What Information Should Be Included in a Lighting Profile Drawing?
Most tooling rework traces back to one of four missing items on the drawing: the optical requirement, the colour standard, the critical dimensions, or the compliance environment. This is the checklist that prevents all four.
Checklist intent. Engineers preparing a drawing package for quotation who want to avoid the back-and-forth that delays tooling.
The essentials – without these, no quote
- Cross-section drawing – DXF, DWG, STEP or a fully dimensioned PDF. It must be the true cross-section, not an assembly view.
- Annual quantity – drives tooling amortisation, line scheduling and the material price bracket.
- Material – PC or PMMA. If undecided, state the application and compliance requirement and let the supplier propose.
Geometry and tolerances
| Full cross-section | All walls, ribs, radii and channels, dimensioned |
|---|---|
| Wall thicknesses | Explicit, and nominally uniform within about 2:1 |
| Corner radii | Shown, including at snap-fit roots |
| Critical dimensions | Marked – the ones that mate with another part |
| General tolerance | Everything else left to standard extrusion tolerance |
| Length and cut tolerance | Cut length, plus/minus, and squareness requirement |
| Straightness / bow | If the run length makes it matter, state it |
| Section weight | Optional; helps convert quantity into material mass |
Typical achievable tolerance for PC and PMMA lighting sections is roughly +/- 0.15 mm to +/- 0.30 mm on features up to about 60 mm when the die and calibrator are matched to the section. Marking every dimension tighter does not improve fit – it raises cost.
Material specification
- Base polymer – PC or PMMA.
- Grade requirement – UV-stabilised, flame-retardant, impact-modified, or general purpose.
- Flame rating – UL94 class, if the fixture must comply.
- Compliance documentation – UL, RoHS, REACH as needed.
- Recycled content requirement, if any.
Optical specification
This is the item most often missing, and the one most likely to cause a second sampling round. A material name is not an optical specification. State:
- Transmission target, or maximum acceptable lumen loss.
- Haze level, if known.
- LED pitch, board width, and standoff distance to the optical surface.
- Viewing angles at which hotspots must not be visible.
- For lens or prismatic profiles: the target beam distribution.
- Acceptable colour shift across the visible surface.
If you do not know the haze level, describe the requirement in geometry – “hide a 10 mm LED pitch at 20 mm standoff at normal viewing” – and let the supplier propose the material package. See how to develop a custom LED diffuser profile.
Colour and surface
| Colour | RAL or Pantone reference, or a signed-off physical sample |
|---|---|
| Gloss level | High gloss, satin, matt |
| Texture | Fine frost, prismatic, or a specified surface pattern |
| Surface defects | Acceptable level of die lines, and on which faces |
| Visible faces | Mark which surfaces are seen in the finished fixture |
Marking the visible faces is worth the ten seconds it takes. It tells the extruder where surface quality matters and where it does not, which affects die finishing and handling.
Application and environment
- Where the profile is used – linear, architectural, industrial, troffer, office, signage or other.
- Indoor or outdoor – decides UV-stabilised grades.
- Service temperature range.
- Chemical exposures – cleaning agents, adhesives, gasket materials.
- Impact requirement or IK rating.
- IP rating, if the fixture is sealed.
Chemical exposure matters more than buyers expect. Both PC and PMMA craze or crack in contact with certain adhesives and solvents, and the fix is a grade or adhesive change at specification stage – not a field failure later.
Assembly and secondary operations
- Mating parts – board width and tolerance, end-cap geometry, fixing method.
- Secondary operations – drilling, punching, notching, printing, and where they fall.
- Sealing method if an IP rating is required – co-extruded lip or gasket groove.
- Packing – cut length, sleeving, bundling, palletising.
One-page checklist
| [ ] | Cross-section drawing, dimensioned, DXF/DWG/STEP/PDF |
|---|---|
| [ ] | Annual quantity and order pattern |
| [ ] | Material and grade |
| [ ] | Optical requirement – transmission, haze, or geometry-based target |
| [ ] | LED pitch and standoff distance |
| [ ] | Colour standard and gloss level |
| [ ] | Critical dimensions marked; general tolerance stated |
| [ ] | Cut length and tolerance |
| [ ] | Application, environment and compliance requirements |
| [ ] | Mating part geometry and secondary operations |
| [ ] | Packing requirement |
Missing items are not blockers. Send what you have – the cross-section and the annual quantity are enough to start – and the rest can be resolved during the feasibility review.
Send the drawing: request a quote. See also custom lighting extrusion from drawing to production.
Related applications
Frequently asked questions
Send us your drawing or sample
Or email your drawing to info@leddiffuserfactory.com · WhatsApp +37259205909 · WeChat +861587897761