Having a go at printing in some ARGB LED chips using clear PETG, has anyone here tried doing this before, if so what were the results like, was it any good?
1 Like
This is an interesting approach and I look forward to seeing your results.
I do quite a bit of embedding in my prints, mostly for adding weight ballast like ball bearings or lead, and sometimes nuts and occasionally magnets in my designs. However, I wouldn’t have thought to use LEDs, but I can see the advantages.
Here are some challenges I would expect to encounter, along with a suggestion:
- The storage temperature of LED technology is typically a maximum of 100°C, so there is a risk of damaging the LED from the heat of the nozzle. While one exposure might not destroy the LED, it could shorten its lifespan. I would consider using something designed for automotive applications—Cree and Osram come to mind.
- An approach I might have considered first would be to create a part in CAD with the necessary cavity, then split the part along a seam when it gets to the slicer, and use acrylic cement to glue it back together. I’ve done this successfully with hardware like magnets of odd shapes.
1 Like
Yes I’ve done much the same with imbedded nuts and magnets in prints before not use a ballast yet, sort of got the idea to try after I made a part for a friend and he suggested it would be cool to have a light in it. He’s a unicorn puke nut, you should see his pc😂.
To answer your points:
- The suggestion of a specific LED might have to be taken into account if things don’t go to plan, at the moment I’m using a led chip that I have a few of from other projects so it’s kind of a send it and see what happens at the moment.
I have taken into consideration the heat from the nozzle and have designed the part so that the LED is 0.5mm below the bridge above it, I have also designed the part in a way that the air from the cooling fan should duct around the LED and out of the lower of the part through the wiring channel. I have also increased the fan speed for bringing and overhangs to try and mitigate some of the heat, the fan hardly gets moving on any of the other overhangs on the part as they are tiny.
- I had thought about doing this but this part is knurled around the outside and I imagine it would be hard to get it aligned perfectly, this is what pushed me towards my current approach.
I’m currently at work while it prints, I will finish the wiring when I get back and post an update.
All this being said it’s been a good project for getting into using fusion after getting back into designing using tinkercad first, I mean tinkercad is grate but it’s certainly a challenge to overcome its shortcomings which in fusion at literally just a button click and not 3 hours designing a custom part just to fillet a part😅
The print is finished and I have tested it and everything is working as it should, interfacing with ARGB on the pc and is fully controllable with a full assortment of unicorn puke. The only thing that didn’t work is pulse and gradient between two colours but I assume this is because it’s only the one LED and the effects run across a few LEDs.
I did a couple of test prints after stopping after the led was fully covered and the next cavity above had started to print. I peeled the layers covering the LED back so that I could check to see if the LED was damaged by the nozzle or temperature from the PETG going over it but couldn’t find any evidence of any. I used the same LED for each test print so it’s been printed over around five times in the picture below and still works perfectly.
2 Likes
Thanks for sharing the fruits of your efforts. 
I like this concept and it opens up a whole world of possibilities. Nothing as exotic as multicolor ARGB for me but nevertheless, I see endless task lighting and accent lighting possibilities.