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Posted by EDS on July 4, 2008, 12:36 pm
> news:c26b6a13-85f2-4598-bd95-
> f3725a63a8b7@t54g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:
>
>>>
>>> THose are all cool links, thanks! I hadn't searched that ebcasue I'm
>>> still up to my ears obsessing over trying to learn enough electronics to
>>> build a new kind of solar-recharged garden/yard/tabletop LED lamp - I've
>>> gotten into doing the stained-glass (I mentioned that some time back
>>> IIRC) and am building a large-ish (8"X8" and 10.5" tall) item as my
>>> Prototype
>>
>> I muck about with stained glass, Kris. Are you using copper foil or
>> lead came? Post a link to some pictures of the stuff you're doing.
>>
>> R
>>
>
> I took a class in copper foil recently, and decided that it suits me
> better
> than does lead came, mostly because I tend to perfer more "fussy" work
> (the
> first class I took, back in 1993 or therabouts, was Lead Came).
>
> Pics - yikes, I have to upload my whole website still - I keep getting
> sidetracked. OTOH, so far, I don't have a lot to put up in terms of the
> glass. I like doing it a lot and fully intend to get my work rate up to
> where I can sell some things, but I first have to get my grinder-station
> up
> and running (I have to build a small "enclosure" to control the splatter,
> because I don't have a studio space I can mess up ;) ) and I've been
> sidetracked by the SOlar Light part. I've polled several people and
> potential sales venues, and *all* had a big complaint about how dim solar
> lights are - at least, the commercially available ones. SO I've been
> studying up one electronics, and looking into all sorts of parts and
> techniques, so as to get to where I could design and build a prototype
> High
> Brightness solar-charged battery-powered light (i.e. giving off about the
> same amount of light as eitehr a 20-25 watt incandescent (small fixture)
> or
> a 40 watt incandescent (larger fixture or colored class) (currently tryign
> clear textured).
This spring I designed a showcase for antique goblets and dishes to be
placed in a window on Beacon Hill. The shop keeper wanted exceptional LED
lighting, but there was very little space. The electrician purchased 3 LED
"puck type" battery powered lamps (about $20 each), and rewired them to a
light actuated switch. Those lights are plenty bright! Shop owner uses
rechargeable AA batterys, which last about 2 weeks to a month (depending on
the season) and get changed when the display is changed. The whole system
materials cost less than $100. Now if you could hitch those rechargeables to
a solar charger, such as is sold for recharging i-pods, you would have a
good system. Think outside the box!
EDS
>
> THat being said, once I get some photos online, I'll let you all know <G!>
>
> Stylistically, I prefer what I call "stylized realism" - I work on getting
> the overall identifiers corrrect in terms of shape/proportions, and how
> the
> subject interacts with gravity, but done so in a a pen'n'ink/Japanese
> print
> sort of way.
>
>
> How about yours - copper foil or lead came? Design style, subject
> preference, etc.? Photos?
>
> - K.
|
|
Posted by Kris Krieger on July 5, 2008, 10:52 pm
>
>
>
>> news:c26b6a13-85f2-4598-bd95-
>> f3725a63a8b7@t54g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:
>>
>>>>
>>>> THose are all cool links, thanks! I hadn't searched that ebcasue
>>>> I'm still up to my ears obsessing over trying to learn enough
>>>> electronics to build a new kind of solar-recharged
>>>> garden/yard/tabletop LED lamp - I've gotten into doing the
>>>> stained-glass (I mentioned that some time back IIRC) and am
>>>> building a large-ish (8"X8" and 10.5" tall) item as my Prototype
>>>
>>> I muck about with stained glass, Kris. Are you using copper foil or
>>> lead came? Post a link to some pictures of the stuff you're doing.
>>>
>>> R
>>>
>>
>> I took a class in copper foil recently, and decided that it suits me
>> better
>> than does lead came, mostly because I tend to perfer more "fussy"
>> work (the
>> first class I took, back in 1993 or therabouts, was Lead Came).
>>
>> Pics - yikes, I have to upload my whole website still - I keep
>> getting sidetracked. OTOH, so far, I don't have a lot to put up in
>> terms of the glass. I like doing it a lot and fully intend to get my
>> work rate up to where I can sell some things, but I first have to get
>> my grinder-station up
>> and running (I have to build a small "enclosure" to control the
>> splatter, because I don't have a studio space I can mess up ;) ) and
>> I've been sidetracked by the SOlar Light part. I've polled several
>> people and potential sales venues, and *all* had a big complaint
>> about how dim solar lights are - at least, the commercially available
>> ones. SO I've been studying up one electronics, and looking into all
>> sorts of parts and techniques, so as to get to where I could design
>> and build a prototype High
>> Brightness solar-charged battery-powered light (i.e. giving off about
>> the same amount of light as eitehr a 20-25 watt incandescent (small
>> fixture) or
>> a 40 watt incandescent (larger fixture or colored class) (currently
>> tryign clear textured).
>
> This spring I designed a showcase for antique goblets and dishes to be
> placed in a window on Beacon Hill. The shop keeper wanted exceptional
> LED lighting, but there was very little space. The electrician
> purchased 3 LED "puck type" battery powered lamps (about $20 each),
I looked int those - great item, but IIRC they draw too much power for what
I'm trying to do. But LED brightsness has gotten impressive overall!
Now, you can even get what's called "warm white", but I haven't seen a Warm
White that also pumps out lotsa Lumens.
> and rewired them to a light actuated switch. Those lights are plenty
> bright! Shop owner uses rechargeable AA batterys, which last about 2
> weeks to a month (depending on the season) and get changed when the
> display is changed. The whole system materials cost less than $100.
> Now if you could hitch those rechargeables to a solar charger, such as
> is sold for recharging i-pods, you would have a good system. Think
> outside the box! EDS
So far, I've collected three "example application circuits" from the Maxim
website (I suppose one could make some sort fo case for this being at least
*sorta* related to things architectural <g!>):
- how to use 2 ICs (MAX866 and MAX to generate 5V from low-voltage Solar
Cells
- using a battery pack controller DS2715 (between the above, and the
batteries) to charge from 1 to 10 NiMH AA batteries (I chose NiMH becaus
ethey're readily available, less susceptable to "memory effect" than
NiCads, and *much* l;ess expensive than Li-Ion)
- using an LED driver (MAX1848) to drive four or six whte LEDs (non-Puck,
just the regular 3.2V-3.4V, 20 or so mA types).
OTOH, I got the thought a couple days ago that maybe I need to look for
"Solar Christmas Lights"...<L!>
The main "catches" in what I want to do are:
(1) I want to crank out as many lumens as possible (since all the potential
customers etc. polled, including myself!, have all complained about the
dimness of existing solar lights), whit itself could be solved (possibly)
by adapting a Solar Christmas Light string;
and The Biggie,
(2) I want to be able to charge the batteries as fast as possible from the
solar cells, the reason being that current lights are pretty much dependent
upon receiving a good 8 hours of bright.clear sunlight, which just doesn't
cut the mustard if the weather is not perfectly clear, and/or the days are
shorter (as in, during Winter);
and
(3) I'm trying to keep the cost down (not "cheap", just not excessive).
THe problem, of course, is that when I started this project, *ALL* I knew
about electronics was that "a resistor constricts energy flow <ahem...>",
and "there is some set of formulae that relate volts, amps, resistance, and
'other stuff'..."
IOW, next to Nill =:-o
So I'm trying to design a circuit without really knowing what th eheck I'm
doing, because, although I technically "should", I'm not going back to
college to try to take a full course in the topic...
So it is, as the saying goes, "a real trip". THe battery-charger circuit
is especially troublesome, because the Application Notes describing
"typical switchmode appliction for a 3-cell NiMH stack" state that certain
resistor, etc., ratings are for 600mA, but the App Note for the "generating
5V" circuit describes the output as being "5V at 500mA", and deos not
specify how many mA have to be *input* (tho' it creates those 5V from an
input of between 0.8V and 4.5V).
So talk about a "crash course"...especially from someone who barely passed
the second semester of Physics, and at that, back in 1979 - Yikes =8-O !
I can't decide whether it's clever, or just plain psychotic <LOL!><LOL!>
Meanwhile, finished INtroductory Glass Fusing/kilnforming. Fascinating,
the results can be beautiful in the right hands, but I have a very long way
to go (esp. re: my glas scuttign technique) before jumping in to the
expense of a kiln - my instructor rents kiln time starting at about $60 per
piece, becsue the energy to do it is so expensive, but i might give that a
try first - well, after I get better at designing and 'cutting', since
designing for hot glass is rather different from designing for copper foil
(itself differnt IMO from designing for lead came).
OTOH, if I can actually manage to pull all of this together (Cu foil,
fusing, lighting), the possibilities are astounding - I can imagine solar-
powered fused-glass installations, for example. Or something like what you
described, addin in solar-recharging for those batteries, and incorporating
that lighted window feature with various artistic glass techniques... It
kinda gets me all sortsa excited <G!>
>
>>
>> THat being said, once I get some photos online, I'll let you all know
>> <G!>
>>
>> Stylistically, I prefer what I call "stylized realism" - I work on
>> getting the overall identifiers corrrect in terms of
>> shape/proportions, and how the
>> subject interacts with gravity, but done so in a a pen'n'ink/Japanese
>> print
>> sort of way.
>>
>>
>> How about yours - copper foil or lead came? Design style, subject
>> preference, etc.? Photos?
>>
>> - K.
>
>
>
|
|
Posted by Troppo on July 1, 2008, 4:58 pm
>
>>
>>> [...]
>>
>>> I noted what you said below about it slitting under a nail gun, and
>>> nails tending to slip and fly off. Now I know ;)
>>
>>
>> OTOH I'm a bit of a worry with a nail gun. Shot myself twice so far,
>> fortunately only with brads.
>
> That sounds like something I'd do =:-o
>
> I haven't yet graduated beyond a staple gun ;) Haven't done anything
so
> large that I couldn't use a plain hammer, esp. with the mucked up wrist
> - I leave that to the pros ;)
I had to buy an air-nailing rig to add plates and strapping to a hardwood
frame - part of a wind speed upgrade. The wood had been aging for 50
years and was extremely hard, way above the required stress grade, but
the studs were only cross-nailed to the bottom plates. Only 110 psi and
hardened nails would do it - pre-drilling would burn the best drill bits
every 3-4 holes, and there were 114 studs to do. Great tool for putting
together benches, saw frames, fixing wobbly garden furniture. Just press
the trigger until it stops wobbling :-)
>>
>>> OTOH, maybe strapping...? As you noted, those websites (with the
>>> bamboo buildings) didn't seem to go into the joining methods.
>>
>> So I did a Google search - "joints in bamboo"
>>
>> http://www.emissionizero.net/Prospettive_-_Our_plans_for_the_future_-_
>> (ENG)_BAMBOO_JOINTS.html [messy link]
>> University of Florence - bamboo joint research
>>
>> http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/earthquakes/Bamboo/Bamboo.htm
>> Shows the whole process - Indian technique. City University London.
>> Some fairly heavy construction, eg reo stirrups mortared into the
>> voids, bamboo as permanent formwork.
>>
>> http://bambus.rwth-aachen.de/eng/fr_referate.html
>> University of Aachen. Several pdf files
>
> THose are all cool links, thanks! I hadn't searched that ebcasue I'm
> still up to my ears obsessing over trying to learn enough electronics
> to build a new kind of solar-recharged garden/yard/tabletop LED lamp
> [...]
> ...required components so I can order them (like, two of each ;) )
LOL - yeah my knowledge of electronics gets a bit vague after the 807
valve. Two of each for two lights? Or because you might drop or break
one?
>> [...]
>> There's some fairly elaborate joints, but some that look do-able, eg
>> making the connectors out of short bits of hardwood, stiffening the
>> hollows where bolts go through, and if in doubt - bog it.
>
> "Bog it"? Is that like "making it up as I go along"? <g!>
Yep - also "builders bog" aka two-pack fillers, that black/white stuff
used by plumbers for joints in iron pipe, or a shot or two of
construction adhesive.
>
>> My kind of building :-)
>
> As a person who tends to hypercomplexificationalize(R) things, I can
> vouch that there is much to be said for occasionally stepping back from
> over-engineering <L!>
Indeed there is. I go for "visual stress grading" as a final check. If it
looks right, if it doesn't move when you swing on it - it's probably
right.
Recently looked at a sewer line laid with full laser levelling. Real
quick/smart process. But something was wrong. Ok - check with a $10
spirit level - the pipe was laid to an exact and constant grade - but to
flow uphill.
|
|
Posted by Kris Krieger on July 4, 2008, 11:04 am
>
>>
>>>
>>>> [...]
>>>
>>>> I noted what you said below about it slitting under a nail gun, and
>>>> nails tending to slip and fly off. Now I know ;)
>>>
>>>
>>> OTOH I'm a bit of a worry with a nail gun. Shot myself twice so far,
>>> fortunately only with brads.
>>
>> That sounds like something I'd do =:-o
>>
>> I haven't yet graduated beyond a staple gun ;) Haven't done anything
> so
>> large that I couldn't use a plain hammer, esp. with the mucked up
>> wrist - I leave that to the pros ;)
>
> I had to buy an air-nailing rig to add plates and strapping to a
> hardwood frame - part of a wind speed upgrade. The wood had been aging
> for 50 years
<!!> Where'd you find that? Talk about rare...
> and was extremely hard, way above the required stress
> grade, but the studs were only cross-nailed to the bottom plates. Only
> 110 psi and hardened nails would do it - pre-drilling would burn the
> best drill bits every 3-4 holes, and there were 114 studs to do. Great
> tool for putting together benches, saw frames, fixing wobbly garden
> furniture. Just press the trigger until it stops wobbling :-)
That's too ambitious for me ;) ((Also, over the the past 30 years, I
spent 22 as a renter, with short periods of ownership interspered through
that - haven't lived in any place long enough to actually have to do any
sort of significant repairs/upgrades.))
>>[ ... ]
>>
>> THose are all cool links, thanks! I hadn't searched that ebcasue I'm
>> still up to my ears obsessing over trying to learn enough electronics
>> to build a new kind of solar-recharged garden/yard/tabletop LED lamp
>
>> [...]
>
>> ...required components so I can order them (like, two of each ;) )
>
> LOL - yeah my knowledge of electronics gets a bit vague after the 807
> valve. Two of each for two lights? Or because you might drop or break
> one?
I'm working on designs for 2, 4, or 6 LEDs per lamp/lantern/thingie,
depending upon the LED brightness I can get, the size of the individual
items I make, and the material (clear textured versus actual stained
(colored) glass). The prototype is just rectangluar, but what I want to
do is combine my 3D modeling software, and my unwrapping software, to
build some less-usual shapes, such as a twisted hexagonal column, and so
on.
>
>>> [...]
>>> There's some fairly elaborate joints, but some that look do-able, eg
>>> making the connectors out of short bits of hardwood, stiffening the
>>> hollows where bolts go through, and if in doubt - bog it.
>>
>> "Bog it"? Is that like "making it up as I go along"? <g!>
>
> Yep - also "builders bog" aka two-pack fillers, that black/white stuff
> used by plumbers for joints in iron pipe, or a shot or two of
> construction adhesive.
>>
>>> My kind of building :-)
>>
>> As a person who tends to hypercomplexificationalize(R) things, I can
>> vouch that there is much to be said for occasionally stepping back
>> from over-engineering <L!>
>
> Indeed there is. I go for "visual stress grading" as a final check. If
> it looks right, if it doesn't move when you swing on it - it's
> probably right.
WHen you know your materials well, I think that it prob. becomes almost
an "instinct".
>
> Recently looked at a sewer line laid with full laser levelling. Real
> quick/smart process. But something was wrong. Ok - check with a $10
> spirit level - the pipe was laid to an exact and constant grade - but
> to flow uphill.
<!> I dunno whether to laugh or moan at that one =:-o
|
|
Posted by Troppo on July 4, 2008, 4:37 pm
>
>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>> [...]
>>>>
>>> large that I couldn't use a plain hammer, esp. with the mucked up
>>> wrist - I leave that to the pros ;)
>>
>> I had to buy an air-nailing rig to add plates and strapping to a
>> hardwood frame - part of a wind speed upgrade. The wood had been
>> aging for 50 years
>
> <!!> Where'd you find that? Talk about rare...
It's a whole house, shifted to a new site. Built by the State Works
Department in 1953 - delivery dates were marked on some of the beams. My
3 sons + others have been living in it for 4 years, and so far they
haven't managed to break anything major - even the fitted carpet is ok.
I'd certainly recommend an air-nailer. Framing guns are heavy and might
be hard to handle if you have a bad wrist, but a brad nailer or finishing
gun is easy enough. With a bit of practice the nail heads counter-sink
neatly and disappear with paint or a dab of wood filler.
>> [...]
>> Recently looked at a sewer line laid with full laser levelling. Real
>> quick/smart process. But something was wrong. Ok - check with a $10
>> spirit level - the pipe was laid to an exact and constant grade - but
>> to flow uphill.
>
> <!> I dunno whether to laugh or moan at that one =:-o
All that gear, the expressions on everyone's face - you never have a
camera when you need one ...
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Page 3 of 6 < 1 2 3 > last >>
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