DIY Light Transmitting Concrete (+ HD Video)

Step 4 Placing The Fibers

 Stick the small fiberoptics you cut short (in the last step) into the polymer clay. This may take awhile...but it's kinda fun!

I used pliers. If you use them,too, be mindful not to crush the fibers...they are quite fragile, even though they are plastic.

Comments

[12beav]

(removed by author or community request)

[badpanda]

Glass fiber optics would not be too fragile for this application, but they aren't likely glass fiber optic because it is too expensive for use in a toy that doesn't actually need to carry any kind of data, and for a toy like this the attenuation would not be a critical factor... attenuation is a measurement of how well the fiber transmits light. This is most likely POF or Plastic Optical Fiber, not the common silica based type used in telecommunications applications which is glass, and just about as flexible as the POF. (I worked for Lucent doing Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing stuff for a few years, Google it :)

[josephlebold]

I must say out of the hundreds of decorative fiber optic devices I have never seen glass fibers used. They would be too fragile.

[sillyzombie666]

real fiber optic cables use glass fibers

[josephlebold]

yeah I know, they use fake fiber optics in the fiber optic christmas trees and anything one can purchase at a store with fiber optics.

[trainables]

Don't they make special tools for mounting hair in prosthetic appliances?

Or maybe you could build a rig out of plastic; make a top and bottom piece with evenly spaced holes in them and thread the fiber optic through both, and then mount the rig inside a mold and pour the concrete.  Maybe stretch clingfilm over the bottom piece before threading through the fiber.  Don't know if it would work, but it could make larger scale production easier.

[Subconscionaut]

the tool I've used for punching hair most into prosthetics is essentially a medium sized sewing needle, with the point glued into a dowel or crimped into a handle, with the thread loop cut to become a "pusher"
with a single longer tine and a small bifurcation to push the hair into place. we were punching hair into silicone or foam latex, though.
maybe if you used painter's canvas and either laid a dot pattern out or just punched the little fellas through how ever maybe a little UMR or spray release so the canvas doesn't bond to the cement.

awesome Ible, nepheron!

[drakesword]

how about this.

A layer of wax
A piece of screen raised quarter of an inch above that
Fill every hole with 1 strand
pour wax until it covers the screen
and finally cement

[Subconscionaut]

sounds like it would work to me!
great idea, drakesword!
y'know it occurred to me.... those little polywhisker light guys, if you attached them to LEDs (or didn't trim them off the light source) and made a quicky mold of an inflatable ball, then cast them in as a quarter or half dome ( 1 1/2" walled hollow)
you'd have a very pleasing nightlght or sconce, i could even see using the pumpkin-stencil idea in conjunction with your fiber segregation screen idea to create awesome picture lights...
seems like it would make it easy to do ben day dots & halftone patterns too!

I'm going to try it.

[drakesword]

Some pictures so far

First picture is a typical flagstone. Some are perfect squares. I don't like that!
Imperfection is cooler

Second picture is the box.

There is a single piece in it which can be placed and moved depending on what shape I want.

I want each stepping stone to look unique so i will have to make the dividers movable

The third is of  a light on the optic fibers held together with my hand (the uv light shows up so bright on camera!)

[drakesword]

i have all of the materials to make the wooden jig. My dimensions shall be about 2ft x 1ft x 3in. I will post results when I have them.