The builder can see how it will work and even explain the benefits and so on to others. How has the LED industry changed over the years and what are your prototype options today April 7, 2015 Every day there is someone, somewhere who needs to put together a working model of an idea. A prototype is a great way to work out the unseen variables or bugs that need to be found before the project can go forward. When LEDs were in their infancy it was very common for people to build their own devices. This was done by hobbyists and others by doing all the work from scratch. This often meant searching for a source for all the different components, soldering it together and hoping you got you math right. Commonly, 3mm LED lights and 5mm LED lights were used in these projects.
Armed with the LED data sheet and a resistance calculator, you set to work. Along came Luxeon LEDs which are a more powerful light engine than a 3 or 5mm LED. Brighter, yes, but along with the extra brightness came new found challenges like thermal considerations. In those early days, we at The LED Light were providing some helpful assemblies to help those industrious enthusiasts with different products to cut down the time they would need to spend building something themselves. We offered LED clusters that have since evolved into a more modern version that is much improved and still a huge time saver. We still have a small amount of those on hand if you have interest. These are pre-wired LED clusters designed to operate at 12VDC.
As technology continued to improve, we have even higher brightness LED products which can be used in your prototypes. Today we offer the 3 and 4 SMD Sign Modules. It is called that because it has four Surface Mount Devices (LED Chips) and is commonly used to light up signs from the inside such as those over retail establishments. Offered in rectangular and linear form, the LED sign modules can very easily be set into your lighting designs. No more calculators and resistors to deal with. It’s all done for you. All you have to do is hook it up to a 12VDC power source. Our flexible LED strip product is also frequently used in prototypes. Because it can be cut into lengths as small as 2″ this product affords custom lengths without the custom price tag. Inappreciable quantities, we can also have our factory cut to custom lengths for you with factory soldered connections. And last but not least, our single LED lights.
Choose your colour, choose your size, choose your mounting option to be it flush or surface. Everything is pre-wired and ready to go. A project prototype is usually a “show and tells” stage of a project where There is no reason not to use products “off the shelf” to assemble a prototype. And when you’re ready for your larger production run, we will of course work with you on price as related to quantity.
By: John Cody
