Torch Materials

These are the materials and components that you will use to make your torch

3V Coin Cell Battery

LED

Machine Screws

EVA Foam

Acrylic Plastic

Plastic can be a Thermoplastic or Thermosetting Plastic

There are two main ‘families’ of plastic. These are called Thermoplastic and Thermosetting Plastic.

For our torch project, we are concerned with a Thermoplastic called Acrylic as this can be laser cut and can have a highly polished edge.

Plastics themselves are available in many different forms, including powder, granules, liquid and sheet. Acrylic is not available in all forms, but it is very versatile (can be used for many different things). It can easily be heated up and shaped or moulded into many different products such as safety glasses, car indicators and bathtubs. Acrylic is also quite ‘tough’, but is very brittle (it snaps or shatters easily). Acrylic comes in a wide range of colors.

It is also possible to use other materials for this project, based upon your design work, as long as these materials can be laser cut. Another material you could consider using is Laser ply wood.

Electronic components

You will be given 3 different components (parts) to make your torch circuit.

The ‘power supply’ will be a slim-line 3v Coin Cell battery. This type of battery is common in calculators, watches and other small electronic products.

The light is provided by using a Light Emitting Diode (LED). This component is widely used as an indicator in TV’s, video players, computers etc. It is important to note that LED’s don’t generally like too many volts, however as we are using only a 3v battery, the LED will work without blowing.

The final component is to make the switch. We will use EVA foam, however, A SMART material called Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC) would be an ideal material. SMART materials are a new class of materials that have been produced and modified to perform in ‘intelligent’ ways. QTC has been developed to advance switching and sensing systems. It is a composite material made from metal particles combined with an elastomeric binder (rubber). In its’ unstressed state, QTC is a near perfect insulator and does not conduct electrical current. However, any form of pressure leads to the QTC starting to conduct electricity and, with enough pressure, very good conduction levels are achieved. The QTC would act as a pressure sensitive switch in your Torch. QTC is unavailable in Thailand so we will use an insulating foam instead.

Both the battery and the LED have +ve and –ve terminals, and if these are not connected the correct way round, it will not work = no light! On the picture of the LED, clearly label the +ve and –ve terminals on the LED. The battery will have the +ve and –ve terminals labelled on it.

Task

Research the materials and components that make use of the same 3 electrical components that you will be using.
Research usability or factual information about these components and materials
Collect images of products that use these electrical components in different ways.
Label each product by its use/function/what it actually is (this has not been done in the example).