In our last Tech Talk, we discussed some commonly overlooked details. This week, we’re going to take a look at how to properly bend an LED Neon Flex Fixture as well as a few good practices.

Bending Profiles

LED Neon Flex comes in two bending profiles: side (Horizontal) and Top (Vertical) bending.

The location of the PCB within a side bending fixture runs along the side of the encapsulation. It sits perpendicular to the light surface.

The location of the PCB within a top bending fixture runs along the bottom of the encapsulation. It sits parallel to the light surface.
In order to avoid damaging the circuit board as well as the LEDs, you must only bend the fixture in it’s specified direction. You can find the bending direction of a fixture on its spec sheet. If you’re unsure of the bending direction of your fixture, you can also contact your account manager!

Minimum Bend Diameters

LED Neon Flex products are tough, but they are still a light fixture. Our products are all tested to minimum bending diameters that should not be exceeded if you want to avoid voiding your warranty. You can find the minimum bending diameters listed on the product’s spec sheets.

Above: The minimum bending diameter for Vivid S 270.
You should note that you are technically able to bend the fixtures past our tested minimum bending diameter, however doing so will void your warranty. If you choose to bend past the diameter and void the warranty, we recommend that you use caution. Bending the fixture too tightly could snap the PCB as well as cause damage to the LEDs. We also do not recommend that you bend the fixture too tightly if you intend to unbend it at any point. Continuous bending weakens the PCB and it could break.

Good Practice

Below are some good practices while bending LED Neon Flex for installation:

• Make sure to support the full length of the fixture to prevent it from bending incorrectly.
• Never bend the fixture at an angle greater than 15 degrees when installing it into the mounting channels.
• It is best to coil LED Neon Flex fixtures with the cutting unit marks facing outward for shipping purposes.
• Don’t force the light to bend if you feel resistance. You could damage the internal components.

For more information, you can consult the LED Neon Flex installation manuals as well as our Knowledge Base.

Check back in for our next Tech Talk on May 22nd!

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