Prismatic Acrylic

[Trevor Watson]

Looking at cutting out the Eiffel tower out of prismatic Acrylic so it can be lit with LED's. Haven't worked with Prismatic before and after looking at the range of stuff available still left me wondering which is the best type for light reflection lol. Also power speed settings for cutting through this stuff might save me cutting off a small peice and experimenting.. Did a cardboard version of the tower that came out so well i have alot of people asking to see if this can be done in the prismatic and lit..

Thanks in advance

Trevor Watson

[Angus Hines]

Acrylite Sterling Collection S-31 or Radiant R-50 would be really kool. DOnt know speeds or settings for this stuff. Just be sure and cut the S-31 from the back 9the white side) and make sure it all face the right way for assembly.

[Scott Challoner]

Krylon Fusion has a prismatic effect paint. They have both colored paint with the sparky stuff in it and one that is just the prismatic effect that you spray over dark colors. It might be cheaper to spray that on plain old extruded acrylic and light it. I would spray it before cutting since Fusion tends to cause crazing if painted afterwards. Just a thought.

[Rodne Gold]

Normal uncoated perspex , the lisadye one (where the edges and the engraving glow , they have crazy colours) will work.
We have done a lot of work with the radiant material (prismatic) , it is problematic as melt generally gets between the covering and the surface and can sometimes give less than perfect results. Cutting etc uses the same setting as any other pex of the same thickness.
Be careful what type of pex you use , extruded becomes extremely stressed , especially with the amt of cutting you would do for this model , however it does not vary in thickness as much as cast , but any glueing or solvents cause big problems in terms of stress cracking.
LED lighting relys on the LED to be in contact or as near a polished edge as possible , Im not sure how one would light a 3d model such as this properlly.
Radiant shows its colours with movement , so one needs an external light source and to perhaps put the model on a turntable of sorts.
Lisadye would require no special lighting to be effective