Latest diffused light pipes provide a soft glow

VCC has designed a family of rigid light pipes with a diffused, frosted surface texture for enhanced scattering of bright field light, which provides a softer glow. The 3mm LFB Series and 5mm LFC Series litepipes easily extend light from the board to the desired surface for applications where bright, hot indication would not be pleasing to the eye. This includes audio/video equipment, IoT equipment, darkroom equipment, home theatre and entertainment systems, medical equipment, security systems, studio control panels, transportation dashboards and more. Made of optical grade polycarbonate for maximum light transmission, the LFB and LFC Series litepipes have a round surface that reduces the luminous intensity, provides uniform brightness, and offers a wide viewing angle of 120 degrees. Providing significant assembly time and cost savings, the low-profile LFB and LFC Series have crushable ribs and press fit (front) terminations that simplify the production environment and ease installation. The light pipes are available in a wide range of lengths to simplify PCB positioning in relation to the display panel. Standard lengths range from 3.2mm to 25.4mm, and custom lengths are available on request. "Our diffused light pipe products are designed with a frosted surface designed for operation in dark environments where a bright indicator is not required, and may even be an annoyance to spectators. The frosted diffused light pipe takes the edge off the brightness, while still offering a 120 degree viewing angle," said Sannah Vinding, director of product development and marketing, VCC. For high vibration applications, VCC offers field-proven retainer clips that provide a secure and uniform placement of the litepipe to the panel. The RTN112 retainer secures the LFB 3mm litepipe and the RTN125 retainer secures the LFC 5mm litepipe. The litepipes are RoHS and Reach compliant, says the company.