lightbox side by side

Lightbox V1.1

Design

Lightbox v1.1 was constructed similarly to our first lightbox, with some minor differences.

lightbox side by side

Left: new lightbox, Right: original lightbox

The new lightbox is also constructed from foamboard, posterboard, and a semi-translucent material. The foam board was joined together with hot-melt adhesive (also known as hot glue) rather than duct tape. To reduce waste, the windows panel frames were made from 2 inch strips of foam board, rather than cutting squares out of whole sheets. The construction method is detailed below.

Construction

lightbox miter uncut

A knife was used to divide sheets of foam board into 2 inch strips, 20 inches long. A 45 degree cut was made on both ends of each strip. In this example, shorter pieces are used to demonstrate the process.

lightbox miter cut

After the ends of each strip are cut, hot glue was used to join the foam edges of the strips to form the corners of the frame.

lightbox miter glued

A square was used to ensure that each strip was joined at right angles to make sure the frames of the box fit together properly.

Details

lightbox corner outside

To join the 5 frame pieces together, hot glue was used to join the edges together. Excess glue was spread along the edges to increase strength.

lightbox inside cloth

In the first lightbox, the fibers in the cloth are visible and the material does not disperse the light as evenly, resulting in a more focused spot of light.

lightbox corner inside

The translucent material used is 0.003 inch thick matte drafting film. For the window frame panels, the film is glued onto the inside of the frame.

lightbox inside film

The drafting film allows the light to diffuse more evenly, resulting in better picture quality.

Joey Casabar
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