15 Facts you didn't know about Neon - Part 1

This is the start of several posts about Neon, the facts, not the rubbish made up by companies who have never been involved in the manufacture of neon. For quite some time now misinformation about neon has been spread. These articles will hopefully answer all the questions people think they know the answers to. A bit about me, I have been around the sign industry for most of my life, the company was started by my father, who is still involved to this day. He loves it, or so I keep telling him. I helped my father fit my first neon sign "Flicks Movies" when I was about 7, I was treated to jaffa cakes on the way home, pretty cheap labour for the evening if you ask me. I have always loved the neon side of the industry and spent time when growing up having a practice in the glass shop, helping clean out tubes and hand powder them (They come pre-powdered now). I did however attempt to take a different path than the family business, so off I went to university to study computer science. Upon leaving, I initially went to help my father and get a bit of experience by creating his website, setting up and building computers and putting in place a network. That gradually turned into "son can you just pop here and help fit this sign" then to "can you organise and sort this out". Now what is more than 10 years later (alot more), my father is semi-retired and I run the company. However much life has changed, not a great deal has changed in the sign industry, except for a drop in the hand made nature and alot of people with vinyl plotters now calling themselves sign makers. Over the years a lot of strange bits of misinformation has popped up about neon, more so in recent times with the introduction of imitation versions. With that in mind, these are the 15 facts/questions that will be in the next few posts accompanied by the rules and regulations that surround neon. What is the difference between neon and LED neon? Does Neon get hot to the touch? Can neon be at touching height? What is the life expectancy of neon tubes? Do neon sign explode? Neon is high voltage, is that not dangerous ? Is the gas used in a neon sign poisonous? Neon is expensive? Will my neon sign cause a fire ? Can neon be used outside? When does a neon sign need to have a fire-fighter's switch? Does neon use a lot of power ? Does neon cost a lot to run ? How efficient is neon ? Can neon be recycled? So What is the difference between neon and LED Neon ? Neon is only ever made from glass, LED neon contains LEDs and is either made from plastic or silicon. Neon is hand bent/crafted over a hot flame by someone that has been trained in the art of bending glass. Once the glass has been bent to a shape, an electrode (glass housing with metal shell inside), is heat welded onto each end of the hand bent tubes. Once the section (Hand bent shape with the electrodes attached), is complete, it is attached to a machine called a bombarder. This machine then vacuums the section down to negative atmospheres of pressure. Electricity is then passed through the tubes, causing them to heat up. The section gives off impurities whilst being heated up which are vacuumed out of the tube, the heating also activates the electrode shells. Once the tube has reached temperature and the electrodes have been activated, the tube is allowed to cool and the gas is placed into the tube. The tube is then connected up to a transformer to be aged in, which helps to identify any potential failures within the tube. It is then blocked out, a process where each tube is hand painted on parts that are not needed to be seen, giving each letter or shape definition. Neon Bending LED Neon on the other hand, is cut from a solid piece of Acrylic (Plastic) by a CNC router, this then has LEDs put in the rear which are soldered as required, it is capped off and then vinyl is applied to the sides, or it comes as a rubbery flex housing. Keep an eye out for the next article where we will answer a couple more of the questions above. For more information about neon visit our showcase pages or visit our website https://www.a1designs.co.uk We manufacture all types of signage so if you have an enquiry please feel free to get in touch - enquiry@a1designs.co.uk