How to make a plasma arc lighter. DIY electric lighter.
In this project I will show you how to create an oscillator circuit for a CCFL transformer and combine it with a couple of complementary parts like a LiPo battery, a switch and a charging board in order to make a portable arc lighter. But only proceed following these instructions if you have basic knowledge of electronics since the produced high voltage can be lethal. Let's get started!
The video gives you all the information you need to recreate the project. In the following steps though I will present you some additional information to make building this project even simpler.
Here you can find a parts list with example sellers (affiliate links). But the CCFL inverter that I used is only available in Germany and Austria. The worldwide link contains another inverter that should hopefully contain a decent transformer.
Here you can find the schematic of the complete circuit along with a picture of my completed wiring. Feel free to use them as a reference while creating your own circuit.
Have you ever wanted a futuristic way to start a fire, or maybe just a cool desk toy that makes plasma? Have you wanted to start a winter fire in a way that does not involve an actual lighter with lighter fluid? Have you ever wanted a lighter that you never have to replace or refill? If so, then this is the perfect instructable for you. In this instructable, I will show you how to build an arc lighter from old recycled parts. It looks really professional and well made. The video below has a demonstration of the final product as well as a video tutorial to compliment this instructable. I will be building this as a Christmas present for my younger brother.
This Arc Lighter lights fires with an electric arc. This arc can ignite paper because it is essentially a stream of electrons flowing at a very high speed through a section of ionized air. These electrons, because of their high velocities, transfer a large amount of energy into the piece of paper placed in between the two electrodes. This energy causes the paper to ignite. Now, the potential difference between the two electrodes needs to be relatively high to overcome the breakdown voltage of air. This potential difference, or voltage needs to be at an upwards of 20,000 volts. This voltage is produced by an oscillator circuit and step up transformer.
The circuit starts with the 110 volt AC mains voltage. This voltage is then stepped down to 10 volts AC by a mains transformer. This voltage is then rectified and filtered to produce a clean 10 volts DC. This is then fed into the oscillator section of the circuit.
The oscillator uses a center tapped coil of 2 ohms, a transistor, and a resistor. The voltage initially comes in through the center tap. It proceeds to flow through the feedback coil, through the resistor, and into the base of the transistor. This makes the transistor start conducting current. It conducts the current through the primary coil to ground. This causes a rise in the magnetic field of the transformer's core. This rise in magnetic flux induces a current in the feedback coil opposite to the voltage flowing to the base. This shuts down the transistor and it stops conducting. After this, the magnetic flux in the core rapidly decreases causing current to flow into the transistor base once again. After this, the cycle repeats itself about 30,000 times per second.
This rapid change of the magnetic flux in the core of the transformer induces a current in the high voltage secondary coil. Because of the high winding ratio of the secondary to primary coils, the voltage is significantly higher.
Now that you know how this circuit will work, its time to build it.
For this project, the tools you will need will be:
A drill
A hot glue gun
Wire Cutters
Wire Strippers
A Soldering Iron
A Screwdriver
For this project, you will need a few materials. A lot of these materials can be salvaged for very cheap. In fact, most of the parts used for this project were harvested from the back-light inverter of an LCD TV. This is a good way to make use of old circuit boards that would otherwise be thrown away.
For my project, I will be using a back-light transformer form an LCD TV. It has 2 1 ohm primary coils and 1 1000 ohm secondary coil. This is very useful for the project I am doing. This will also work with a flyback transformer of a CRT TV. You will either have to wind your own primary coils or find the pins on the bottom corresponding to different coil impedance that work with this circuit. These transformers can be found in many different appliances.
This step is relatively easy. You will need to follow my schematic closely while soldering. To build this circuit, you will need to first mount the transformer on a piece of perfboard. You can then add all the other components to the circuit board in the order that I placed them. Remember the direction of the primary windings! When adding the transistor, use ribbon cable to it to the board so it can be placed in positions that save space in the enclosure you are putting it in. Use solder to form traces on the back of the board. After the circuit board is done, it is time to make the enclosure.
For the enclosure of this arc lighter, I used a glossy black plastic box that I bought on eBay. You will need to drill holes in it corresponding to the holes on your mains transformer, button, and wires going in and out. You will need to use different drill bit sizes for the different holes. I made the enclosure upside down to make it easier to mount all the components. This means that the lid is facing the floor. You can then bolt on the transformer and tighten on the push-button.
To wire the power supply, you will need to attach the mains cord to the mains transformer. After that, you will need to solder the 10 volt AC wires from the transformer in series with the push-button. Make sure to use heat shrink tubing to secure and protect open solder joints.
After the box is prepared, you will need to glue it in the high voltage transformer and the heat sync. I found the best glue for this step is hot glue. You can glue the different parts in whatever way works best for your enclosure. Make sure you leave room to access the holes. You can also hot glue the different cords coming in and out of the enclosure to reduce tension.
This step is relatively easy, you will need to solder the wires coming from the transformer and switch to the input section of the circuit board. Then, solder the output of the transformer to wires going out of the box. Make sure that everything matches the schematic.
How to make a plasma arc lighter. DIY electric lighter.
In this project I will show you how to create an oscillator circuit for a CCFL transformer and combine it with a couple of complementary parts like a LiPo battery, a switch and a charging board in order to make a portable arc lighter. But only proceed following these instructions if you have basic knowledge of electronics since the produced high voltage can be lethal. Let's get started!
The video gives you all the information you need to recreate the project. In the following steps though I will present you some additional information to make building this project even simpler.
Here you can find a parts list with example sellers (affiliate links). But the CCFL inverter that I used is only available in Germany and Austria. The worldwide link contains another inverter that should hopefully contain a decent transformer.
Here you can find the schematic of the complete circuit along with a picture of my completed wiring. Feel free to use them as a reference while creating your own circuit.
Have you ever wanted a futuristic way to start a fire, or maybe just a cool desk toy that makes plasma? Have you wanted to start a winter fire in a way that does not involve an actual lighter with lighter fluid? Have you ever wanted a lighter that you never have to replace or refill? If so, then this is the perfect instructable for you. In this instructable, I will show you how to build an arc lighter from old recycled parts. It looks really professional and well made. The video below has a demonstration of the final product as well as a video tutorial to compliment this instructable. I will be building this as a Christmas present for my younger brother.
This Arc Lighter lights fires with an electric arc. This arc can ignite paper because it is essentially a stream of electrons flowing at a very high speed through a section of ionized air. These electrons, because of their high velocities, transfer a large amount of energy into the piece of paper placed in between the two electrodes. This energy causes the paper to ignite. Now, the potential difference between the two electrodes needs to be relatively high to overcome the breakdown voltage of air. This potential difference, or voltage needs to be at an upwards of 20,000 volts. This voltage is produced by an oscillator circuit and step up transformer.
The circuit starts with the 110 volt AC mains voltage. This voltage is then stepped down to 10 volts AC by a mains transformer. This voltage is then rectified and filtered to produce a clean 10 volts DC. This is then fed into the oscillator section of the circuit.
The oscillator uses a center tapped coil of 2 ohms, a transistor, and a resistor. The voltage initially comes in through the center tap. It proceeds to flow through the feedback coil, through the resistor, and into the base of the transistor. This makes the transistor start conducting current. It conducts the current through the primary coil to ground. This causes a rise in the magnetic field of the transformer's core. This rise in magnetic flux induces a current in the feedback coil opposite to the voltage flowing to the base. This shuts down the transistor and it stops conducting. After this, the magnetic flux in the core rapidly decreases causing current to flow into the transistor base once again. After this, the cycle repeats itself about 30,000 times per second.
This rapid change of the magnetic flux in the core of the transformer induces a current in the high voltage secondary coil. Because of the high winding ratio of the secondary to primary coils, the voltage is significantly higher.
Now that you know how this circuit will work, its time to build it.
For this project, the tools you will need will be:
A drill
A hot glue gun
Wire Cutters
Wire Strippers
A Soldering Iron
A Screwdriver
For this project, you will need a few materials. A lot of these materials can be salvaged for very cheap. In fact, most of the parts used for this project were harvested from the back-light inverter of an LCD TV. This is a good way to make use of old circuit boards that would otherwise be thrown away.
For my project, I will be using a back-light transformer form an LCD TV. It has 2 1 ohm primary coils and 1 1000 ohm secondary coil. This is very useful for the project I am doing. This will also work with a flyback transformer of a CRT TV. You will either have to wind your own primary coils or find the pins on the bottom corresponding to different coil impedance that work with this circuit. These transformers can be found in many different appliances.
This step is relatively easy. You will need to follow my schematic closely while soldering. To build this circuit, you will need to first mount the transformer on a piece of perfboard. You can then add all the other components to the circuit board in the order that I placed them. Remember the direction of the primary windings! When adding the transistor, use ribbon cable to it to the board so it can be placed in positions that save space in the enclosure you are putting it in. Use solder to form traces on the back of the board. After the circuit board is done, it is time to make the enclosure.
For the enclosure of this arc lighter, I used a glossy black plastic box that I bought on eBay. You will need to drill holes in it corresponding to the holes on your mains transformer, button, and wires going in and out. You will need to use different drill bit sizes for the different holes. I made the enclosure upside down to make it easier to mount all the components. This means that the lid is facing the floor. You can then bolt on the transformer and tighten on the push-button.
To wire the power supply, you will need to attach the mains cord to the mains transformer. After that, you will need to solder the 10 volt AC wires from the transformer in series with the push-button. Make sure to use heat shrink tubing to secure and protect open solder joints.
After the box is prepared, you will need to glue it in the high voltage transformer and the heat sync. I found the best glue for this step is hot glue. You can glue the different parts in whatever way works best for your enclosure. Make sure you leave room to access the holes. You can also hot glue the different cords coming in and out of the enclosure to reduce tension.
This step is relatively easy, you will need to solder the wires coming from the transformer and switch to the input section of the circuit board. Then, solder the output of the transformer to wires going out of the box. Make sure that everything matches the schematic.
No comments:
Post a Comment