prototyping with shL
the plastic shell can be cut with a razor blade or power drill to suit your application. you can bond components (e.g. microcontrollers, breadboards, battery holders) directly to the interior with hot glue. use packing tape to form a hinge between both halves along a shared boundary - can be made water resistant by taping all of the flanges shut.
LED diffusion
the translucence of the material produces a wonderful diffused glow when illuminated with LED lights. this is ideal for supporting microlocal visual communication or identification. when combined with panel graphics and tactile elements (buttons, knobs, sliders), engaging tangible interfaces can be rapidly sketched and iterated upon.
possible applications
shL's inherent ambiguity is adaptable to support prototyping within a wide variety of applications:
sharealike
shL was revealed out of a need for an adaptive enclosure framework for prototyping microlocal interaction. the design evolved out of a resequencing of found materials: a cache of vacuum-formed paint trays and a stack of forgotten letraset transfer lettering. this idea is released under creative commons sharealike, meaning you are free to modify, adapt, and share iterations on the idea.
acquiring shL
EFFALO locally vends shL components in the Portland, Oregon area, with online ordering an emergent possibility (we strongly encourage you to investigate your own local sources of compatible shL materials).
to arrange a transaction or for more information, please contact us: envvv - at - effalo - com
