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Halo Lettering
Hi All,
Just wondered if someone might have some advise on built up Halo lettering.The lettering is approx 1800mm tall spanning 7.5 metres with 50/60mm returns.
I plan to make them out of 3mm front face with 2mm thickness returns aluminium. I presume I then fit a clear acrylic panel which is a snug fit to the inside.obviously this is quite a weight which I plan to fit to Kingspan 50, I do not know what gap should be left between the building and the letter. So to spread the weight instead of using brass locator’s cut a 10mm piece of foamex around 50mm smaller all round the letter screw that to the building, then add the clear panel and then offer the lettering onto this and fix from the sidesof the lettering 😮
I dont know if the gap between the bottom of the lettering and the building is big enough to let the light through to create the halo. Any advise please !!!
Phil
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9 Replies
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are "you" actually fabricating these yourself?
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Hi Rob,
No getting the Ali letters laser cut then they are putting the 60mm returns on them. I guess I am only fabricating the Acrylic clear panel with the led’s. But I was wondering wether my idea of the 10mm foamex would work or if it gives me a big enough gap as its 3 floors upRegards
Phil -
im probably not digesting what you are saying 100% mate. but personally, i think you should allow the company fabricating the letters to do everything.
fine, if there is significant savings in installing the LED’s yourself, then go with that. but only if you know 100% what your doing. installing LEDs can be time consuming on a large scale.
get the fabrication company to supply the letters with the "defuser" acrylic in place. this will make sure you have a snug fit and really will save you money because your just adding to your workload and opening up a can of worms for things to go wrong..
also, tell the fabricators you will be installing LED’s "if they aren’t installing for you" because they will need to make allowance’s in how they supply/fabricate the letters to avoid shadows once the letters are illuminated.
also make sure you tell them what you are fixing too… if its a wall or metal cladding etc again, this will have an effect on how the letters are fabricated.
(don’t just assume the fabricators are mind readers) there are many things for them to take into consideration before they begin making your signage.
if you tell them everything you can, your letters should come with locators all pre-spaced to allow for your halo illumination. -
Thanks for that rob. I do have a friend who has done this type of work before and he was going to construct this himself. I just want a bit of advise on the gap between the back of the letter and the building.
I don’t really want to use brass stand offs because of the weight going into a single skin wall. So was hoping to cut a letter smaller fix that to the cladding then put the clear acrylic on top of that.I wasn’t. going to let the light out of the front face either just halo around the back of the lettering. But dont know what it would look like or does the light need to come out the front aswell. They have left it to us to decide
Any advise 🙂 🙂
Regards
Phil -
is this a cladding building phil? i.e. corragated
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Hi Rob,
Its kingspan 50 its a sandwich of steel so I need to put a plate on reverse then a spacer so when we tighten up it doesnt squeeze the panel togetherI have thought it through its just the construction of the letter itself. is the clear panel on reverse just a clear sheet?? and the gap between the back of the letter and the building to create the halo effect
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Phil
i would check the Tech on this board, even sandwiching your fixings may not be enough. I fitted a sign on to a new build with thermal cladding similar to Kingspan and it could only support 5kg per sqm2. Secondly subject to the letter stroke size 3mm acrylic may warp due to it being bonded to the ali with no expansion room.Kev
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Hi Kev,
Was going to use 6/8mm on the back maybe leave a couple of mm for expansion. But is it clear Acrylic and say 10-15mm at the back of the lettering to get the halo effectRegards
Phil -
I would use polycarbonate for the backer panel, as opposed to acrylic. The main reason is that PC is softer and can drilled/screwed/riveted with a lot less trouble and breakage is less likely. You can use a 3/4.5mm backer sheet – much lighter than 6/8mm – and even bend "tabs" where you’re going to fasten the returns to the backer.
Mount the LEDs on the backer, facing forward into the letter and allow it to reflect back. This will soften and diffuse the light by the time it exits the letters and hits the wall with a soft glow, leaving no shadows or hot spots from LEDs that may be mounted in the letter and facing backwards.
The closer you are to the wall, the tighter the halo. 1" (25mm) is common on this side of the pond, but with the size of your letters you may want to experiment a little. More flush to the wall reduces the mounting strain.
Lastly – if these are going to be halo lit only – I would recommend painted aluminum for the letters themselves. 1.5mm thick aluminum is lighter weight than 3mm (or heavier) acrylic, and will stand up better over time.
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