Hot Glue LED Diffusion

Step 5 Final thoughts

So, this was a fun way to blow an hour. I made a pile of interestingly shaped LED bulbs, and in fact I had an idea for my next instructable that will follow soon.

I'm really not sure what I'm going to do with these. I've been making sun jars left and right, so I might see what one of them looks like in the jar, without frosting the glass. I'm also thinking I might get a string of LED christmas lights this winter and make individual bulbs for each light.

It might also be fun to make some sort of an injection mold and make interesting shapes for the bulbs that way. I'm not really sure how that would work, especially the part about making sure the glue doesn't stick to the mold. If anyone has any thoughts on the matter, I'd love to hear them.

Please leave a comment, positive or negative, and also please rate this instructable. I'd really like to know what you all think about this instructable, my writing style, the idea itself, etc. It's hard to tell what people think when you have 2800 views and only 8 comments, like on my first instructable. I'd also like to see pictures of any interesting glue sculptured LEDs you make yourselves.

Most importantly, thanks for looking, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Remember, anyone who posts pictures of their own hot glue diffused LED project in the comments gets a DIY patch!

Comments

[smiddenkidden]

what about using resin molds with clear silicone rather than hot glue? i've made quite a few molds for use in my soap making. normally you'd make a resin mold then use that to make a silicone one, so it would be like making silicone molds over and over, each with an led in it. the silicone is going to be sturdier than the hot glue, too. hot glue tends to get brittle over time, and has a tendency to break bond with non porous surfaces when handled much. but, that can be used to your advantage, you can use a nonstick surface to help manipulate the hot glue into the shape you want, rather like when you're working with molten glass. you could also use other techniques used in glass (lampwork) bead making, like making your base shape and using another color of glue, or glue with glitter in it to add patterns of spirals or dots, etc. i'd think you can take loose glitter and sprinkle it on before the glue dries....and there are a lot of different kinds of glitter, from super fine to translucent to shapes. you could do some really fun things using large LEDs and lots of glue...make flame or flower shapes, etc. could be really fun!

[registered99]

What I did once was buy some of those silicone baking trays, and just pour resin straight into those. You can get some interesting shapes and come out with an easy-to-remove resin LED mold.

[depotdevoid]

Hmmm, I hadn't thought about this instructable in a while . . . thanks smiddenkidden, I think I may just have to revisit the idea of making molds!

[aspittal]

I've been trying to think about how to add the finishing touches to a project for my daughter. I googled leds and hot glue and this came up. It is perfect for what I was thinking. Makes my idea so much better now that I've seen it. Thanks for taking the time to write this up!

[depotdevoid]

Fantastic, I'm happy to hear I helped out! Please post some pictures of your project, I'd love to see what you did with it!

[magiccowy]

thanks heaps this helped alot =) im making the glowing cube instructable and didnt want to fill it with hot glue

[depotdevoid]

Glad I could help magiccowy!  Which instructable are you doing?

[magiccowy]

alexanders led cube

[depotdevoid]

Sweet, I'd like to see pictures when you're done.

[nein166]

This is a great Instructable
Have you tried a RGB or multiple LEDs clustered into a BIG bulb?

[depotdevoid]

Oh, I absolutely have!  Unfortunately, I accidentally burned out one of the LEDs in my BIG RGB bulb (it was about 1 1/2" across) before I took any pictures.  You can see a smaller version at this instructable that I did a while back.

[tensiga]

about the glue not sticking to the mold after months of playing with hot glue i found out it comes of whatever u stick it on pretty easily if u pour some water on it

[depotdevoid]

Good to know. I've never gotten around to trying molds myself. Do you have any pictures of your work?

[nert]

"especially the part about making sure the glue doesn't stick to the mold" I was thinking PVA, but the warm temp mike make ituseless. How about a teflon spray like Elmers 'Dry Slide'

[a.cowen]

You could use something like vaseline to coat the outside of the mould. Or if it does stick use a hot knife to cut it out, as the glue will melt again? Perhaps.

[websurfer1232]

I found this.
Fired up the glue gun.
Made this.
http://i43.tinypic.com/25ow96v.jpg

[depotdevoid]

Nice pic, that really looks like fire!

[stonechild]

I was looking for a way to encase LEDs with a glue gun. I want to build an 8 x 8 LED cube. One that I saw had the LEDs encapsulaled with glue and it looked pretty good. Now I know how to do it. Now to look to see if you've reported on molding the glue which I'd like to do. Thanks for a perfect instrcuctable.

[depotdevoid]

Thanks for the comment stonechild, I'm always happy to hear my instructables have been helpful. Unfortunately, I never got around to actually using molds with the glue, but if YOU do, please put it in an instructable! I'd like to see what your cube looks like when it's done, too.

[Kaze]

This is my favorite new instructable! Having the various finished photos at the end is perfect and really shows how cool of an idea this really is. Great length, easy to follow, nice photographs. Keep the guides coming!

[depotdevoid]

Thanks for the feedback Kaze, I hope you get some good use out of this instructable!

[j0nip]

brilliant. I am going to make a glowy fire type thing using this. thank you.

[depotdevoid]

Great, I'm glad you liked it! Post a picture when you're done!

[robotmastern]

you could try exparamenting with lost wax casting ( im not shure of the melting points of glue vs. wax but aslong as wax is less it will work) this procces is not reproducable however it can make more elaborate designs

[Maxence]

Nice project, I love it. Just a question: I don't have a hot glue gun, so, would it work with wax? I used to drop melted wax in a glass of water when I was younger, and it made pretty cool shapes, so, that reminded me of this when I saw the project and made me wonder if this would do it too.

[depotdevoid]

I suspect wax would work, but it's a lot less translucent than hot glue so you might have a problem there. Hot glue guns are actually really cheap, you can buy them from craft stores for around 8-15 dollars. In fact, I saw one at my local goodwill the other day for 2 bucks, so you might check that sort of place. If you do end up doing some of these, post a picture! I'd love to see the results!

[capnmckay]

Now, I may just be being naive, but if the LED's get really hot(and I don't know if they do or not, never having worked with LED's) Won't the glue melt?

[depotdevoid]

Actually, most LEDs of this sort don't put off much waste heat. That's one reason why LEDs are so efficient compared to conventional light bulbs. Luxeon or CREE LEDs do put off a bunch of heat, but they'd be too bright (and too expensive) for this application anyway.

[marianok]

Great idea, thanks for sharing it

[Aureliano]

I really enjoyed your instructable and the style of writing! Very good humor :)

[T2000]

I've been looking for this kind of stuff for my recent project.Thanks

[enlighted]

you can get interesting effects with other types of glue sticks, too - they come in many colors, and some even have glitter embedded in them.

[depotdevoid]

I didn't know they came in different colors, I only saw clear at the craft store I go to. It's not a very good craft store, but the nice one shut down a couple of years ago.

[enlighted]

oh, you would not believe the variety available online!
for example, http://www.glu-stix.com

[depotdevoid]

Wow, I had no idea. Those are neat, now I just need to think up an excuse to buy some.

[Dorilae]

I love Love LOVE them! I wanna make LED stuff... I need some motivation.

[andregiant]

I had tried with playdough...(covering up the bulb) for my photography effects..too!, but LED beam is so.. useful for acting like a studio light for miniature shoot..

[fastboy]

very nice idea! I love instructables like this, those light bulb moments (or LED) where you really start to see things in a different light. Look froward to seeing some more enlightening ideas. I'm so sorry

[noahh]

Ugh. Wow. Its going to take some time to recover from that one.

[depotdevoid]

I'm sorry too.