Perspex candelabra
Designer Michael Scott-Mitchell wanted a tall, clear Perspex candelabra built for his 2008 production of "Don Giovanni".
DXF files were drawn from Michael's design and the parts were laser cut in 40mm thick Perspex.
The glowing candles presented a challenge. Everything from fluorescent lamps to chemical light sticks were considered. Eventually high intensity LED Dragon Pucks were chosen. Custom made metal bases for the Perspex tubes were made that were then chrome plated. These housed the Dragon Puck LED's and fitted to the candelabra arms.
Perspex candelabra candles
Directing a light up a tube always results in a hot spot at the bottom which grows darker towards the top. An experiment was tried where a long conical plug was turned on the lathe that fitted into the end of the candle tube. It was a bit over half the length of the candle and painted white. This balanced the light distribution along the length of the candle nicely.
The structure of the Perspex candelabra was transparent so the wiring had to be discrete. Thin telephony cable was selected as the Pucks only used 350mA of current. Chrome plated brass tubes ran the full length of the body that fed the wires up from the connection box on the base to the candelabra arms. Small connectors used in computers plugged the cables together and connected the LEDs.
Perspex assembly
Here the laser cut Perspex parts have been fitted and glued in place
Candle lights
The candles were perspex tubes with LED lamps fitted in the base. A timber conical diffuser was fitted inside the tubes to minimise hot spots.
Dragon Puck LED
These were the LED lamps used at the base of the candles.
