Corning Fibrance

Archive New Product Ideas
1

Hey, could SparkFun create a hobbyist priced line of Corning Fibrance products?

http://www.corning.com/specialtymateria … index.aspx

Be sure to watch the videos, esp. the Paul Then one linked under Product Information.

From a user standpoint it’s essentially a super awesome fiber-optic version of EL wire: thinner, brighter, bends better, doesn’t degrade over time, doesn’t require 2000V inverter. Corning however only wants to sell it to large companies (who will buy miles of it to integrate into their mass market products), and their entry level is a $500 “Developer Kit” - totally reasonable if you’re a big company and you are paying your engineers lots more than that anyway… but not so hobbyist friendly.

I imagine SparkFun could create a line of “EL replacement” Fibrance products, basically drivers (lasers with optical couples) and strands (Fibrance strands with optical couples), and sell them at likely similar prices to EL wire. I for one would totally buy something like that :slight_smile:

2

It does look really cool, I’ll definitely look into it.

While some companies are willing to work with us on stuff like this, others aren’t. Most of the time, the quantities we’re able to purchase don’t differ that much from what the supplier would consider as an individual user.

Very cool, though.

3

I just found a website that is carrying fibrance!

www.ellumiglow.com

I’m going to buy some and try it out. I spoke with Justin at ellumiglow and he says it’s going to be a game changer. It’s way brighter and more efficient than el wire! :dance: