Make you dog light up during your night-time walks! Still on an LED high (and still have a lot of LED stuff left over from my first project), I decided that it would be helpful to make some sort of light doohickey that I can attach to my dog's collar when I walk him at night. His black fur has a nice sheen, but it sure makes it difficult to see where he is and *what* he's chewing on at night (ewww) at the not-so-well-lit dog park near my house.
The end result is a nifty mod resin clip that shines a semi-diffused LED light operated on 2 AA batteries through a switch. I used a silicone mold and clear resin to make the body (it was my first time casting!). Of course, a lot of these steps can be modified to personal preference. But the most important thing is: make sure that the simple circuit is safe and secured, and that the resin body + battery case is not too heavy! You might need to adjust what battery source and circuit you will need based on the size of your pet. Cisco (pictured below) is 90+ pounds.
MATERIALS FOR MAKING THE BODY:
(1) set of mold making rubber kit
(1) set of clear resin casting kit
(1) sandpaper at 150
(4+) mixing cups
(3+) wooden stir sticks
(1) can of mold release spray
(1) container for the mold
(1) object you want the mold of, in this case, a doggy bag bone-shaped dispenser
some foil
some coins
*optional (1) pack of air-dry molding clay if you want to make your own bone
MATERIALS FOR THE LED BATTERY PACK:
(1) 2 AA batteries
(1) battery case for 2 AA batteries (the one I got actually had the switch built in)
(1) 3.6 volt white LED (has no dimming or problems lighting up with the 3 volts from the batteries)
(2) velcro dots
a bit of electrical tape
a bit of chromatic/reflective tape
(1) dorky name tag clip
(1) strong cement glue or super clue
TOOLS:
-goggles
-rubber gloves
-soldering iron
-air dusting can spray
The end result is a nifty mod resin clip that shines a semi-diffused LED light operated on 2 AA batteries through a switch. I used a silicone mold and clear resin to make the body (it was my first time casting!). Of course, a lot of these steps can be modified to personal preference. But the most important thing is: make sure that the simple circuit is safe and secured, and that the resin body + battery case is not too heavy! You might need to adjust what battery source and circuit you will need based on the size of your pet. Cisco (pictured below) is 90+ pounds.
MATERIALS FOR MAKING THE BODY:
(1) set of mold making rubber kit
(1) set of clear resin casting kit
(1) sandpaper at 150
(4+) mixing cups
(3+) wooden stir sticks
(1) can of mold release spray
(1) container for the mold
(1) object you want the mold of, in this case, a doggy bag bone-shaped dispenser
some foil
some coins
*optional (1) pack of air-dry molding clay if you want to make your own bone
MATERIALS FOR THE LED BATTERY PACK:
(1) 2 AA batteries
(1) battery case for 2 AA batteries (the one I got actually had the switch built in)
(1) 3.6 volt white LED (has no dimming or problems lighting up with the 3 volts from the batteries)
(2) velcro dots
a bit of electrical tape
a bit of chromatic/reflective tape
(1) dorky name tag clip
(1) strong cement glue or super clue
TOOLS:
-goggles
-rubber gloves
-soldering iron
-air dusting can spray
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Signing UpStep 1: Prepping the Battery Case
The battery case I got actually had the switch build on the one of the larger sides. Naturally, that side is the side that will be facing outside of the resin body.
I trimmed the LED leads to about 1/4" long and spread them away from each other a bit. I also trimmed the battery case wires so that they're the right length to have the LED light sit in the center. I twisted the positive red wire to the positive smaller-headed LED lead and the black negative wire to the larger-headed LED lead. I'm not soldering until I test it for a while. The white 3.6 volt LED light works does light up and has no dimming problems with the 2x1.5 volts of battery juice going through it for 15 minutes. Then I soldered the LED leads to their counterpart wires after seeing that everything was wired correctly.
I covered the wires and the soldering areas with electric tape as insulation. Then I taped down the wire to the case so that the LED sits right smack in the center. I painted the sides of the battery pack white and I covered the LED side with some reflective duct tape. (In hopes that the light will diffuse and reflect a lot more when it's fitted inside the Glow Bone resin body...but I don't think I know enough about light refraction and reflection to be honest.)
I trimmed the LED leads to about 1/4" long and spread them away from each other a bit. I also trimmed the battery case wires so that they're the right length to have the LED light sit in the center. I twisted the positive red wire to the positive smaller-headed LED lead and the black negative wire to the larger-headed LED lead. I'm not soldering until I test it for a while. The white 3.6 volt LED light works does light up and has no dimming problems with the 2x1.5 volts of battery juice going through it for 15 minutes. Then I soldered the LED leads to their counterpart wires after seeing that everything was wired correctly.
I covered the wires and the soldering areas with electric tape as insulation. Then I taped down the wire to the case so that the LED sits right smack in the center. I painted the sides of the battery pack white and I covered the LED side with some reflective duct tape. (In hopes that the light will diffuse and reflect a lot more when it's fitted inside the Glow Bone resin body...but I don't think I know enough about light refraction and reflection to be honest.)
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Currently I have a cream colored chow-chow who is much more loyal and much easier to see in the night, but still...on a dark night you can't see your own hand in front of your face. Sandy wears a red spherical blinkie that I got for free in a hardware store promotion. It has a small metal snap ring to attach to her collar. The blinkie uses two LR44 type batteries. With these "hearing aid" batteries, the whole unit is very light weight; I haven't worried about bouncing at all. The weakest spot on mine is the switch.
I really like the idea of casting my own shape. I am learning so much about what can be done if you walk the right aisles of the hobby stores. If you want to add a flashing circuit to yours, dan posted Instructables for a flashing bicycle LED light and a blobtronics LED circuit. If you could incorporate the three Instructables together, you could have a great concept.
I don't think I would use a white LED unless it flashed. A white light looks like too many other light sources. Anything flashing would really help, and another color would help set your dog apart from someone with a flashlight. I'm experimenting with blue LEDs.