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rotating sign
Anyone got any ideas on this one? I need an illuminated sign which rotates slowly!! There can’t be mant of these around, but I thought it worth asking – has anyone come across this sort of sign?
cheers,
Dicko -
17 Replies
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do you mean a wind powered spinning sign mate?
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Robert I think they are looking for a powered sign rather than a free spinning sign. I did one for a kebab shop a couple of years ago, the guy wanted a protruding sign on the wall with a kebab rotating slowly. I couldn’t find anything from a supplier at the time unless he was prepared to pay through the nose for something custom made so I made one myself for him. That was where having an engineering background came in very handy, its still there and still working as far as I know and just as importantly it still looks good.
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yeh i kinda thought it maybe mate, wasnt sure so gave quick reply. 😀
the free spinning ones used on pavements are banned nowadays by most councils. not surprising really… i often saw them often spinning 100mph around our high streets. ide hate to think the damage to some old lady walking into its path… they were heavy things, powder coated steel on sealed bearing units. 😕
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Hi
Print One advertise an illuminated spinning projecting sign (if i read there leaflet correctly) don’t know if its powered or not thoughKev
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Hi guys,
We have sold a few of the roadside spinners (wind powered) and its true in a strong wind they can get up some awesome speed and start to bounce along the pavement. On the new models though they have a spped limiter.
yes it does need to be powered, but it’s for indoors an exhibition. Only needs to spin very slowly, and it will have a double sided light box on top about 3m high. I thought I could use the base and bearing from the pavement spinner, and bolt the light box on to it. So then need a motor geared to slow revolving, and somehow link it with cog or belt drive.
It sure sounds tricky.
Maybe could fix a couple of fans to it and blow it round???Or just say – no chance! But so far I don’t think Ive ever turned a job down for being too tricky.
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quote martin:Robert I think they are looking for a powered sign rather than a free spinning sign. I did one for a kebab shop a couple of years ago, the guy wanted a protruding sign on the wall with a kebab rotating slowly. I couldn’t find anything from a supplier at the time unless he was prepared to pay through the nose for something custom made so I made one myself for him. That was where having an engineering background came in very handy, its still there and still working as far as I know and just as importantly it still looks good.Just a though re: rotating illuminated signs. Erm, the electrics! Gonna need a high spec & waterproof slip ring contact such as this or it’ll do a dozen twirls & rip the cables out!
This is more of an ‘engineering’ sign. Got me thinking about it though…harking back to my old life (good times). Would be a fun build – but the budget would be a killer to do it right.
Even for a box on a rotating turntable – this is still going to be a major concern unless the power unit is self contained..ie. a flippin’ big battery & an inverter to do it ‘on the cheap’.
Powered turntable’s easy enough to source through ‘shop display’ companies – or maybe even RS or Maplin.
Dave
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Hi Dave – you’re right – it’s blinking awkward! Maybe we could send the cable up through the centre of the bearing in the middle. About batteries though, if it’s got 12 volt LEDs what sort of battery would do it? If they would last for 12 hours that would do.
I like the slip ring too, but it would again have to be central to avoid winding round & round…..
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if it is 12v then you could use slip rings and brushes as in alternators to get power to the center.
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quote D Major:Hi Dave – you’re right – it’s blinking awkward! Maybe we could send the cable up through the centre of the bearing in the middle.
would still wind round though
quote :About batteries though, if it’s got 12 volt LEDs what sort of battery would do it? If they would last for 12 hours that would do.Car battery methinks!
quote :I like the slip ring too, but it would again have to be central to avoid winding round & round…..But no worries about twisted cables.
Hold everything – (epiphany moment) – this may be utterly, utterly insane but:
If the central column was held stationary with lighting attached, the hollow box could freely rotate round it. (Driven internally or externally) Shame you can’t put pictures on this section….hope you get what i mean. Then no slip rings, no twisted cable, just a bearing top & bottom. -
Dave R, That’s how the big ones are done.
A quick basic design is have the post on a base and then a turntable on top, light in the middle.
LED’s if set up right will run of a few AA batteries for a day or so, it’s the control equipment that normally comes with them that’ll draw most of the power.
To gear down the motor you’ll need a worm and wheel depending on the speed needed maybe 90:1 or more, this also means that you only need a small drive motor, do all this with 12v system and you’ll not even need an electrician to wire it up.
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Hi Dave – I’m not religious – but I like this one!!
quote :Hold everything – (epiphany moment) – this may be utterly, utterly insane but:
If the central column was held stationary with lighting attached, the hollow box could freely rotate round it. (Driven internally or externally) Shame you can’t put pictures on this section….hope you get what i mean. Then no slip rings, no twisted cable, just a bearing top & bottom.I reckon this could make it much easier. I’ve found a firm that specialises in rotating things – British Turntables.co.uk, so hope they’ve got something suitable to work on. Either way, I really hope we get the order and I’ll share the story with you all!
thanks for all ideas!
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David let me appologise for my first post, having read it again it sounds like I was suggesting you could just go out and do this sort of thing yourself with no real knowledge of what you were doing. I am not suggesting this for one minute, I have a degree in mechanical engineering, an HND in mechatronics and a 16th edition so I knew what I was doing.
The components to do this sort of thing are not that expensive but it can take a lot of time to work out exactly how it should work and try different things.
If I had charged the guy for all the time I spent on it over several weeks then yes I would agree it would have been a lot more expensive but as I have said to people on the boards on a few occassions I used to sell myself short all the time. I ended up in a position where I was working 24/7 and not making any money. -
Martin – maybe we were at cross purposes. (Hey, it happens!) I quoted you as an example of a ‘non-illuminated’ revolving sign (I took a guess that the kebab shop wasn’t internally illuminated – MY apologies if it was!) and that ‘engineering’ is very much order of the day for this type of stuff, (not a light mornings’ work) not to refute it!!
I was just recalling my background in (heavy machine tool) engineering as an electrical technician. Mainly the electrical/electronic side – but also dabbled with the prototype R&D guys on a couple of projects for Giddings in Arbroath – this was back in ’91/’92 – fantastic machinery…great place to work…terrible management…(Flattened the whole site – it’s now a ‘Morrisons’) 🙄 Anyway I digress…
..the 3m high revolving box in the original (internal) is relatively ‘simple’ compared to say, an external, all weather 3m high one – would be fun to spend a couple of days designing one. You’re right, the componentry itself isn’t very expensive – but by the time you’ve designed it on paper, got brackets & housings welded & powder-coated, sourced off-the-shelf drives / bearing sets the average customer (like you suspected) would baulk at the projected cost.
Any replies I then made was to try to ‘under-engineer’ a solution – to enable a quick, cheap & easy(ish) solution as it’s not going to be subjected to any degree of undue load, stress of need to last more than a week.
Anyway – sorry if I seem to (or have!) misquoted you…and apology accepted 😉 for you misleading me.
ps. Would be interesting to know how many signmakers have an electrical or engineering background. Hmmm.
Dave
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Hi Dave
i’m ex service engineer from vehicles, then hydraulics (Load Tester on Lorry cranes) then plant & machinery in Dairy, Coffee packaging & finally as Engineering manager for Pitta Bread Bakery. Mainly all mechanical but roped into electrics along the way. Was always involved in first fit installs, improvement modifications & actually made a prototype of an overheight crane not stowed warning system for the company i was load testing for.
Its nice every now & then to get involved in something thats a little bit different. I tend to get the local jobs that are out of the ordinary, pole/frame extensions special fixes etc as i weld as well, makes life easier somtimes keeping a welder on the van. I’m just glad i very rarely work with stainless that much now daysKev
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came across this… i am thinking rotating turntables and then stick whatever on it (although power needs to thought out as per David R posts)
http://www.cokerexpo.co.uk/rotating-display-stand.htmI have an IT/Programming background with a touch of electronics and fabrication skills.
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quote Dave Rowland:came across this… i am thinking rotating turntables and then stick whatever on it (although power needs to thought out as per David R posts)
http://www.cokerexpo.co.uk/rotating-display-stand.htmI have an IT/Programming background with a touch of electronics and fabrication skills.
Good site – the second last one has an integrated power supply for the rotating part too – takes a hefty 50Kg as well.
Dave
ps. Think I’ll get a thread going in the off topic with a "what were doing before signs" – might make interesting reading.
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Dave & David – thanks for input – the Coker Turntables look very promising. I’ve emailed them and fully expect a complete solution there. Will let you know!
cheers,
Dicko
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