Iron Man RGB Frame

by MagicManu

2.0K212

Intro: Iron Man RGB Frame

My sister is a fan of Iron Man, so I made her a custom gift: a light frame with the image of her favorite Marvel.

It is made of wood and all the cuts have been made by laser.

The light is provided by a bluetooth RGB LED strip. An application allows you to control it remotely and choose the mode (ambience, music, etc.)

Video start at 13:47 for Iron Man :

https://youtu.be/_PbXrAwpLeM?t=827

STEP 1: Creation of the Engraving File

I made all the project in a single LightBurn file with 5 layers.

As and when I need, I activate or deactivate the layers to be cut:

  1. Pour l'arrière, j'active les calques vert et noir.
  2. Pour l'avant, le noir, le bleu et le jaune.
  3. Pour la tête seule, le rouge et le bleu.

Since I can't add LightBurn files in this Instructable, I am sharing a ZIP that contains the LBRN2 files, but also AI, DXF and CG if you are using other software.

I also put the font for Iron Man.

https://www.magicmanu.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Iron_Man_LightBurn_MagicManu.zip

STEP 2: Laser Cutting

All cuts were made with a 10W laser, at a speed of 200mm/min and at 100% power in 2 passes.

To avoid burning the wood, the boards are placed on a honeycomb grid.

STEP 3: Assembly

The assembly is made with wood glue, I used dowels to re-read from front to back.

STEP 4: Window

I used a scrap of plexi for the window, I cut it with a mini circular saw and I stuck an opaque window film.

This film will make it possible not to see through transparency, and will diffuse the light better.

I glued the glass behind the front face and I also kept the small pieces of the letters to add them with glue.

STEP 5: Iron Man Outline

To give more relief and to have the true shape of Iron Man's head, I added the outline of his head which I glued with wood glue.

STEP 6: Preparation of the Bottom

I glued a white vinyl to the bottom so that the light reflects better. Then I stuck a piece of cardboard on the dowels, it will serve as a support for the led strip.

STEP 7: RGB Lighting

I glued the LED strip by making 2 turns inside, then 2 turns outside the circle.

I took care to stagger the LEDs, between the 2 towers, so that the light is more uniform.

STEP 8: Wall Bracket

I have provided 2 hooks at the back to be able to fix it. But as the wood is too thin to put screws, I add a 10mm thick MDF board.

STEP 9: Closing the Front Panel

I can now close the front side with wood glue.

To hide the LEDs around, I add an opaque white plastic film, then transparent semi-rigid plastic to protect the assembly. They are both glued with a glue gun.

STEP 10: Table Stand

As I don't know if my sister will fix it on the wall, or put it on a piece of furniture, I also made this wooden support. It is also laser cut.

Then I screwed a cleat which has 2 screws to be able to hang the frame.

STEP 11: Done!

And here it is finished! The rendering is really nice and the light is clearly visible, even in broad daylight!

STEP 12: Music Mode

There is even a music mode, which modulates the light according to the music thanks to a microphone in the control box.

My sister is delighted with her gift 😉

2 Comments

Arpan Mondal 1 year ago

This looks so cool! You can in fact integrate it with Alexa (or Google assistant) using IFTTT to change colours with voice commands. And if you can set the wake word as 'Jarvis', that would be the best part! Just an idea ;)

MagicManu 1 year ago

Indeed it would be a nice evolution to make, well seen!