Here is a project that utilizes your bike or car’s electric system! We are creating a circuit to flash a 12V bulb, and I have completely described the procedures required to do so.
To comprehend the circuit schematic, you only need to have a basic understanding of electronics, and I made the circuit board using through-hole components.
Supplies
The hardware that is required here is primarily used during the circuit assembly process, so you will use a vise to hold the circuit board and tweezers to help you place the electronic components on the board. A soldering iron and solder core spool are also unavoidably required for the soldering of the parts.
Note: stay safe while using the soldering iron
Step 1: BreadBoard Prototype
It is always advised to test the circuit in a breadboard before moving on to the circuit design to ensure that everything is working properly and that the correct components are being used in the correct connections. I did this by testing the circuit on my breadboard using 12V DC power from my “Lab Power Supply” in the same way that it was supplied by the 12V battery source in my car. Keep in mind that in our circuit we are aiming to flash 12V Bulbs not LEDs; the ones used in the schematic will represent the Bulb
After connecting the circuit to a 12V power source and getting the bulb to flash at a set frequency that you can change by changing the value of capacitor C1, I saw promising results (100uF).
Step 2: Circuit Design
After the circuit was tested, I used Altium Designer to create the circuit’s schematic and turn it into a PCB design. I also added a jack connector for the power supply and a slide switch for On/Off control, and all of the resistors were 1/2W, which was sufficient to handle the power required by the bulbs.
A power MOSFET IRF540 was installed to manage the output power of the bulbs because a basic transistor was unable to handle the current dumped by the bulbs.
Step 3: Circuit Assembly
As soon as the printed circuit boards were delivered, I prepared my desktop for assembly by bringing the Vise circuit holder, the tweezers, the soldering iron, and the solder core spool. I then exported the circuit board design’s associated GERBER files and uploaded them to JLCPCB to make it.
Don’t get confused, especially with the resistors, and be sure to arrange each component on the board in accordance with the circuit layout.
I utilized a 12V bulb housing and soldered its two wires (plus and mines) to the board output connection after attaching the components.
Although the circuit was capable of supporting up to 8 bulbs, I just utilized 4 in my case.
The circuit could handle up to 8 Bulbs, for my case I only used 4 Bulbs.
Step 4: 3D Print the Housing
I created a housing for my board, 3D printed it, and then assembled the board to the housing using 3mm screws and threaded inserts.
To make it simple for me to attach the device to any metallic surface, I prepared two holes in the bottom side of the housing base and four slots in the housing design where I inserted the bulb housing.
Step 5: Final Test
Once my circuit was installed in the housing, I turned on the 12V DC power source, and the bulbs began to flash.
Hope you all find this blog informative. Superkitz will be back soon with more informative blogs.
