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Ian Johnson
11-28-2016, 5:50 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tno6aV8byLo

This person is mimicing a nixie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixie_tube) tube by edge lighting individual sheets in a stack. Each sheet is etched with a numeral in the style of the stacked number-shaped cathodes in a nixie tube. I was thinking a cool next step would be to scale it down, put it upside down into a glass jar, and fill with a clear epoxy that has the same index of refraction as the acrylic. Would that succeed in making the individual sheets and their edges disappear? I was thinking that it might allow the light of one sheet to spread to another more easily, but that could be mitigated by shining the LEDs through deeper channels to restrict their angle of view.

Kev Williams
11-28-2016, 7:27 PM
Geez, to have enough free time... ;)

Merritt Conner
11-28-2016, 9:30 PM
Now that is way cool, very clever. It would be cool to see those start showing up as a retro trend. Hmmm, has got me thinking, save three panels and make it a seven segment display.

Dan Hollis
12-04-2016, 9:36 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tno6aV8byLo

This person is mimicing a nixie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixie_tube) tube by edge lighting individual sheets in a stack. Each sheet is etched with a numeral in the style of the stacked number-shaped cathodes in a nixie tube. I was thinking a cool next step would be to scale it down, put it upside down into a glass jar, and fill with a clear epoxy that has the same index of refraction as the acrylic. Would that succeed in making the individual sheets and their edges disappear? I was thinking that it might allow the light of one sheet to spread to another more easily, but that could be mitigated by shining the LEDs through deeper channels to restrict their angle of view.

i've already tried this. you won't get it perfect, there will always be an interface so you'll always see an edge. it also pretty much makes the etching disappear.