"Neon" Sign

You'll need some EL wire, and EL wire inverter, and two AA batteries. You'll also need super glue and masking tape from the maker-e closet and a piece of acrylic

The tools needed for this projects are Inkscape and the laser cutter.

Open Inkscape or download it here. Inkscape is also available on the computers in the maker-e

If you've never used inkscape before, I highly recommend watching this short video to learn the basics before you begin this tutorial

Type out some text or find an image you'd like to use. The image can be any size!

EL wire can't do sharp corners or tight bends, so try to pick something simple with rounded edges!

Hit Shift + Alt + b to open the trace bitmap menu.

Play around with the threshold slider until the outline looks good.

Hit apply at the bottom, and Inkscape will generate a vector graphic of the image.

Select the new graphic and drag it off to the side. Delete the original image.

Use Shift + Ctrl + F to open the fill and stroke menu. Remove the fill. Switch to the stroke menu and add a stroke.

Outsetting the design will create the outline for the sign

Go to edit>preferences>behavior>steps and change the outset/inset to 0.5 inches

Select the design and use ctrl + D to duplicate the design

Press ctrl + ) to outset the design. Inkscape will outset the duplicated design.

Change the stroke color of the outline and check that the opacity is set to 100%

If your outsetted design ends up like image #1, you'll need to do some more work in Inkscape.

This happens with text and images that already had a outline!

Select your outline and double click to use the node editor tool.

Anywhere there are nodes in the middle of the outline select and delete them.

Select your original design. If it looks like image #3, you'll need to repeat the above step.

Use the shift key to select the outline and design. Click the lock icon at the top of the page- this will allow you to scale the width and height proportionally. Change the width/height to the desired size.

The sign should be at least 8-10" wide or tall. However, it can't be larger than 24" x 22" or it won't fit on the laser cutter

Go to preferences>behavior>steps and change the inset/outset to 3 mm.

Use ctrl + d to duplicate the design. Click ctrl + ( to inset the duplicated part.

Select both designs and use ctrl + - to subtract the paths. It should now look like image #2

You'll need to add holes for the wire to feed through.

Create a hole by using the circle tool on the side bar. Click and drag to create a circle.

Hit the cursor icon on the side bar to go back to the selector tool. Make sure the diameter of the circle is 4 mm. Change the stroke color of the hole to a new color.

Use copy & paste to add a hole anywhere you want the wire to end and/or re-appear

I added hole at one corner of the star where the wire will start and end

Save your sign as an svg to your public network folder or email it to yourself. Find the sign file and open it in Lightburn on the laser cutting laptop

Check the order of the cut layers. The design should be first, followed by the holes, then the outline. Change to mode on the design layer to fill.

Change the cut settings so that the top layer is engraved and the other two are cut.

Grab a piece of acrylic located near the laser cutter.

If you use black acrylic, you may need to decrease the cut speed

Make sure to adjust the bed height properly, or else the laser won't cut through all the way!

Cut out the acrylic sign

Peel the paper off of the acrylic.

Wipe down the acrylic with rubbing alcohol or water

Thread the black end of the wire through the hole to the back of the sign.

Make a small line of glue where the wire will go. Lay the wire down on top of the glue. Take a small piece of tape and tape the wire down over the glue. Repeat this for the rest of the sign.

Any extra wire can be taped to the back of the sign

Wait a few minutes for the glue to dry

Carefully peel the tape off. It'll take up to 24 hours for the glue to fully cure, but you can keep working on your sign.

Connect the wire to the inverter using the connector.

Add the batteries to the inverter

Turn the sign on using the button on the inverter!

The EL wire isn't very bright, so you may have to turn a light off to see it well