20 Aug Power supply installation for electroluminescent film, textile and paint

Electroluminescent power supply installation preamble

Power supply for electroluminescent devices is made ​​to power textile, paint or some high power films. Inverters are made ​​to preserve electroluminescent's life time in the best conditions as they help stabilize the output current very accurately. Constant current rather than constant voltage.

Note: Voltage is expressed in volts (V), power flow is expressed in amperes or milliamperes (mA or A).
Constant voltage is a voltage in which the tolerance is very low. The special power for electroluminescent canvas convert 110V or 220v to 12v, it is necessary to use a constant voltage of 12V with a tolerance of only 0.2v to ensure the longevity of textiles or even electroluminescent light strips that are used on special motion drivers. The light produced charges the power needed in amps and receives a specific voltage of 12v.

A power supply with constant voltage delivers a voltage of 12V and power charge what is needed (eg 200mA).

Here, the power is suitable first.

Constant charge, in contrast with constant voltage, no longer considers the voltage that fits the voltage demanded by the product used with a diet of constant power.
Here, power that is stabilized by either 350mA or 700mA whether it is 3.8v or 7.4v, the product will receive a specific power which is called electric power.
A constant charge power thus delivers a fixed current of 350mA for example whether or 3v 9v.
Here the voltage fits.

Wiring and Power

Almost invisible part of an installation, the wiring is too often overlooked. Big mistake ! This is the MOST IMPORTANT.

The wiring of the power supply

These are the cables that carry power - named signal - to the power supply. These cables must be of high quality or go through a light 12V plug shielded to prevent overheating.

Wiring

An electrician friend, well imaged me the importance of the cables' size . "Compare the power cord to a pipe" he told me! "What will happen if you want to quickly fill a container with a small pipe?" .

No comment. Everything is easily summarized.

To resume, when we start talking about serious installation, wiring is essential. Power supply and a motion driver, consume energy. The driver converts the absorbed signal for electroluminescent surfaces. If the driver does not have enough power to convert, the signal will be degraded and animation will be impossible. An obvious symptom when the counter display varies depending on the amount of the surface powered.

The easiest solution is to use the right cable diameter. It is better to put too big than too small. I know that the cable is expensive but what is the interest of having $ 1,000, $ 2,000, $ 3,000 or more in electroluminescent material and having an average result due to improper cable? This cable will be even bigger than the length used is important. Indeed, look at the section of a 100 amp fuse. It is ridiculous ... but sufficient as very short.

Wires section from power supply to panel or paint.

The passage of the cable from battery to driver/inverter

For obvious reasons of electricity demand, the power driver positive cable will be drawn directly from the battery. It will find a passage between the engine compartment and passenger compartment. There is always (almost) one or more possible passages. These holes are blocked by a rubber seal to prevent any leak. Simply remove the rubber cover, illuminate the hole with a flashlight and then look under the dash to see where the light is. Once you found the path , pierce the rubber cover to pass the power cable. Why? Because that protect it from rubbing on the sheet and then cut. Then replace the rubber cap on the apron.

Power supply

Protection

Now that we know the right section of the cable, there is still one thing ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY, let alone when you start to have a large diameter of cables. It is the protection of the line. Indeed, we must not forget that if the power supply is fused, it does not protect the line itself. If unfortunately, the cable began to mass, and without fuse smacking: big trouble! Farewell the car in worst case scenario or more likely a fire starts. To know the fuse value to use, add the value of ALL fuse devices that will be connected to this line. This protection is simple and relatively inexpensive (however, still far less expensive than the electroluminescent material and / or a car). Place fuse with a fuse holder in the beginning of the line, ie as close as possible to the battery. Twenty inches is an acceptable length. To connect the power cable to the battery, find in trading all kinds of connectors.

Battery

A point often overlooked, is the battery. Engine off, it alone must assume the operation of your system. Then there are the lucky ones and the others. Lucky are those who ride "Diesel" because very often the battery is high capacity, in any case greater than the one which equip the same car in"regular" gas. For clothes and ambulatory facilities, the latest evolution in lithium - identical to mobile and tabs - increases the range of standalone use.
For architecture, as you can imagine the battery is not necessary.

The first solution, the most economical, is to replace the battery with a more powerful. Two things to watch: size of the new battery should allow it to fit in original container and do not abuse the new power generated.

The second solution is the "first solution" than replacing alternator by a more efficient model ( i.e. model type alternator to "diesel" ). There are also generators sold by suppliers of electrical connections, which are much more powerful ( but expensive ).

The third solution is to replace original classic battery ( lead acid +) by a gel battery ( instead of acid ). These batteries have the advantage of supporting much better discharge and frequent refills, and are able to hold out longer. A classic battery discharged too "far" does not reload again to its maximum capacity ( load memory phenomenon ).

Alternatively, the assembly of several batteries. There is mandatory replacement of alternator ( see Adding a second? ) and installation of several batteries in parallel. But here it is electroluminescent screen display than 1,000 square inche ² .

Capacitor

Before speaking of mass, this one can optimize the driver power - in fact, you MUST optimize it -for the animated biggest screens. This optimization is made possible thanks to the capacitors. This device overcomes the battery lack of responsiveness in case of heavy loads. This large capacitor which is a 10 inches by 4 inches cylinder diameter must be installed as close as possible to the power supply of your electroluminescent wrapping.

Mass

Once positive wiring is done, there is one last point. Mass. Again, we say: "There's only a little scratch on the plate and it's everywhere." Wrong answer! The mass must be unique and as short as possible. How short the mass must be with an electroluminescent panel on the front and a power supply 3 meters behind. "Answer: By installing the mass near to the most consuming devices - drivers - should not hesitate to cut a hole in the metal of your car ( avoid roof, wets 'cause sometime it rains !) Be careful to not puncture tank, brake hoses, wiring harness of the car. etc. .... Then put the bare metal near the hole. Thread a large bolt - set screws and nut for newbies: NEVER use large metal screws only - if necessary by using washers!  Attach your masses above. About electroluminescent paintings on front, take another mass forward. Generally, there are no problems of mass. Otherwise, draw a large mass to your grounding point near the power supply. Mass wire must also be consistent, at least for driver. Should be the same section as power cable.

Electroluminescent paint mass

Equipment required

The electroluminescent signage takes different forms listed as

Electroluminescent paint

Electroluminescent strip

Electroluminescent adhesive vinyl

Electroluminescent canvas

Electroluminescent wallpaper

Electroluminescent magnets

Electroluminescent fairing

Power supplies

The heart of the electroluminescent material life is the power supply. They can be pre-programmed, specialized for a particular purpose - racing, boating, aviation - or designed on demand.
In this exercise, American engineers of electroluminescent store are the most reliable and safe. Learn more

Electroluminescent pre-programmed control unit

Electroluminescent driver on demand

This power supplies example show sizes between competition power supplies

Installation

It is better to have good equipment with a neat installation than having high-end devices but without the proper installation.
Golden Rule: Patience and thoroughness

Driver

We will talk about truck /car,  boats, clothing and building being too "exotic".

Installation Precautions

There is no particular constraint for this type of equipment. It may be mounted horizontally, vertically or inclined. Take a little more care for the insertion of motorized drivers that need to be as stable as possible. Choose preferably an original location when it is possible otherwise avoid exposed areas. If the location does not exist, there is no rule to follow. You just find a place where the driver or remote switch will be accessible while driving. For on demand power supply :No distinction. Problem is often to define the dimensions ahead of the semi-customizable production for a stable location.

Connections

Once these points are set, we can consider connection. But before anything, BATTERY MUST BE DISCONNECTED ..

Two possibilities:

Truck is pre-equipped with electroluminescent power inverter thanks to a previous installation. This is the case of the street marketing boardtruck - advertising vehicle - and taxi body.  There it is (hopefully) happiness. A nice plug quietly waiting in the driver's location for you to plug the female bundle on the electroluminescent vinyl, this one equipped with the male plug.

Most trucks do not have an electroluminescent power supply but it is the interest of the profit margin of Certified professionnal installers. We stop immediately people who have already cutting pliers in hand to cut the beam speakers! First you must identify wires ("+", "-", "electroluminescent", etc ...). Then, if you do not plug - like products Electroluminescent store U.S. - wires is stripped of 1-2 inches. Two wires that must be matched by a splice ( by twisting the bare wire in two parts ) is joined. Then this should be welded splice for perfect contact. We now isolate the contact with special tape or better electricity with heat-shrink tubing. In this case, it must pass the jacket on one of two wire BEFORE making the splice. The heat shrink has the ability to shrink under the effect of the heat of such a lighter. They are found in hardware stores. Another tip: whenever is possible, take the jacket of a different color depending on usage. Generally positive for Red, Black to the mass and other colors for the other wires. It will be much easier if we have an afterthought on the connections. Now you can push the power supply into his slot. If this is hard, this is the beam interfering with wires behind. Get the inverter out and try to tidy up the wires package. Here is your driver now installed. You still have to adjust to the end of the general installation if you ordered a manual parameterizable version.

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