nOOds can not be cut. Period. But that’s why this is tips and tricks! Let’s do shenanigans…
You can simulate a shorter length by stuffing part of the nOOd behind an opaque base or end piece where it can’t be seen.
Multiple shorter lengths can be simulated by covering sections of a single nOOd with opaque black heat-shrink tubing.
You can create a dotted line effect using punched or laser-cut fabric or leather, folded over the nOOd and stitched flat.
Long nOOds can be simulated by connecting in series (see “Electrical Properties” page). This may result in an unlit gap. You can stagger the nOOds side-by-side near the ends, eliminating the gap but creating a slight discontinuity, or could try pinching the ends back on itself.
If planning designs using Adobe Illustrator, and if you want to get maximum use of each nOOd (the full length, not having to obscure part of it), here’s what to do:
- Set document units to millimeters.
- From the menu bar, select Window→Document Info.
- From the Document Info window, click the flyout menu in the corner and enable Objects. Information about the currently-selected path is now shown, including path length.
- The ideal path length is 285 mm, matching the illuminated length of one nOOd. You could manually scale up or down until you get close to this, or…
- From the menu bar, select Object→Transform→Scale… and enter 28500/(current path length) — for example, with the star path shown here that’s 221.253 mm long, you’d type 28500/221.253 (you can enter fractions like that, Illustrator will do the math).
- Poof! The path is now exactly 285 mm long!
nOOds’ grippy silicone surface makes them a challenge to feed through tubing such as soda straws. Try the electrician’s “fish tape” method: feed a stiff solid-core wire down the tube first, temporarily tack it to one end of the nOOd with a little solder, pull the nOOd into the tube and then de-solder the wire. If there’s still too much friction for this operation, rub a few drops of isopropyl alcohol along the nOOd and/or wire before pulling through; it quickly evaporates so there’s no trapped moisture.
When controlling brightness, whether using PWM or an analog driver like the AW9523, perceived brightness is not linear; i.e. 50% duty cycle or 50% current does not look 50% as bright, but somewhat brighter. Just like any other LED project, gamma correction can be applied for a more linear response. Example code on the next page shows this in action.
Page last edited March 08, 2024
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