Micro fog machine

Tags: #<Tag:0x00007fa497d15978>
#1

I want to build tiny concealed fog machines for miniature dioramas and gaming boards! I’ve done lots of googling, but I’ve also never done anything involving electronics before and would appreciate some guidance as to where to start.

Project criteria:

• The whole package should be as compact as possible, to make it easier to conceal/camouflage.
• I think I’d like to make several low powered units that produce small amounts of fog, rather than one large one.
• I don’t want to leave any residues on miniatures/dioramas, so a system that uses water rather than smoke oils is essential.
• I don’t need any fancy features, like variable power or a fan – a simple on/off switch should be fine…?
• ‘Self contained’ i.e. battery powered is preferable for the following reasons:
1) I want to be able to easily move around and reuse the units on different boards.
2) I want to minimise visible cables, or minimise the necessity to disguise cables.

…That said, it’s not impossible to disguise cables, so if there’s a discrete and convenient way to power several modules at once from a wall outlet, I’m open to ideas.

I’ve been googling ultrasonic water modules, but it’s tough to get a sense of their scale, power requirements, and suitability for my plans. If anyone can give me a point in the right direction, I’d be super grateful!

#2

some dims on this thing :slight_smile:

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#3

Thanks for replying! This unit certainly looks convenient, but I’m not a fan of the LEDs or the power cable.

I wonder how difficult it would be to hook up a simple 1.7MHZ ceramic disc with a suitable power source?

#4

found this on ebay hope it helps

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#5

So I bought a little £2 ‘humidifier’ from China and cracked it open: the actual necessary parts are really teeny and thus perfect! It has a green LED that lights up when it’s on (not necessary for my purpose) and a clever way to break the circuit when there’s no water left in the reservoir.

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The next step is migrating the power source from USB to a battery of some kind. I know nothing about batteries – what would be the best choice? This little sucker needs DC 5V/500mA, which I assume is pretty standard for USB powered stuff.

#6

Poundland car cigarette lighter usb adapters are a simple fix…and has usb out already if you want it, and will take a range of voltages. a 9v battery works well. Otherwise there’s more efficient chips I suspect if you do the research

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#7

I’ve seen powerbanks in Poundland too.

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#8

There’s also a switching buck converter designed as a direct replacement for a 3 pin voltage regulator…significantly more efficient @electrotechs?

#9

You can use 4 AA batteries to have 4.5v or , if you want to use a lithium battery you need a charge/discharge buck converter , usual place have plants of them but I wouldn’t save money on it ,you don’t want the wrong thing is o start to smoke…

#10

A 9 volt battery would be ideal (a rechargeable lithium battery would be awesome, but probably too big/expensive.)

Would you mind going into a little more detail as to how I could get it working off a 9 volt?

#11

It’s fairly simple…however: what @RichM said…

Any USB powerbank will work out of the box for 500mA I’d have thought…and Poundland do them

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#12

Agreed with this - plus usb powerbank probably contains a rechargeable lithium battery.

If you need it smaller I’d think you’re getting into the area of making your own PCB etc with battery/controller/frequency driver all on the same board but this will get pretty complex.

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#13

There’s also this guy who’s building a little power bank out of a 9v block: https://www.instagram.com/p/BnzJJLGnTtR/?taken-by=pauls_3d_things

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