. The white core illuminates and radiates light into the clear section, making this fiber look much more like el wire as you can se in the first photo. These fibers only seem to conduct light a few feet down their length before it fades and yellows, but they have an interesting look and could be great for certain projects. Simple battery powered on/of lights like these floralights which come in variety of colors are a good option for very basic fiber optic illumination. Their shape makes them easy to attach to a bundle of fibers (or a single large fiber) using just heat shrink tubing and glue. There are a lot of prepackaged lighting options like this available that can provide simple and beautiful illumination to your fiber optic project. Jenn Mann who also makes amazing fiber optic wearables, has found a way to use layers of laser cut acrylic to create a similarly shaped connecting strip between LEDs and fibers. For my Fiber Optic Fairy Wings, I used a much simpler, and slightly jankier, method. I bundled my end glow fibers into groups of about 30, then heat shrunk the ends together and cut them with an exacto knife to create a smooth edge. I installed my LED strip inside a small box with holes drilled in the sides, then fed my fiber optic bundles through the

4 holes and hot glued them into place up against the LEDs, being careful not to get any hot glue between the ends of the fibers and the LEDs as that would block light from illuminating the fibers (last photo). This worked fairly well, though some fibers in the middle of the bundles were still loose after I had glued them in. Since I was going to be sewing all my fibers down very securely anyway, this didn't really matter, but I would like to find even better ways make sure all the fibers are secure. You can combat this dimming by putting a light source at both ends of the fiber as I've done in the third photo above. This can also create amazing blended color effects by having different colored LEDs at each end of the fiber. Even putting a small mirror, instead of a second LED, at the other end of the fiber helps keep the light contained, making the whole strand brighter. Side emitting fibers are much more visible in ambient light than end emitting fibers, but they still create a diffused glow that looks better in darkness. Side emitting fibers are great for projects where you want defined lines of light rather than pinpoint sparkles. They would also be good for creating inner glow or under-lit elements of a project where you don't want to see the fibers directly. Rayauto 3mm Car Home LED Lighting Decoration Clear Side Glow Fiber Optic Cable DIY (20M length). Place your fiber optic/led bundles in the middle of the front of your wings with the positive legs facing upward. Love it! how clever! The steps made it a cinch to follow!. Thanks for your post, I was able to creat one. CHINLY 0.03in(0.75mm) 328ft(100M)/roll PMMA plastic end glow fiber optic cable for star sky ceiling all kind led light engine driver. * 3V CR2032 Coin Cell Battery * (2) 5mm or 3mm LEDs - super brights work best for a dramatic effect * Conductive Thread * Needle and Cotton Thread * Felt * Hot Glue Gun & Glue * Electrical Tape * Masking Tape (optional) * Scissors * Pliers * Pen/Pencil * Velcro * Cardboard/Posterboard. Did you make this project? Share it with us! I Made It!. E&A 2Pcs LED Colourful Changing Fibre Fiber Optic Fountain Night light Calming Lamp Christmas. Cut a small piece (3/4") of the original plastic tubing you pulled the fiber optics out of and grab one of your LEDs. Carefully push the fiber optic ends into the tube, and then the LED into the other end, getting them as close together as you can. Make sure the longer leg of the LED is facing the top. If the LED doesn't fit, cut a small slit in the end of the tube to give it more room. Hot glue everything together once it is in place. 1.5W DC 12V car home light side glow fiber optic light source illuminator 5MM White. Repeat for the right side fiber optic bundles. Begin laying out your fiber optics over the outlines on one section of your wings. Use masking tape (or electrical tape), to lightly stick them into place. This is a great tutorial! Makes me

5 want to be a faery next year! Thanks for posting:-d. CHINLY 16W RGBW LED Fiber Optic Light Star Ceiling Kit Lights 150pcs 0.75mm 6.5ft/2m Optical Fiber Lamp+RF 28key Remote Engine. o very nicely done may i have an estimate of how much eveything cost? my friend would love this for her costume. well thank you very much ill get right on it haha i showed my mother this also so it looks like im making two one for my mother and best friend xd ill make the fairy wings and try a different method for angel wings it will look good with the feathers in my opinion. ill try and take a photo of the angel wings and show you thanks again ^-^. Using conductive thread, loop the thread through the metal tabs a few times and sew a line across the felt. Turn the wings over and sew through the loops of your LEDS, securing them to the felt and making sure to make a good connection. I like to loop about 3 more times than I think is necessary. I'm a digital artist/crafter/maker who likes electronics and sewing. I used to run the blog Soft. * Fairy wings (store bought or handmade), with any decoration removed from the middle/center of the wing frame * Sparkle Fiber Optic Cable - a specialty fiber optic that lights up along the length of the cable, choose the kind with 6 strands. The amount will depend on how large your wings are: in this example I used ~4 ft. * Sewable Coin Cell Battery Holder. Raysell 3mm 10Meter PMMA Side Glow Optic Fiber Cable With 1.5W 12V LED Light Source illuminator Ice Blue. This method for light up wings uses a simple circuit of LEDs and a battery to achieve a look a similar to EL wire, but thinner and almost invisible when not lit up. The lighting isn't as even as EL wire because it uses a single light source instead of glowing along its length, but it was an interesting and fun experiment. E&A Colourful Changing Fibre Fiber Optic Fountain Night light Calming Lamp Christmas Gift.