My 16 COB Mobile (Light Spinner)

JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone.

I was thinking about how I want to build my COB rack and came up with an interesting idea. The way I have it laid out for a 16 COB in a 4x4 allows for possible light rotation. Mobiles (think of a child's crib) aren't new or anything, but I don't recall seeing one for COBs. I only remember seeing a few, so they probably aren't that popular. Maybe just too expensive. Even if I don't make the nodes spin, I'll probably still lay it out like this.

I did a really quick mock-up of how it could look in Sketchup. In the pictures you'll see the four arms that extend to each of the spinners.
  • Each node would have a "Continuous rotation, high torque servo" with gears.
  • Power to the fans and COBs would use an "Electrical Slip Ring" to allow for rotation.
  • The main arms and the arms that connect the heatsinks are square and rectangle tubes for rigidity and running wires through.
  • This mock up shows heatsink bars and fans, but it could easily be modified for individual passive heatsinks
  • I plan on mounting my drivers externally, but there are so many ways they could be incorporated into the carousel, such as on the center plate
  • For each module I could see running 2 x 3500k, a 3000k, and a 4000K COB
  • The servos can be on a PWM controller or potentiometer for rotation speed

Servo
https://smile.amazon.com/SpringRC-Torque-Continuous-Rotation-SM-S4315R/dp/B00RCATLQU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1477675409&sr=8-3&keywords=Continuous+rotation+high+torque+servo

Electric slip ring
https://smile.amazon.com/Wires-Generator-250Rpm-Power-Collector/dp/B00MYYTWQ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477675069&sr=8-1&keywords=electrical+slip+ring


I don't know if this is something I'll build. Maybe if I get bored. It would be fairly easy and inexpensive though, so maybe just for the "cool" factor.

I have no idea what size servos or gears I would need. I know how gears and servos work, but not calculating out which servo and which gears are going to work most efficiently together using the least power.

If you guys think this would be cool and wouldn't mind giving me some info on servos and gears, maybe I'll tackle this when I'm ready to start building everything.











 
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ThaiBaby1

Well-Known Member
Way too heavy, my idea was to use samsung hard strips mounted on something like a ceiling fan, no need for heatsinks
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
It'd be a lot sturdier if you only used 2 bars for the wholearms assembly rather than 4 I'd think too?
Also, just realized that with PIN sinks, you'd be able to use a U bracket and make the cobs rotatable and able to change angles as well. You'd be REALLY able to get light right where you'd want it.
 
Danielson999

Danielson999

Well-Known Member
I've seen people put all their plants on a rotating table like a lazy susan and just move their plants instead of moving the lights. You could simply just swing it over 30° every day so your plants get a different look. It also makes watering really damn easy if you're using soil.
 
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ThaiBaby1

Well-Known Member
Danielson999 said:
I've seen people put all their plants on a rotating table like a lazy susan and just move their plants instead of moving the lights. You could simply just swing it over 30° every day so your plants get a different look. It also makes watering really damn easy if you're using soil.
Click to expand...
This ^ motorized.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the feedback!

I was thinking the same about whether or not the extra light would be of benefit. I wasn't sure about the weight. Chances are, the stronger lighter stuff is going to drive the cost up. I could have some carbon fiber rails made lol

Probably not going to build it...at least not now. I've got a pretty technical RDWC UC designed so I'm going to be pretty busy with that.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
My initial idea was to build 4 independent nodes so that I could raise and lower each one depending on if I had decided to do a mixed grow. It was just an idea I haven't decided on yet.

Does anyone have a setup like the one I'm describing, and for that purpose?

Opinions?
 
CobKits

CobKits

Well-Known Member
i like the ingenuity. i have a few sun circles from the 90s in my garage that i can donate that have the required electrical contacts. now that were beyond high intensity light sources as the only efficient option, movers are obsolete imo.

a passive array is more cost effective, reliable, and efficient
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
CobKits said:
i like the ingenuity. i have a few sun circles from the 90s in my garage that i can donate that have the required electrical contacts. now that were beyond high intensity light sources as the only efficient option, movers are obsolete imo.

a passive array is more cost effective, reliable, and efficient
Click to expand...
So you would use 16 pin heatsinks (one for each COB) over 4 heatsink bars in a 4x4 tent?

I'm going to run them at 1050mA and have good circulation via active intake. They'd stay pretty cool. But I was thinking the pin heatsinks were more expensive because of the amount I needed.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
JSB99 said:
Awesome! Can you check the name of that place again? I think it might have been mis-typed.
Click to expand...
It's a guy from alibaba named Jerry. You can email him at the following email address for pricing and getting an invoice to pay through pay pal. He also sells cobs, meanwell drivers and others, holders, other LEDs, reflectors, wagos, wire, screws. The works. Tell him Airwalk16 sent ya..

[email protected]
 
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