| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
coal drag
New Hire
|
 Posted - 05/15/2012 : 4:38:40 PM
|
I need to glue some SMD leds to an acrylic light tube, any suggestions??? It’s the last piece of a puzzle to replace Athearn’s cheap @@@ bulbs to leds in the style that Ulrch Models does with their expensive kit. It would be a little obvious if I asked how they did it. I’ve located all the other stuff on eBay.
Kevin
|
Country: USA
| Posts: 25 |
|
|
desertdrover
Engineer
Premium Member
|
 Posted - 05/15/2012 : 5:44:35 PM
|
You can get by using epoxy or super glues, but the best for mounting these types of LED's to acrylic is the UV6800 glue.
|
 Louis
Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast |
|
Country: USA
| Posts: 11260 |
 |
|
|
coal drag
New Hire
|
Posted - 05/15/2012 : 5:47:09 PM
|
Thanks, I'll look for some ..
|
|
Country: USA
| Posts: 25 |
|
|
|
coal drag
New Hire
|
Posted - 05/25/2012 : 10:13:58 PM
|
OK so everything for my project to put proper lighting in some Athearn ACes has come in. According to the tube of UV6800 it works like contact cement. Put some on each surface (acrylic tube (1.5mm)/led (0603 with magnet wire already attached)), let it sit, and then put them together. It didn't work very well. Those are some really small surfaces. So I dabbed some on the end of the light tube and it stuck right to the led. I let it sit for an hour and put some medium body Microscale CA (I really like their CA) around it for reinforcement. I let that sit for another hour and it had a very good bond. I cut some 2mm heat shrink tubing and it slipped right on and over the led without hanging up.
The next move was to heat the tubing. One time I tried to do that with a soldering iron, that went over like some lead bricks, so no use trying that. Even if I had a heat gun, I don’t think that would work on something so small. My only thought was holding it over the gas burner on the stove. It worked real good, right up to the moment that it melted the light tube into a 90^ angle. It produced a tight package though. I need to come up with a power source to test out the light transference before making any more.
So what’s your favorite heat source????
Kevin
|
|
Country: USA
| Posts: 25 |
|
|
|
gregnarrowgauge
Engine Wiper
|
Posted - 05/26/2012 : 03:48:12 AM
|
Kevin try using a ladies hair dryer to shrink the tubing... Greg.
|
|
Country: Australia
| Posts: 154 |
|
|
|
desertdrover
Engineer
Premium Member
|
Posted - 05/26/2012 : 09:36:40 AM
|
Kevin, they sell a heat tool in hobby shops that cost alot more than this same thing called an "Embossing Tool".
I bought this embossing tool in the craft section at a Michaels store. It works great for heat shrink tubing without melting the objects around it.
It works like the hair drier that Greg sad to try, but this has a more controled pin point heat source coming out the front.
|
Louis
Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast |
Edited by - desertdrover on 05/26/2012 09:39:39 AM |
|
Country: USA
| Posts: 11260 |
|
|
|
coal drag
New Hire
|
Posted - 05/26/2012 : 4:32:53 PM
|
I tried my hairdryer on high. It shrunk it !! I didn't think it would have enough heat. Thanks.
Kevin
|
|
Country: USA
| Posts: 25 |
|
|
|
George D
Moderator
Premium Member
|
Posted - 05/26/2012 : 5:01:08 PM
|
That's good news, Kevin. I never would have thought of using a hair drier.
George
|
|
Country: USA
| Posts: 9906 |
|
|
|
Sean_OBrien
Engine Wiper
|
Posted - 05/26/2012 : 6:27:12 PM
|
I still haven't gotten around to figuring out if there is a DIY option available, but the last time I was doing a lot of wiring that involved heat shrink - I got hooked on a friends Focus-Lite. He used it to build custom wiring harnesses for cars and such, but I was mostly using it for this type of work.
Any way, the device is basically a halogen light bulb with a metal shield that reflects the heat into a more or less circular pattern. You stick your bit of heat shrink and wire over the opening...step on the foot pedal...and poof - shrunk. Had a little dimmer switch so that you could adjust the temperature to avoid burning thin heat shrink and a timer so that the light would turn off automatically once you figured out what settings you needed for your particular task. Probably was the most pleasurable manner in which I have ever dealt with heat shrink. I actually was driving 20 minutes each way just to avoid using any of the other methods mentioned above, it was that easy and reliable.
The design is pretty straight forward, so I am pretty sure that there are probably already DIY instructions for one out there someplace. If not, I plan on figuring it out before I start wiring my next layout. You can see some information about them here:
http://www.judco.net/Focus-lite.htm
Keep in mind though, you likely will not want an actual "Focus-lite". I don't remember how much he said his cost exactly, but I seem to recall it was a substantial amount (read a couple grand at least).
|
|
Country:
| Posts: 151 |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Sponsors
Guestbook
FAQ
