Design And Construction Of A 6V DC Power Supply

The design and construction of a 6V DC power supply involve creating a circuit that efficiently converts alternating current (AC) to a stable direct current (DC) output with a voltage rating of 6V. This task necessitates careful consideration of components such as transformers, rectifiers, and voltage regulators. First, a suitable transformer is chosen to step down the input AC voltage to an intermediate level, and a rectifier circuit, comprising diodes, rectifies the alternating current into a pulsating DC. Filtering components like capacitors then smooth out the pulsations, resulting in a more stable DC signal. Additionally, a voltage regulator is integrated to ensure the output voltage remains constant despite fluctuations in the input or load variations. The meticulous selection and arrangement of these components are crucial for achieving a reliable 6V DC power supply, catering to various electronic applications where a consistent power source is imperative.

A 6v regulated power supply is an electronic device that supplies 6v electric energy to an electrical load. The primary function of a power supply is to convert one form of electrical energy to another.

A 6v regulated Power supply takes in AC power from the mains supply and delivers a DC voltage to the item requiring power. To obtain a 6v DC power supply using a single circuit. The circuit uses transformer, capacitor and diode for obtaining the required voltage. The AC mains voltage will be stepped down by the transformer T1, rectified by bridge B1 and filtered by capacitor C1 to obtain a steady DC level.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRCT

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 AIM/OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

1.4 ADVANTAGES OF THE PROJECT

1.5 LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT

1.6 APPLICATION OF THE PROJECT

1.7 PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 REVIEW OF REGULATED POWER SUPPLY

2.2 REVIEW OF POWER SUPPLY CHARACTERISTICS

2.3 REVIEW OF GENERAL APPLICATION OF POWER SUPPLY APPLICATIONS

2.4 REVIEW OF TYPES OF POWER SUPPLY

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY

3.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF THE SYSTEM

3.2 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

3.3 CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION

3.4 SYSTEM OPERATION

3.6 COMPONENTS LIST

3.7 DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR COMPONENTS USED CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 RESULT ANALYSIS

4.1 CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE AND TESTING

4.2 ASSEMBLING OF SECTIONS

4.3 CONSRUCTION OF THE CASING

4.4 TESTING

4.5 INSTALLATION OF THE COMPLETED DESIGN

CHAPTER FIVE

5.2 CONCLUSIONS

5.2 RECOMMENDATION

5.3 REFERENCES

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

1.1                                                        INTRODUCTION

A power supply is an electronic device that supplies electric energy to an electrical load. The primary function of a power supply is to convert one form of electrical energy to another and, as a result, power supplies are sometimes referred to as electric power converters. Some power supplies are discrete, stand-alone devices, whereas others are built into larger devices along with their loads. Examples of the latter include power supplies found in desktop computers and consumer electronics devices.

Every power supply must obtain the energy it supplies to its load, as well as any energy it consumes while performing that task, from an energy source. Depending on its design, a power supply may obtain energy from various types of energy sources, including electrical energy transmission systems, energy storage devices such as a batteries and fuel cells, electromechanical systems such as generators and alternators, solar power converters, or another power supply.

All power supplies have a power input, which receives energy from the energy source, and a power output that delivers energy to the load. In most power supplies the power input and output consist of electrical connectors or hardwired circuit connections, though some power supplies employ wireless energy transfer in lieu of galvanic connections for the power input or output. Some power supplies have other types of inputs and outputs as well, for functions such as external monitoring and control. To obtain a complete circuit for this work, the circuit is mainly composed of the:

Input transformer: The input transformer is used to transform the incoming line voltage down to the required level for the power supply. Typically the input transformer provides a step down function. It also isolates the output circuit from the line supply.

Regulator: This stage of the power supply takes the smoothed voltage and uses a regulator circuit to provide a constant output virtually regardless of the output current and any minor fluctuations in the input level.

Rectifier: The power supply rectifier converts the incoming signal from an AC format into raw DC. Either half wave or more commonly full wave rectifiers may be used as they make use of both halves of the incoming AC signal.

Smoothing: The raw DC from the rectifier is far from constant falling to zero when the AC waveform crossed the zero axis, and then rising to its peak. The addition of a reservoir capacitor here fills in the troughs in the waveform, enabling the next stage of the power supply to operate. Large value capacitors are normally used within this stage.

1.2                                                      AIM OF THE PROJECT

The aim of a DC power supply is to provide the required 6v of DC power to the load using an AC supply at the input. Different applications require different attributes, but more often than not these days DC power supplies provide an accurate output voltage – this is regulated using electronic circuitry so that it provides a constant output voltage over a wide range of output loads.

1.3                                          ADVANTAGES OF THE PROJECT

Constant Power

A single–phase circuit, instantaneous power varies sinusoidally. However, a dual power supply ensures constant power supply to a device when one power source fails, which could be as a result of a lot of factors.

Pocket-Friendly

A 6V DC power supply is less expensive. Dual DC power supply is cheaper than running on a single power supply. It also comes in useful in situations where one needs more power to boost already available amps. The additional power supply doesn’t have to be of a higher wattage as not much loads need to run on it. For instance, the old power can be used to run the fan and pumps and the new DC source can power the motherboard and other components of the desktop computer.

Ease of Installation

Addition of a 6V DC power supply to an already existing direct current power supply source is easy and can be completed in less than 20 minutes. For example, once the spot is identified for the second power supply, run a cord out of the case to connect the green pin and any black pin coming from the main power supply to the auxiliary. It is as simple as that.

Convenient Temperature

Extra power supply does not change the case temperature as may logically be expected.

User-friendly

A dc power connection makes it easy to switch off the air conditioning device of an ATM machine without interrupting the entire power supply during cold weather conditions and saving up energy in the process.

A 6V electric power supply is important for several reasons. Not only does it ensure stable power supply to a device, but it also helps prevent system damage. It allows for multiple usage of power by increasing power output. To put short, it ensures regular direct current power supply. The importance of a dual DC power supply cannot be overemphasized.

1.4                                           APPLICATION OF THE PROJECT

Power supplies are a fundamental component of many electronic devices and therefore used in a diverse range of applications. This list is a small sample of the many applications of power supplies.

Computer power supply

A modern computer power supply is a switch-mode power supply that converts AC power from the mains supply, to several DC voltages. Switch-mode supplies replaced linear supplies due to cost, weight, and size improvement. The diverse collection of output voltages also have widely varying current draw requirements.

Electric Vehicle power supply

Electric vehicles are those which rely on energy created through electricity generation. A power supply unit is part of the necessary design to convert high voltage vehicle battery power.

Welding power supply

Arc welding uses electricity to melt the surfaces of the metals in order to join them together through coalescence. The electricity is provided by a welding power supply, and can either be AC or DC. Arc welding typically requires high currents typically between 100 and 350 amperes. Some types of welding can use as few as 10 amperes, while some applications of spot welding employ currents as high as 60,000 amperes for an extremely short time. Older welding power supplies consisted of transformers or engines driving generators. More recent supplies use semiconductors and microprocessors reducing their size and weight.

Aircraft power supply

Both commercial and military avionic systems require either a DC-DC or AC/DC power supply to convert energy into usable voltage.

AC adapter

An AC adapter is a power supply built into an AC mains power plug. AC adapters are also known by various other names such as “plug pack” or “plug-in adapter”, or by slang terms such as “wall wart”. AC adapters typically have a single AC or DC output that is conveyed over a hardwired cable to a connector, but some adapters have multiple outputs that may be conveyed over one or more cables. “Universal” AC adapters have interchangeable input connectors to accommodate different AC mains voltages.

Adapters with AC outputs may consist only of a passive transformer (plus a few diodes in DC-output adapters), or they may employ switch-mode circuitry. AC adapters consume power (and produce electric and magnetic fields) even when not connected to a load; for this reason they are sometimes known as “electricity vampires”, and may be plugged into power strips to allow them to be conveniently turned on and off.

1.5                                                                  LIMITATION

The problem of this work is high heat loss, and lower efficiency levels when compared to a switch-mode power supply.

1.6                                          PROJECT WORK ORGANISATION

The various stages involved in the development of this project have been properly put into five chapters to enhance comprehensive and concise reading. In this project thesis, the project is organized sequentially as follows:

Chapter one of this work is on the introduction to a 6v dc power supply. In this chapter, the background, significance, objective limitation and problem of a 6v power supply were discussed.

Chapter two is on literature review of a 6v dc power supply. In this chapter, all the literature pertaining to this work was reviewed.

Chapter three is on design methodology. In this chapter all the method involved during the design and construction were discussed.

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MORE DESCRIPTION:

Design And Construction Of A 6V DC Power Supply:

Designing and constructing a 6V DC power supply is a straightforward process that involves selecting the appropriate components and configuring them to provide the desired output voltage and current. In this guide, I’ll outline the basic steps involved in designing and building a simple 6V DC power supply using commonly available components.

Components Needed:

  1. Transformer
  2. Bridge rectifier
  3. Capacitor(s)
  4. Voltage regulator
  5. Heat sink (if needed)
  6. Filter capacitor
  7. Resistors (if using voltage divider)
  8. LEDs or other indicators (optional)
  9. PCB (Printed Circuit Board) or breadboard
  10. Enclosure (optional)

Step 1: Transformer Selection

The transformer converts the AC mains voltage to a lower AC voltage suitable for rectification. For a 6V DC output, you’ll need a transformer with a primary winding suitable for your mains voltage (e.g., 110V or 220V) and a secondary winding rated around 6-9V AC. The secondary voltage should be slightly higher than 6V to account for voltage drops in the rectification and regulation stages.

Step 2: Rectification

The AC voltage from the transformer is converted to pulsating DC using a bridge rectifier. This rectifier consists of four diodes configured in a bridge configuration. The output of the rectifier will be unregulated DC voltage with significant ripple.

Step 3: Filtering

To reduce the ripple and smooth out the DC voltage, capacitors are used for filtering. A large electrolytic capacitor is connected across the output of the bridge rectifier. The capacitor charges during the peaks of the rectified voltage and discharges during the troughs, effectively reducing the ripple.

Step 4: Voltage Regulation

To obtain a stable 6V DC output, a voltage regulator is used. You can choose from various types of voltage regulators, such as linear regulators (e.g., LM7806) or switching regulators. Linear regulators are simpler and cheaper but less efficient, while switching regulators are more complex but offer higher efficiency.

Step 5: Heat Dissipation (if needed)

If the voltage regulator dissipates significant power, you’ll need to attach a heat sink to it to prevent overheating. The size of the heat sink depends on the power dissipation of the regulator and its thermal resistance.

Step 6: Voltage Divider (optional)

If you need to adjust the output voltage slightly, you can use a voltage divider circuit before the regulator. This circuit consists of two resistors connected in series, with the output voltage taken from the junction between them.

Step 7: Indicator LEDs (optional)

You can add indicator LEDs to indicate power on and output voltage. These LEDs are typically connected to the input and output sides of the power supply.

Step 8: Assembly

Once you have all the components, assemble them on a PCB or breadboard according to the schematic diagram. Pay attention to polarity when connecting capacitors and diodes. Double-check all connections before applying power.

Step 9: Testing

Before connecting any load, test the power supply using a multimeter to verify that it’s providing the correct output voltage. Gradually increase the load while monitoring the output voltage to ensure stability.

Step 10: Enclosure (optional)

If desired, you can house the power supply in an enclosure to protect the components and improve safety. Make sure the enclosure provides adequate ventilation, especially if the power supply generates heat.

Safety Considerations:

  • Always work with the power supply disconnected from the mains while assembling and testing.
  • Use appropriate insulation and safety precautions when working with mains voltage.
  • Double-check all connections and polarities to avoid damaging components or causing safety hazards.

By following these steps, you can design and construct a simple 6V DC power supply suitable for various low-power applications. Depending on your specific requirements, you may need to adjust component values or add additional features such as overcurrent protection or voltage regulation