DIY Glowing mouse pad

A Glowing mouse pad..

Step 1 Materials Needed

This informations and pictures belongs to an respective owner (Sent by my co-forum mate through email)

materials:
1. 10mm thick clear acrylic
2. 4pcs 3v 5mm blue led light
3. 4pcs 47ohms resistor
4. spare usb cable
5. heatshrinks
6. electrical tape
7. vinyl sticker
8. pencil
9. ruler
10. polishing compound

tools:
1. dremel with
1.a. cutting disk
1.b. drillbit attachement
1.c. polisher
2. files
3. soldering gun


NOTE: always wear an eyeglass for protection.

the pad works well with an optical mice

Comments

[grampafish]

i am making a glowing laptop pad

[place name here-]

Thanks I decided to make one and here are the pics www.instructables.com/id/my-mouse-pad/ P.S. nice ible

[Kiteman]

This informations and pictures belongs to an respective owner (I just saw it in my forum that i joined)

In that case, you need to provide a link to the source, and get permission to publish it.

Otherwise, this should have been published as a forum thread.

[xnipher]

I already ask the permission to the owner.... instruction sent through email by my co-forum mate as a html...

[Kiteman]

In that case, you should have a link to the original website. I still think this should be a forum thread - that is the usual place to post things that you have found on the web.

[tech-king]

was the link metku.net? because he made somthing similar but with fans.

[japala]

Hehe, happened to end up here by Stumble. Anyways, thanks to tech-king for remembering me. The original Glowpad was invented way back in 2001 . The fan version was a later version.

http://metku.net/index.html?path=mods/glowpad/index_eng

[xnipher]

no...it's from the authors... and he told me that he think that in some moment during his boring timess... and finally, he come up with this...

[gmjhowe]

It would of been something if you had actually made it yourself. Even though its not your idea, if you had made it, and took the pictures, i was ready to rate and everything.

[xnipher]

sorry i'm not that neat to work... so better to copy the original instuctions and pictures that was sent to me...

[LennyTheDub]

What if they are blinking? I installed some LED's inside the centre console of my truck with a fridge style switch. Everything worked fine for a while, but then they started blinking and then stopped.

I asked the guy in my local electronics place what resistors I should use for a 12-14v supply and hooked everything up according with wiring instructions I found on here, so I think I had everything right.

Anyway, what causes them to blink?

[KT Gadget]

If it was a constant blinking with the same on and off timing in between blinks, then those were made to blink. But if it was random blinking, then that means the LEDs were receiving a load that they were not rated for, such as too much current or too much voltage and they died faster.

[fr05ty911]

it's not clear acrylic it's opaque acrylic

[Vick Jr]

Would optical plastic work? I have a clipboard made of 10mm thich green optical plastic, but it's not wide enough to make a one-piece mouse pad from. i was thinking of cutting it into strips, then using the strips to go around the perimeter, with the lights in the middle, and a layer of metal on top to keep the pad from sinking in. I may just have a teflot-coated metal plate if I can find it.

[n0ukf]

or translucent.

[fr05ty911]

could you plz send me the template to cut out for mine my email is [e-mail]

[matstermind]

could you post the file for the shape? thanks.

[=SMART=]

God Dammit nobody within 100 miles sells plexiglass!!!!! and my parents wont let me order online!!! araaarrrrrrrrrrhhhh

[grampafish]

i found 10 mm plexi in an old DEAD lcd monitor

[MattLikesMusic]

are you kidding me? Do you live near a home depo or lows? they have like 90 different choices! lol

[=SMART=]

No , Im in uk, and B&Q dont sell it B&Q is like uk version of home depo or lows

[corey_caffeine]

US:1 UK:0


lol jk

[Daemonikk]

In Australia perspex is the usual name, maybe you could try that?

[pyro-reaper]

B&Q do sell it. i got some from my local B&Q but if i remember correctly they didnt call it plexiglass. just look round i found my sheets in a completly different place to where i thought it would be. if not have you tried focus or something like that?

[MattLikesMusic]

oh ok. well keep searching and hope ya find some

[reverser514]

two things- is there such thing as a script that can turn off a certain usb port? in this case the port that the pad is plugged into? where did you get the graphic to lay ontop of the pad? the image shown in the introduction looks like carbon fiber, but i can't find the image anywhere!!!!

[mr.dr.prof.joel]

how about red leds

[girrrrrrr2]

or do red Leds Blue Leds and yellow/green Leds and then have a switch controlling each set of them... so you can be like.... i am feeling purple today... *flip flip*...

[blakeredfield]

I was thinking red LEDs also - easier on the eyes, during night time gaming (is there any other type?) Your eyes dont dilate as much as they do with other frequencies of light, thats why they use red lights in telescope observatories, where you dont want your eye dilating any more than it has to.

[xnipher]

any led will do... :D

[mr.dr.prof.joel]

is there such thing as a blacklight led

[Mighty Mackinac]

radioshack sells ultaviolet leds, but there aren't any blacklight led's that i know...someone please check that for me...

[girrrrrrr2]

wouldnt UV LEDs and blacklight LEDs be the same thing? HA i will now start selling one as the other and make money that way!

[Mighty Mackinac]

i made a mistake...my bad...

[girrrrrrr2]

No big deal. but at ace hardware they sell a scorpion flashlight for at most 20 bucks and it has many of those leds... and it has a handy case that you can use for something else if you so please (that is the only way i know that they are the same thing)

[Mighty Mackinac]

ok Guys! im done! I ran into some more problems along the way... I had to replace two of the blue leds with one UV led...it turns out that there are "blacklight" leds...they are the ultraviolet ones...but the two blues broke... i actually used electrical tape and things flew together...made a huge difference... i have a battery power dremel (it was cheap and i wanted one right then...turns out walmart had a corded one for less...made me mad...)...battery life was horrible...about 15 min...after three hours of charging... also...instead of cutting into the acrylic (taking way too long)...i drilled holes into the back and glued the leds there...personally...it looks better...the glow is directed to the front... And instead of putting a switch and the hub on the mousepad...im going to build a separate box with those in it...just gonna make it an in-line switch with the usb running through it... If you guys have any questions, message me...

[Mighty Mackinac]

Hai guys! i just wanted to say that im currently working on this...all i have to do is cut out the acrylic and put the pieces together... Just a couple of things i ran into so-far: If you are running this off a Laptop, you will need to either use less LED's or put them in parallel, instead of series as the instructions say...Laptop's don't supply enough power to usbs, but desktops work fine either way... DON'T USE DUCT TAPE! it is a pain in the rear to get off if you made a mistake... Also, when he said 10 mm acrylic he means it...i couldn't find it anywhere...lowes and home depot were sold out, but you can sandwich two layers of 5 mm (.220 in) acrylic together and cut out the slots for the led's and cable on both, trapping them in, and making it look better... I also tried to put a usb hub in it...but that means having thicker acrylic... I also but a switch into the circuit to turn off the lights for when i go to bed... I will post picks when i am done... And if anyone wants to buy one, I am willing to sell...but it will be a little while before i perfect my construction methods...just contact me about it... Thanks for making such a great instructable!

[Mighty Mackinac]

P.S. for sandwiching two slabs together i recommend a glue called E-6000! it works wonders! it dries clear and even adds a little bit of accent to the sandwich of acrylic...

[clay the arc]

Question: On the USB Cable connection, how does the current work? I'm assuming you have 4 splits off each of the USB wires used, but asking for clarification.

[Mighty Mackinac]

you have connect the leds and resistors in series and then connect the positive lead to the red wire and the negative lead to the black wire...is that the answer you were looking for?