I kind of know the basics of how LED’s work and all that and this may sound kind of crazy but I have my reasons for asking. Are LED “bulbs” hollow and can the end be filed or sand down or shaped differently by filing or sanding. Thanks in advance, Ken
Ken,
No. Unlike incandescent bulbs, LEDs are solid. You can file the round ends down but only partly.
Tom
If you hold an LED up to the light, you can see the two leads coming in and if you look carefully you can see the little ‘whisker’ of wire from one terminal to the other. You can turn down the diameter and file off the top so long as you do not disturb this part of the LED. That is the actual diode junction and if you break into that portion of the epoxy or reduce the structural integrity to the point where moving a lead can move the junction inside, it will stop working.
–Randy
Thanks for responses here. I wanted to file down and buff the ends that stick out of a signal to make the signal more realistic. Ken
They make LEDs that are already shaped like what you want if what you want is what I think it is. They plastic caseing is shaped in such a way so that it will be level with a small hole in a knob, such as a slider knob on a equalizer or mixer. Thay are shaped like a little top hat. Hope you can find one of these and that it will do what you want.
Paul
They make LEDs in all shapes and sizes now, so you can probably find what you want from one of these two suppliers:
http://www.superbrightleds.com
There are many other suppliers of specialty LEDs, such as Mouser Electronics, Jameco Electronics, All Electronics, etc., and even a local electronics supply house or, as a last resort, Radio Shack.