2 Attachment(s)
Looking for design opinion.
So awhile back i was on Diyma and i saw this amp rack build and got my own ideas. https://www.diymobileaudio.com/threa....118147/page-7
Here are some pics of his amp rack.
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/attac...f6cf5bf5fe532d
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/attac...f6cf5bf5fe532d
https://www.caraudiojunkies.com/atta...id=15066&stc=1https://www.caraudiojunkies.com/atta...id=15067&stc=1
Now i got really inspired and wanted to do so something like it of my own. I've spent the last few weeks tinkering with LibreCad and designing my amp rack. The idea is to have everything be black gloss acrylic except what is inside the blue/purple/white lines. That will be cut out and have frosted acrylic in it. Then i am going to use some Neopixel lights to make an effect like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=R9wbYRV1AEM
My design below:
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/attac...f6cf5bf5fe532d
So It will look like light goes into the Dist block. Into the amps, changes color while under the amp and then exits the ground in a different color. Essentially looking like the amp "used" the power and is exiting. Should be a cool effect. However, i want a little bit more.
I want to make the whole thing look like a circuit board that is "alive" so to speak. I was first going to do this by using a special type of acrylic. It has a Core and a Top layer. The core is white/clear and the top layer is black. So when it gets engraved. The white shows and the black around it stays glossy, and then i was going to put lights under the whole rack that change colors so it had like a cool rainbow effect around a circuit board type design. However, the price was just obnoxious. Something like $700 for 2 pieces of 15" x 31 acrylic. Wasn't realistic at all.
So plan B. I reduced the amount of engraving that was going to be done by 90% and I'm switching to having two separate types of acrylic. First the black gloss acrylic on the outside of the blue/purple/white lines. The inside lines be frosted acrylic with the "chasing/trailing" led effect. However, I still want that "Alive" circuit board effect. So i am thinking about doing something along the lines of the below pics. Grey is engraved. Blue would be Acylic with holes for wires to pass through. The grey would be whitish grey when engraved. I was thinking of running a line of color changing leds on the inner sides of the amp rack and hope it lights up the greyish white in color to get the same kind of alive effect.
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/attac...f6cf5bf5fe532d
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/attac...f6cf5bf5fe532d
However, Even just a little bit of engraving is expensive. The board design in the first pic with just black gloss acrylic and frosted acrylic is around the $160 mark. With the design above. Its easily double that, if not more.
So my question is this. Do you guys think plan B will work? Do you think its worth it to have the engraving or is the "clean" design better to you? I was also thinking about having the same engraved design but instead of engraving. Having it made out of some reflective vinyl. Like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVOk...ature=emb_logo
Re: Looking for design opinion.
I've considered an amp rack like you want. I was thinking of either taking a piece of frosted acrylic, painting it black, then either engraving or laser cutting the paint away to expose the frosted lines. Another option would be to screen print the black negative over some acrylic in such a way that the circuit lines would be masked off. Once the screen was removed, the acrylic would be black except for the lines.
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Pretty cool. Look forward to seeing where this goes...
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DavidRam
Pretty cool. Look forward to seeing where this goes...
Still playing with ideas.
Attachment 15074
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jscoyne2
You've got me thinking too... Acrylic panel, painted black, and then drill the holes which allow the light in... Obviously, with access to a cnc, the acrylic could be etched with any pattern you want...
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Idea is very nice/neat. But some circuit traces (point to point connections) don't make sense. Maybe ask a nearby friend/relative (technician or engineer type) to review while drawing/redrawing in on your screen.
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
diy.phil
Idea is very nice/neat. But some circuit traces (point to point connections) don't make sense. Maybe ask a nearby friend/relative (technician or engineer type) to review while drawing/redrawing in on your screen.
its like 80% accurate circuit design. 20% highlighting the acrylic parts with some artsy style.
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Ooh modern one with smt parts
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Euphonic
Not quite but thats COOL!
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BigAl205
I've considered an amp rack like you want. I was thinking of either taking a piece of frosted acrylic, painting it black, then either engraving or laser cutting the paint away to expose the frosted lines. Another option would be to screen print the black negative over some acrylic in such a way that the circuit lines would be masked off. Once the screen was removed, the acrylic would be black except for the lines.
There is a material that is acrylic with a top layer of a different color.
https://www.ponoko.com/materials/bla...-color-acrylic
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BigAl205
I've considered an amp rack like you want. I was thinking of either taking a piece of frosted acrylic, painting it black, then either engraving or laser cutting the paint away to expose the frosted lines. Another option would be to screen print the black negative over some acrylic in such a way that the circuit lines would be masked off. Once the screen was removed, the acrylic would be black except for the lines.
I'd never (to my knowledge) see it done this way and was thinking the same thing.
I got the Music in Motion hexagon router Template and was going to work that in as well. I may still.
I wonder if you could use say countertop laminate and adhere it to acrylic then router it out?
Re: Looking for design opinion.
Re: Looking for design opinion.
That's a really nice setup. It looks very neat as well. It is no wonder I like it, considering I've considered an amp rack like the one you want. An option I was thinking of is either taking a piece of frosted acrylic and painting it black so that I can later engrave to expose the frosted lines. The second option would be to screen print the black negative over some acrylic so that the circuit lines would be masked off.
