How are the real ones made?

[Atomic_Sheep]

Does anyone know how the real backlighting is done in airplanes? It seems most people are painting a perspex panel and then CNC'ing the words/letters to get rid of a thin layer of paint to get to the clear perspex part or at least something like that, but how are the real panels made?

[dnoize]

similar........

[Hessel Oosten]

Stef,

Are you sure ?

Photo etching ?
Another sort of etching ?

Hessel

[dnoize]

Hi Hessel,

Sorry...wasnt really being clear ;-)

I was only roughly referring to clear material ....not to engraving, etching, etc.

Diferent methods are used there by different manufacturers. clear material-translucent white layer- light blocking layer- top layer.
i know older boeing panels are cnced, newer airbus panels laser etched, dont know about photo etching these days.

not exactly high tech those panels. Personally i think the original boeing panels (even new ones) look like c**p ;-)

us builders are perfectionists, worrying about the right colour, the right font, etc...boeing doesnt really bother...
i have 3 original fuel pump panels here: all 3 have different colours, different fonts, one of the 3 has a 2 tone finish instead of the usual 3 tone, etc :-)


Stef

[Atomic_Sheep]

Great info! Much appreciated.

[Atomic_Sheep]

EDIT: Found my answer in the tutorial section.

Hi guys, well I'm finally at the stage of putting pen to paper. I'm going to start out with the glareshield panels and work my way around the cockpit from there. The question I'm still not certain about which is basically stalling any design is the engraving bit. This may be a stupid question but since I've never used a CNC before (I don't have one yet but I want to make the whole cockpit on computer before I start making all the pieces), here it goes:

Let's say that I've designed my piece, cut it out, painted it and now all that is left to do is to engrave it...

a.) regardless of wherther I use a laser engraver or a drill bit, I don't quite understand where I am supposed to put the coordinates to make the CNC work its magic on the piece. Do I essentially draw the text on the original piece that I designed in the CAD software that I used to design the panel with no markings on it? Do I need to use some other software and superimpose that onto the original piece?

b.) how do I ensure that the engraving isn't off? i.e. from the looks of things, the EFIS panel for example, has the circles around the knobs and from the looks of things, theres a paper thin circles of paint between the hole for the knobs and the etching itself which has been left over from pin point precision engraving. So regardless of how you engrave i.e. laser, drill bit or whether u use the original software and original CNC machine, how do you align the final, nice, painted piece with the final stage of its "production" without ending up with engraving that is evidently on an angle to the original piece?