Sean the Nailer
New member
Hey there again! While i am still gearing up to actually get a tank (and therefore NOT a "tank authority") I can say from my experiences a thing or two about metals and drives.
It seems that you just finished polishing your aluminum heat-sinks, correct? Uh, why did you do that? I ask, because 'less-than' minutes after doing so, oxygen will react with the aluminum to corrode it. This is the aluminum version of 'rust', though it is called Aluminum Oxide. One of the hardest substances that is man-made. They then make grinding wheels out of it, to grind steel and other metals away.
If you want 'shiny', then the only way to keep it that way is to protect the surface with clear-coat or wax. The problem with coating the surface of a heat-sink is that the coating is a miniscule layer of 'insulation' and it actually does retard the heat dissipation ability somewhat. To what extent is dictated by your particular application, but I'm just letting you know what's going on there.
It is an enclosed cabinet, therefore allow the components to work at their optimum efficiency. Just my humble suggestion.
On another note, regarding the mechanical drive for a traversing lighting device, I wouldn't want to attempt that.
Maybe advances have been made that I am not aware of. But I have not yet seen a reef tank that did not have 'humidity' above nor salt residue around it. To one degree or another.
Both humidity AND salt are detrimental to nearly ANY drive in existence. Corrosion will form, and so will salt crystals. For nearly any metal, that salt will enhance corrosion, and for nearly any composite those salt crystals will form/create a "granular medium" similar to lapping compound that WILL increase your tolerances AND load on your drive.
Short version, things will wear out, and in the process make other components work harder increasing their load therefore helping wear out faster. It is specifically this reasoning why I was impressed with the bank of LED's and was thinking about angular mounting with PLC controls. There are so many capabilities with such, that not only sunrise and sunset can be imitated, but also moonrise and moonset AND the phases of the moon. If one were anal enough or OCD maxxed, then they could program in 'weather variables' as well.
The limits are only at the end of ones ability to bring to fruition their imagination through infrastructure and prowess.
How far do you want to go? :reading:
It seems that you just finished polishing your aluminum heat-sinks, correct? Uh, why did you do that? I ask, because 'less-than' minutes after doing so, oxygen will react with the aluminum to corrode it. This is the aluminum version of 'rust', though it is called Aluminum Oxide. One of the hardest substances that is man-made. They then make grinding wheels out of it, to grind steel and other metals away.
If you want 'shiny', then the only way to keep it that way is to protect the surface with clear-coat or wax. The problem with coating the surface of a heat-sink is that the coating is a miniscule layer of 'insulation' and it actually does retard the heat dissipation ability somewhat. To what extent is dictated by your particular application, but I'm just letting you know what's going on there.
It is an enclosed cabinet, therefore allow the components to work at their optimum efficiency. Just my humble suggestion.
On another note, regarding the mechanical drive for a traversing lighting device, I wouldn't want to attempt that.
Maybe advances have been made that I am not aware of. But I have not yet seen a reef tank that did not have 'humidity' above nor salt residue around it. To one degree or another.
Both humidity AND salt are detrimental to nearly ANY drive in existence. Corrosion will form, and so will salt crystals. For nearly any metal, that salt will enhance corrosion, and for nearly any composite those salt crystals will form/create a "granular medium" similar to lapping compound that WILL increase your tolerances AND load on your drive.
Short version, things will wear out, and in the process make other components work harder increasing their load therefore helping wear out faster. It is specifically this reasoning why I was impressed with the bank of LED's and was thinking about angular mounting with PLC controls. There are so many capabilities with such, that not only sunrise and sunset can be imitated, but also moonrise and moonset AND the phases of the moon. If one were anal enough or OCD maxxed, then they could program in 'weather variables' as well.
The limits are only at the end of ones ability to bring to fruition their imagination through infrastructure and prowess.
How far do you want to go? :reading:
