49. Arc Lighter

Let's startup with a simple project, being it is the 50th project on this website, and that is the Arc Lighter. This project is not only fun to operate, but its use on multiple occasions made other ways to start a fire almost obsolete. 

<Arc Lighter in operation>

All you have to do is to press the button, which serves as a momentary power switch, and there, the electrodes emit a plasma arc-hot enough to start a fire on anything, such as paper. Being that it is powered through a flat Li-ion battery only, you can use the Arc Lighter multiple times, and charge it through the integrated tp4056 module if the battery almost dies out. This is beneficial unlike the lighters using butane as fuel to light up a fire. Most of the time, you are more likely to run it out.

<Parts>

The project consists of a few parts, where it's mainly the fast-recovery diode, the resistor, the NPN transistor, and a small transformer. When they are connected together, the transistor acts as a driver to the transformer, making fast pulses of current to the transistor. The diode makes sure that the current is going in the right direction, and the resistor limits the current. Once the fast discharges of current flow through the primary, it creates a strong magnetic field-now transferring to the secondary coil, generating a continuous high-voltage discharge. Due to a large amount of current used to generate High voltage, a heat sink was added to the transistor, so that it doesn't overheat and kill it quickly. Even then, it can only be used in pulses, not continuously.

<Power setup>

The power supply used for the Arc Lighter is a common Flat Li-ion battery cell similar to the ones used in mobile phones. They deliver more volts and current than a standard non-rechargeable battery cell, and they are rechargeable. As mentioned, a tp4056 battery cell was used to charge the cell in case the battery ran out of energy. To access the battery terminals, they were soldered in with wires, to make connecting the charging module easier. The container used for the Arc Lighter is a small 18650 battery container, to house at least 4 battery cells. Once everything was installed, It was then covered with black tape, to give it a dark, sleek look, but this is just for cosmetics.

<Internal>

Ether was you use the Arc Lighter, always know that you are dealing with High Voltage, and so the device should be operated, and treated with care. Any misuse of the project can lead to minor or even serious harm. It's an easy project to do, and useful once it's complete.

 

<Test of the lighter in action> 

<Circuitry>