SEARCH FINESCALE.COM

Enter keywords or a search phrase below:

Applying static grass with high voltage device

7232 views
3 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Applying static grass with high voltage device
Posted by Pawel on Friday, March 19, 2010 9:47 AM

Hello everybody!

For the diorama I'm currently working on (read all about it - here) I needed to do some grass. Heard about static grass, and after seeing it on the fotos and in person I wondered if I can achieve the same results. I borrowed a voltage multiplier from my friend who is an active model railroader. The voltage multiplier is used to produce high voltage and was built specially for the purpose of planting static grass. You can see it set up on the foto below:

High voltage static grass applicator set up

What you can see, right to left, is an old computer SCSI stand-alone drive gutted for the power supply, giving 12 Volts DC to the voltage multiplier (in the gray box), from which then the yellow cables with red plugs go to the applicating tools. Let's take a closer look at them:

High voltage static grass applicator business end

The blue alligator clip will be hooked up to a piece of copper wire driven into the base to be covered with static grass. Before the wire is driven into the base, the base itself is covered with a film of water based adhesive. Or it doesn't have to be water-based, but it has to conduct electricity. The adhesive film then becomes one of the electrodes. The second electrode is the strainer. The one supplied with the voltage multiplier had holes that were too small for the material used, so I clamped a second strainer with bigger holes to the first one.

In this case I covered a piece of styrofoam with a layer of fresh, dark-green acrylic paint from a tube. Then I drove the wire in the styrofoam and hooked up the alligator clip. I had two kinds of Noch static grass, one with short fibres (1-2mm), another with longer fibres (5-6mm). As I intend to go for 1:35 scale I mixed them up 50-50, filled the larger strainer with material and turned the power on. Holding the strainer some 50mm over the fresh paint I shook the strainer several times and the surface was completely covered with fibers. Then I turned the power off and took a break, about 20 minutes, to let the paint dry. After that I did shake the excess fibres off the work piece, and about 40% separated. I'm very satisfied with the end result, let me show it to you on the following foto:

High voltage static grass application sample by Pawel Mroczkowski

What do you think?

A mail like this wouldn't be complete without a warning - watch out for electricity, voltages above 30V can potentially kill you! And the an encouragement - a car can kill you too, and that doesn't stop you from using it daily, does it? The most dangerous part of the setup in the first foto is the 220 Volts power supply. If you substitute 8 D cells instead, you get a device that would be safe to use for everybody. I estimate the output voltage of the voltage multiplier at 1000 Volts, but then if you take your swether off on a dry day, you can even reach 70 000 Volts and did you see the sparks you can get this way when it's dark? The multiplier has resistors installed, that limit the current flow through its output to a value that is well within a safety limit for humans. I still wouldn't like to hug that baby when it's turned on. But the grass looks grat in my opinnion, so I'm going to use it. And to anyone interested I'd say - don't be afraid!

Happy modelling and have a nice day

Pawel

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: Cave City, KY
Posted by Watchmann on Friday, March 19, 2010 10:16 AM

That's pretty cool, Pawel.  Your patch came out great!  I hadn't thought of using two lengths of grass, but it makes it interesting.  Looks like I need to get some longer grass. :)

I just made a static grass applicator last month.  I based mine from this website

m@

  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: Left forever
Posted by Bgrigg on Friday, March 19, 2010 12:00 PM

Very realistic looking grass! Could use a trim...

A comment on electricity, its the volt that jolts, but its the mils that kills. Milliamps, that is!

Tasers can be "powered" with 100,000v to 950,000v, but the amperage is so low that it (usually) doesn't kill. Standard household current of 110v is deadly because of the high amperage. 15 amps is quite deadly and as little as .1 amps can stop your heart. And none will harm you if you happen to standing in a Faraday cage or suit.

So long folks!

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Friday, April 23, 2010 4:00 AM

Watchmann, Bgrigg - thanks for your comments and I'm sorry I didn't reply for so long, but you know how it is sometimes...

Watchman - did you actually use "Negative Ion Generator" or some other high voltage source?

Bgrigg - that's right, it's the mills that kill. I once read everything above 30 milliamperes (0,03A) will kill you if it goes through your body. So looking out, thinking about what you do is very important. Just don't let the fear paralyze you. One sure tip when working with higher voltages is to keep one of your hands in your pocket. Together with standing on a dry, insulating surface (for example: wood) it protects your life very good - even if you short something with your hand, the current won't flow throug your heart, and that's most deadly.

Anyhow, I recently used the grass applicator another time, here's what it looks like:

1:35 Quad 50 Vietnam emplacement by Pawel Mroczkowski

More fotos in my dio thread here.

Thanks for tuning in, have a nice day

Pawel

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

SEARCH FORUMS
FREE NEWSLETTER
By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy.