Homemade Zing LED Lighting

[Kasey Maxwell]

Hi all, Thought I'd share a simple LED lighting addition to my Epilog zing24, I simply got tired of poor lighting inside the engraver and I always needed to use a flashlight to see the project so I 1st thought about cold cathode lighting around the edges to light it but those are bulky and hard to position, then I remembered I had some leftover LED 12V strip lights that are you can cut to size, so I felt the underside of the rail, the side closest to you had the air assist holes but the other side is the perfect size for these lights, and best of all they are sticky back with a nice strong hold, I cut it to just over the length of the engraving area so about 26 inches and stuck it in place, the trick was making sure the wires would not come into contact with any gears and such, so I went down to the electronics store and got some 1/4" Split loom wire housing, ran the wire in it and black taped all the way down spiral to close the split and to stiffen the loom, Then I clamped it in place with a small half clamp and rested the loom on the ribbon cable so it could travel without any problems, then clamp down the other end near the back of the machine, gently put the side cover back on making sure the loom is slightly leaning on the side wall and walla.......instant lights ! I will later put a switch on it so I don't need to unplug it all the time, I would like to wire it into place within the engraver but I'd sure hate to fry something so I think I will leave it on an external power instead of searching for a 12v power inside :D, so far so good !

Enjoy !



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[Dan Hintz]

Did something similar on my ULS... it helps!

[Kasey Maxwell]

Dan, did you wire your led's into the machine or a separate plugin, I see the power box in the engraver but I'd hate to fry something from an overload, although led's are low power of 12v.

Thanks

[Dee Gallo]

Neato, Kasey, can you come over and put one on my laser?

JK, but Epilog needs to do this as a standard thing... it's dark in there! Good thinking on your part.

cheers, dee

[Kasey Maxwell]

Thank you, didn't take long at all, those led's are great, cut to any length needed :)

[Joe Kace]

I would think that they would get really dirty under there and cleaning each one would be a pain. My 2 cent suggestion is to use waterproof led strips, then you would be able to just wipe down the gel coat and the led's stay clean

[Kasey Maxwell]

yea, I thought of that, I have plenty more to try things with, I was thinking of clear tubing to put the led's in, like the hard clear plastic tubing in fish tanks.

[Dan Hintz]

Dan, did you wire your led's into the machine or a separate plugin, I see the power box in the engraver but I'd hate to fry something from an overload, although led's are low power of 12v.
I ran the cord down the back of the machine (inside), then through a grommet... separate plug, ziptied to the laser's power cord.

[Jeff Belany]

Has anyone tried LED rope lights? Not sure if they would give enough light but they would be sealed from any dirt.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[Kasey Maxwell]

i have some of those also, in a thick plastic, I noticed that they have a green colored fluid or something in them that's green, and if they are on for a while they will leak the green goo.......:) Never seen that happen before, not sure what it is........

[Keith Ward]

What a great idea! I can really relate to the flashlight to see how the job is progressing. My wife and I were going to purchase some halogen lights to mount over the laser's work area, but the LED strip mounted in laser seems like a better solution. I would love to have an option like this for my ULS..... one that does't void any warranties, anyway!

PS - I am a relative newcomer to the site (and the business too), and appreciate the experience and talent of people who post here. This forum is truly a great resource (and source of encouragement) for us...

[Kasey Maxwell]

I got those led's from ebay, here are some like it

http:// ( www ) .ebay. ( com ) /sch/sis.html?_kw=5M+16+ft+Flexible+Bright+White+LED+St rip+300+LEDs.+USA&_id=330424109060

[Keith Ward]

Thanks Kasey! I ordered a 5m reel of white LEDs + power supply from one of the sellers - we will see (no pun intended) how it turns out..
Regards,

Keith Ward
Liberty Engraving Services, LLC
Plant City, FL.

[Keith Ward]

Hi Kasey - The LED strip arrived, and I was able to install the lighting on my ULS under the lid. Routing the power cabling was a cuss, but I am pleased with the results. Not bad for an $18 Dollar investment and some labor. Thanks again for sending the info!

Keith Ward
Liberty Engraving Services, LLC
Plant City, FL

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[Rob Whitfield]

I also did something very similar last week as one of the first modifications to my chinese 40W(ish) laser cutter. I'm using 2 waterproof strips (silicone enclosed), one at the front and one at the back. Even though I haven't actually used the laser cutter yet they've made a massive difference to seeing what I'm doing with modifying things!

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Images of all my laser cutter modifications as they happen here: http://plus.google.com/photos/114914009219195219650/albums/5664053382930806001