Step 6: Make LED frames

Most LEDs have a very narrow focus, meaning they only point light in a narrow beam. Your IR LEDs need to be mounted in a frame so that they point directly into the sides of the acrylic.

I picked up a C channel piece of aluminum at Home Depot for a few bucks. It was long enough to cover boths of the sides where I will be placing my LEDs. I measured and cut it into 2 pieces each 30" long.



Then I marked out where the lights will be with a red Sharpie. I evenly spaced them along the 30" to get the best coverage of light.



After marking where the lights will be I drilled through the aluminum with a drill press. I used a 1/4" drill bit so that I could use these handy little LED mounts I found at Radio Shack. The LED snaps into the mount, then just press the mounted light through the drilled hole.