Date Announced: 16 Feb 2005 Lumex is offering enhanced performance from its Light Pipes family of passive light guides, which carry light from board-mounted surface-mount or leaded LEDs to front panels, displays, switches, or virtually any desired location.These products now benefit from advanced design technologies such as ray-trace software. This ensures the lowest possible light loss and the most consistent performance. In addition, the use of software modeling for Light Pipes significantly reduces design time and expense, allowing Light Pipe users to get their product to market as quickly as possible.Lumex Light Pipes give engineers additional packaging options and design freedom by allowing the LED to be mounted according to the dictates of the circuit board layout, while the light itself can appear in the location, size, and/or shape that best suits the ergonomic design of the product. These light guides can be used in a variety of applications such as front panel indicators, legend lighting, status or level indicators, and switch illumination.While products comparable to Light Pipes have been available from other manufacturers, only Lumex can offer them with lower design and tooling costs—and with proven optical performance. These capabilities are due to Lumex's experience and their sophisticated design process in which the 3D CAD designs are subjected to ray tracing analysis. This powerful simulation software maximizes the intensity and uniformity of the transported light, while minimizing the amount of unwanted light loss. Controlling loss is essential for providing a clear, accurate visual indication where bends and angles are used.Since the "trial-and-error" development of the Light Pipes is performed in software--instead of the more common prototyping--engineering time is minimized and up-front costs are significantly reduced. The quality and cost-effectiveness of the product is further ensured by the considerable expertise of the Lumex design team.The Light Pipes family includes more than 50 different devices in four general categories: Light Bars, Vertical Arrays, Light Transporters, and Right Angle Light Pipes. Light Bars conduct and spread light from LEDs to provide a uniformly-lit square or rectangular area. Vertical Arrays transport light vertically up (or down), directly on the axis of the LEDs, or parallel to it. These arrays are available with any number of individual pipes, depending on the application. Light Transporters carry light from a single LED to a front panel or viewing location that's up to 25 meters (80 feet) away. The final category, Right Angle Light Pipes, allows light to 'turn corners' to get to front panels, or to provide fault indication. These devices contain from one to several individual pipes, and many can be ganged or stacked to create almost any configuration.Samples of certain Light Pipe models are available from stock, with production quantities in 6-10 weeks. Pricing varies widely, depending on model ordered, options specified, and quantity requested. Light Pipes are available in low minimum quantities, and their special design allows many of the variants to be produced using existing tooling.
Contact
Lumex Inc. Palatine, IL 60067, USA Tel. +1 800-616-4444 FAX: +1 847-359-8904
E-mail:[email protected]
Web Site:http://www.lumex.com
