Acrylic Portrait and Frame

We made a frame designed for an acrylic light project, an acrylic light pane, and a functional LED strip that can turn on and off to allow people to see something that they can’t see in person otherwise.

A computer that can run Autodesk Fusion, Adobe Illustrator, and Makerbot Print. Link: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-all-in-one-27-cr1096t-pc

A laser cutter. Link: https://omtechlaser.com/products/co2-laser-engraver-cutter-usb-8r57-ul

A Makerbot 3D printer. Link: https://www.amazon.com/MakerBot-Replicator/dp/B01LTIA9Y8

Makerbot filament. Link: https://store.goengineer.com/products/makerbot-pla-large

Pliers. Link: https://www.amazon.com/Edward-Tools-Combination-Pliers-Machined/dp/B085FWQ8WL

An LED strip. Link: https://www.amazon.com/16-4ft-Waterproof-Bedroom-Kitchen-Decoration/dp/B01D4Y7Z4M?th=1

A battery. Link: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801334098787.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt

An on and off button. Link: https://www.sparkfun.com/rocker-switch-spst-round.html

A battery connector. Link: https://guitarelectronics.com/9-volt-battery-connector/

Soldering tools. Link: https://www.amazon.com/ANBES-Soldering-Iron-Kit-Electronics/dp/B06XZ31W3M?th=1

A roll of iron. Link: https://www.amazon.com/Soldering-Welding-Thread-Solder-melting/dp/B077HS5DHD

Create a rectangle in Autodesk Fusion and set its width to 4 inches and its length to 6 inches. Then, create a spline with a pattern containing four hill-like designs. Afterwards, constrain the spline by making the guides be equal to each other and have horizontal symmetry.

Set the distance between each of the top hills to 38.1 mm, make the peak of the hills be in the middle of the hill, constrain all of the hills to each other horizontally, and have all of them be 10 mm tall. Then, have the bottom of the hills be 10 mm away from the rectangle and constrain the spline vertically to the rectangle.

Repeat most of steps 1-2 for the other 3 splines after copying and pasting them. For the left and right sides of the rectangle, constrain the splines by swapping the vertical and horizontal constraints with each other. Next, add equal tangent arcs with a radius of 10 mm connecting each spline together. Then, constrain the dots for each arc to the vertices of the rectangle. After that, extrude the sketch forward 25 mm and backward 10 mm.

Create a rectangle the size of the hole and extrude it 10 mm forwards, then, offset the left of the inner part of the frame 5 mm inwards. Afterwards, cut the offset rectangle 5 mm into the frame.

Create and constrain a shape for a button near the cut part of the frame. Make the circular part of the shape have a radius of 7.747 mm, and have the rectangular part of the shape be 0.889 mm tall and 1.524 mm wide. Make the center 8.99 mm above the rectangle and 18 mm to the right of the leftmost edge of the rectangle. Horizontally constrain the top of the rectangular part of the shape. Then, cut the shape 30 mm into the frame.

Create a rectangle that is 24 mm long and 4.5 mm wide on the back of the frame, close to the button hole, on the top wall inside the frame, and parallel to the sides of the wall. Have this rectangle be 7.5 mm away from the right wall and 2.5 mm from the bottom of the wall. Afterwards, cut the shape 10 mm into the frame.

Export the design as a .STL file and import it into Makerbot Print. Next, orient the design in the Makerbot Print file to fit the design in the printer you want to print it in. Then, export the Makerbot Print file onto a usb, turn on the Makerbot printer, plug the usb in, and 3D print the frame.

Open Adobe Illustrator and create a new file using a template. Next, create a rectangle that is 3.9 inches long and 5.9 inches wide, make sure to position the rectangle 0.1 inches away from the top left edges of the sketch. Then, turn the outline of the rectangle red and make it 0.001 inches thick. Then, make your own image or get one off of the internet for a price, save this image as a photo and place it inside of the sketch. Make sure this image is only in black and white.

Decrease the size of the image uniformly until it can fit inside of the rectangle, then, place it in the center of the rectangle. Afterwards, export the sketch as a PDF file and import it into a laser cutter. Then, insert acrylic into the laser cutter, make sure that the laser will cut into the acrylic by checking, and start the cutting process.

First, get a battery, a battery connector connected to two wires, a button, and an LED strip. Next, cut one of the wires in half, and strip all 3 wires, make sure to thin the metal to make soldering easier. Then, solder the two shorter wires onto the button, with each wire connecting to one of the two metal parts. Lastly, cut the LED strip at a point where it can fit across a short wall of the frame, and solder the two open wires onto the strip at the copper or iron slots, make sure to not accidentally destroy these slots. Then, connect the battery to the battery connector and turn on the switch to test if the strip light up.

Turn the switch off and obtain your finished frame and acrylic portrait. Next, disconnect the battery from the connector and position the whole thing inside the frame through the button shaped hole, with the button covering the hole, the connector going to the bottom of the frame, and the LED strip on the short wall of the frame closest to the button. Then, reconnect the battery and the connector, hide them under the frame, and slot the acrylic portrait inside the large rectangular hole. Lastly, test the LED strip and adjust the height of the acrylic portrait as needed until the strip properly lights up the acrylic portrait.