Well, here we go. After a lot of nudging from various people here I have decided to go ahead and do a tutorial on how I build my working Voyager PADDs. I will start with my large Voyager PADD since it will more clearly show the steps involved in getting one of these built. You will need basically two different skills to complete this project: a basic prop building skill and an intermediate level skill of electronics.
So let's get started.
The PADD Body
Anybody that has attempted to build a PADD from a kit or from a template such as those once available from Matt Munson will know that a static PADD is constructed using 3 sheets of acrylic plastic. You could use other materials, but the acrylic has the nicest finish. The layers of the PADD: the top, middle, and bottom were all solid acrylic which could be cut by hand. But cutting this material is very tiring work and takes a considerable amount of time. To get a really clean cut with a minimal amount of work the best solution was to get them laser cut by a professional shop. There are many shops that will laser cut plastic for you if you provide the dimensions and material. Some shops require a "cutting diagram" created in a specific format such as EPS. An EPS diagram is a format that the cutting machine understands. The end result will be a very clean edge cut that is virtually impossible to achieve with hand cutting.
It is easy to get the layers cut for a static, non-functioning, PADD prop replica. But the point of this tutorial is to show you how to put electronics into this thin PADD. Each layer of the PADD should be approximately 1/8" in thickness. In order to put an electronic circuit board inside the PADD you will need about 1/4" thick space. But I am sure you are saying to yourself right now that many circuit boards would only need 1/8" thick space. And you are correct to think that. But the problem is not just with the circuit board, but rather the battery you will use to power the circuits.
I use iPod Shuffle batteries to power most of my PADDs because they are powerful, rechargeable, and just under 1/4" thick. So you will need to create a hollow area inside the PADD that can both accommodate the circuits and the battery as well. The first layer that can help us create a hollow space is the middle layer since it only needs to provide a visible barrier between the top and bottom layers. Most of the middle layer is covered. But this will only give us 1/8" of hollow space. You still need to get another 1/8" space. You cannot take it from the top layer since it already has areas cut from it for the screen and controls. Your only option is to make the bottom layer hollow. But that will leave a big hole in the bottom of the PADD and if you cover it up using something like thin styrene sheet your bottom layer will suddenly be too thick.
But that is exactly what you have to do. In order to keep the bottom layer from appearing much thicker than the other layers you will need to use a very thin styrene sheet. The thickness of the styrene should be 0.040" (which is a little bit thicker than 1/32").
The image above shows the 3 layers of a large PADD. The top, middle, and first half of the bottom layer were all laser cut from 1/8" black acrylic plastic. Unfortunately I did not have a photo of them available before I primed the top and bottom layers. The bottom layer is glued to a sheet of styrene plastic no more than 0.040" thick.
The cut acrylic becomes a type of frame which is mounted to the styrene sheet. And I am sure you have noticed the unusual shape of the inside cut which forms the hollow. This design has come about through experience in building many of these PADDs. The main circuit board will sit in the middle of the hollow on a raised platform so as to place it closer to the actual viewscreen graphic. Having the circuit board sit too far back from the final graphic will cause the LEDs to look less spectacular. And the circuit boards only need 1/8" of space. The battery, wiring, and other hardware will use the rest of the hollow areas.
Let's stop here for now so everything has time to sink in. Any questions so far?
Gerry :cool
So let's get started.
The PADD Body
Anybody that has attempted to build a PADD from a kit or from a template such as those once available from Matt Munson will know that a static PADD is constructed using 3 sheets of acrylic plastic. You could use other materials, but the acrylic has the nicest finish. The layers of the PADD: the top, middle, and bottom were all solid acrylic which could be cut by hand. But cutting this material is very tiring work and takes a considerable amount of time. To get a really clean cut with a minimal amount of work the best solution was to get them laser cut by a professional shop. There are many shops that will laser cut plastic for you if you provide the dimensions and material. Some shops require a "cutting diagram" created in a specific format such as EPS. An EPS diagram is a format that the cutting machine understands. The end result will be a very clean edge cut that is virtually impossible to achieve with hand cutting.
It is easy to get the layers cut for a static, non-functioning, PADD prop replica. But the point of this tutorial is to show you how to put electronics into this thin PADD. Each layer of the PADD should be approximately 1/8" in thickness. In order to put an electronic circuit board inside the PADD you will need about 1/4" thick space. But I am sure you are saying to yourself right now that many circuit boards would only need 1/8" thick space. And you are correct to think that. But the problem is not just with the circuit board, but rather the battery you will use to power the circuits.
I use iPod Shuffle batteries to power most of my PADDs because they are powerful, rechargeable, and just under 1/4" thick. So you will need to create a hollow area inside the PADD that can both accommodate the circuits and the battery as well. The first layer that can help us create a hollow space is the middle layer since it only needs to provide a visible barrier between the top and bottom layers. Most of the middle layer is covered. But this will only give us 1/8" of hollow space. You still need to get another 1/8" space. You cannot take it from the top layer since it already has areas cut from it for the screen and controls. Your only option is to make the bottom layer hollow. But that will leave a big hole in the bottom of the PADD and if you cover it up using something like thin styrene sheet your bottom layer will suddenly be too thick.
But that is exactly what you have to do. In order to keep the bottom layer from appearing much thicker than the other layers you will need to use a very thin styrene sheet. The thickness of the styrene should be 0.040" (which is a little bit thicker than 1/32").
The image above shows the 3 layers of a large PADD. The top, middle, and first half of the bottom layer were all laser cut from 1/8" black acrylic plastic. Unfortunately I did not have a photo of them available before I primed the top and bottom layers. The bottom layer is glued to a sheet of styrene plastic no more than 0.040" thick.
The cut acrylic becomes a type of frame which is mounted to the styrene sheet. And I am sure you have noticed the unusual shape of the inside cut which forms the hollow. This design has come about through experience in building many of these PADDs. The main circuit board will sit in the middle of the hollow on a raised platform so as to place it closer to the actual viewscreen graphic. Having the circuit board sit too far back from the final graphic will cause the LEDs to look less spectacular. And the circuit boards only need 1/8" of space. The battery, wiring, and other hardware will use the rest of the hollow areas.
Let's stop here for now so everything has time to sink in. Any questions so far?
Gerry :cool
