40 Years of LED Experience
Why Light Pipes?
Visual status indication provides for safe and reliable operation of electrical equipment, instruments, and
electronic devices and also serves diagnostic purposes as well. While lamp holders, which utilize sepa-
rate incandescent or neon bulbs and lens caps, dominated the market in the majority of the 20th cen-
tury, LED-based light sources are predominantly used today to provide visual indication.
Technical Solutions
Light-pipes provide front-panel indication where:
• Traditional indicators are too large or other space constraints exist
• Indication is required over, around, or beneath front-panel components
• EMI/RFI concerns require location of the light source away from the front-panel
• Indication is desired after all mechanical design considerations were made
Index
We also design light-pipes for non-diagnostic applications, including lighted company logos.
Light loss between the LED and light-pipe interface must be considered and there is also additional
transmission loss through the pipe or wherever there is a bend. The shape of the light-pipe also influences
the output. Dialight’s design engineers will recommend the best LED for use with each light-pipe.
02 Product Overview
Optopipe® Lightpipes
04 PCB Mount Single
Position Horizontal
Configuration and features
Almost any configuration or size can be accommodated and we currently offer standard solutions in:
Single Element
Round Lens
Square Lens
Vertical
Shielded
Over RS-232
06 PCB Mount Multiple
Position Vertical
Multiple Element
Horizontal
Textured Lens
Over SFP Cage
Single Row
Rectangular Lens
Illuminated Corner
Vertical Right Angle
Polished Lens Under PCB Mount
08 PCB Mount Multiple
Position Horizontal
Multiple Row
Horizontal Right Angle
Mounting Consideration
14 Panel Mount Single
Position
Most light-pipes are mounted to a PCB by pressing into holes drilled into the PCB. Depending on the appli-
cation, epoxy is also indicated for additional support. Some light-pipes are designed to press into the
front-panel and rest on the PCB, just above the LED(s). Heat-staking is another process that is used to mount
light-pipes in specific applications.
15 Panel Mount Multiple
position
Micro LED® LEDs
16 Recommended
Micro LED® Surface
Mount LEDs
New Products
18 Optopipe® Lightpipe
Actuator Extensions
The following pages are organized as a product overview. Additional information including detailed specs, are available at: www.dialight.com.
The most recent version of this selector guide can be found at:
www.dialight.com/assets/brochures_and_catalogs/indication/lightpipe_selector_guide.pdf
2