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Reinforce power supply

A project log for Mechanical Display

This is a mechanical display utilizing an array of pixel units driven by servos.

airpocketAIRPOCKET 07/18/2023 at 04:440 Comments

In the previous stages of development, we used a stable power supply with a maximum capacity of 10A. It supplied DC12V, which was then stepped down to 5.5V using a DC-DC converter for each unit. However, when I connected 8 units together, we exceeded the 12V10A limit. As a result, we obtained a new stable power supply with a capacity of 12V30A and changed the DC-DC converters to units with current limiting functionality.

When the servos are operated vigorously, the momentary current consumption per unit increases to around 10A. To address this, I have added 5F EDLC (Electric Double-Layer Capacitor) to each unit.

With a power supply of 12V30A, it becomes a significant amount of energy, and therefore, attention must be paid to the thickness of the cables and connectors used. Since current also changes when voltage is converted, it is especially important to be cautious.

Considering that this display will be used outdoors, we also anticipate the use of 12V lead-acid batteries.

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