how do they make the fiber optic cement and are they somehow available to the public ...im very interested in trying to have some made for my house i collected a fairly large sum of money :sohappy: and am seriously looking into having some made of all things i see in Epcot those and the city seen at the end of Spaceship Earth are probably the 2 coolest looking sites in the whole park
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fiber optic cement
- Thread starter bigmayn01
- Start date
NowInc
Well-Known Member
I think its custom made for the parks..but it doesnt seem like it would be TOO hard (seriously). All they do is run fiberoptic cables thru the cement before it dries...the hardest part is rigging up the lights at the other end...but you may be able to find some companies that do that for you
kevlightyear
Well-Known Member
Iknow my mom took some pictures of them last summer. I remember because my sisters and I were pretending we didn't know her while she was doing it. I'll see if I can find some. They're on mini CD-R's, so it takes a while.
EPCOTMonorail
New Member
If I remember correctly the fiber optics aren't imbedded in concrete, but a molded plastic cover or panel. I recall that the squares with the fiber optics seemed hollow when walked on. But again it's been over a year since I last visited EPCOT so I could be wrong, but I'd think plastic would be easier to work with than concrete. Just drill some holes and poke the fiber through. Probably cheaper than using concrete too, and knowing Disney the cheap way is the right way... 
Hope this helps! And if you find a place that makes these fiber optic panels, let me know. I'd like some too!
Hope this helps! And if you find a place that makes these fiber optic panels, let me know. I'd like some too!
kevlightyear
Well-Known Member
kevlightyear
Well-Known Member
Fantasia Girl
New Member
Wow, those are great pics!! that is oneof my favorite things at epcot!
Wouldn't it be cool to have that in your sidewalk at home!!:animwink:
Wouldn't it be cool to have that in your sidewalk at home!!:animwink:
I work for a high-end home automation firm and one of the homes I worked on had something similar installed on there patio. It wasn't nearly as intricate, but the effect at night was way cool. Holes were drilled in concrete pavers before they were laid down and fiber optics were routed under them and placed in each individual hole. There were probably a total of 100 pin points in all, so not nearly as many as there are at Epcot. They did change colors though!!!!
zonguy
New Member
Re: Re: fiber optic cement
Any ideas on where they got the fiber optics light kit?
Originally posted by tim911
I work for a high-end home automation firm and one of the homes I worked on had something similar installed on there patio. It wasn't nearly as intricate, but the effect at night was way cool. Holes were drilled in concrete pavers before they were laid down and fiber optics were routed under them and placed in each individual hole. There were probably a total of 100 pin points in all, so not nearly as many as there are at Epcot. They did change colors though!!!!
Any ideas on where they got the fiber optics light kit?
MGMBoy
Well-Known Member
As far as the colors...I believe that they use a fairily basic color fader since fiber optics are so precise a color in one part of the cable could be very different from the rest of the cable. I'll post a time lapse photo I took of that stuff as soon as I find it. It looks really cool.
Ludwig
New Member
Where to get fibrer optics
I looked into getting fiber optics to put in ceiling tiles for a star effect like the Tower of Terror, a local place I found was Fiber Optics Products Inc. http://www.fiberopticproducts.com.
Hope this helps
I looked into getting fiber optics to put in ceiling tiles for a star effect like the Tower of Terror, a local place I found was Fiber Optics Products Inc. http://www.fiberopticproducts.com.
Hope this helps
We use fiber optics a lot in theatre, especially for starfields on curtains (called star drops). It's a pretty simple matter to embed the fiber optics in cement or plastic or whatever, but the color changing properties are somewhat difficult. At Valleyfair (the amusement park I work at in Minnesota,) we illuminate our star drops with theatrical lights that are able to change color by means of colored discs that go between the light source and the fiber bundle. But to get the amount of color variation and seperation that the Epcot panels have (at least from what I see on the pictures...it's been a year and several months since I was there last..) would be beyond that. I suppose they could just use spinning multi-colored discs instead of the single color ones that are often in those spotlights. That would be somewhat like the fiber optic trees and stuff that are starting to be sold in stores.
