Neon Techniques explains in complete detail the equipment and procedures required for luminous tube design, manufacture and installation.
Contents
The Luminous Tube Industry
- Why Is Neon So Popular?
- The Background of the Industry
How The Luminous Tube Works
- Sparks and Glow Discharges
- What Happens Inside the Tube?
- How the Current Produces the Glow
- The Reason for High Voltage
- Operating Current
- The Effect of Gas Pressure
- The Effect of the Diameter of the Tubing
- The Gases Used for Luminous Tubes
- The Use of Mercury
- Chemical Effects Inside the Tube
- Bombarding, an Essential Operation in Tube Making
- Electrodes, Tube Life and Sputtering
- Sputter Control
- Mechanical Requirements of the Tubing
- Electrical Protection
- Operations Involved in Making a Luminous Tube
- Constructing a Luminous Tube Sign
- The Maintenance Problem
Materials Used in Constructing Tubes
- The Atmosphere
- Early Attemts to Use Non-Inert Gases
- The Discovery of the Rare Gases
- Commercial Methods of Extracting the Rare Gases
- Neon Gas
- The Light Efficiency of Neon Gas
- Helium
- Argon, Krypton and Xenon
- Mercury Vapor
- Rare-Gas Mixtures
- Chemical Effects in Mercury Tubes
- Cold-Cathode Electrodes
- Electrode Requirements
- Lead-in Wires
- How Electrode Shells are Made
- Processing the Shell
- Processing to Reduce Cathode Fall
- Types of Seals
- Insulation Materials
- Hot-Cathode Electrodes
- Glass Tubing
- Automatic Production of Glass Tubing
- Standardization of Glass Tubing
- How Clear and Colored Glasses are Used
- Fluorescent Tubing and Materials
- Production of Sign Tubing
Electrical Equipment
- Electrical Transformers
- Core and Coil Style Transformers
- Tube Transformers
- Transformer Ratings
- Physical Construction of Tube Transformers
- Power-Factor Correction
- Electronic Neon Power Supplies
- Insulators and Mounting Parts
- Electrode Housings
- Electrode Bushings
- High-Voltage Cable
- Dimming
The Types of Signs
- Sign Backgrounds
- Outdoor Signs
- Indoor Signs
- Letter Types
- Sign-Hanging Methods
- Types of Supports
Designing the Sign
- The Preliminary Sketch
- The Master Pattern or Working Layout
- Designing the Tube
- Neon Footage Chart
- Calculations Using the Neon Footage Chart
- Mechanical Design
- Electrical Design
- Preserving the Layouts
- Cost Computation from the Layout Charts
- The Experience Factor in Layout Work
- Electrical Wiring Codes
Glass Bending
- General Shop Requirements
- Shop Layout
- Glass Shop Equipment
- Buying Plant Equipment
- Gas Supply for Burners
- Gas Pressure, Maintenance and Adjustment
- Air Pressure
- Glassblowing Equipment
- Crossfires
- Ribbon Burner
- Hand Torches
- Specialty Torches
- The Mixer
- Glass Bending Layout
- Matching the Layout
- Influence of the Layout on the Glassblowing
- Glassblowing Operations
- Cutting Glass
- Setting a Glass Fire
- Splicing Tubing
- Bending
- Right-Angle Bend
- Double-Back Bend
- Combination Bend
- Ribbon Burner Bends
- Tubulation
- Working With Colored Glass
- Borosilicate Glass
- Oven Annealing
- Bending with Fixtures
Vacuum Systems
- Requirements for the Vacuum System
- The Nature of a Vacuum
- Vacuum Measurement
- Relation Between Pressure and Vacuum
- Pressure of Inert Gas
- Parts of the Vacuum System
- Plant Layout
- Vacuum Manifold
- Borosilicate Glass Manifolds
- Metal Manifold Systems
- Inert Gas Containers
- Mechanical Vacuum Pumps
- Foreline Traps
- Diffusion Pumps
- Turbomolecular Pumps
- Vacuum Gauges
- The U Gauge
- Butyl U Gauge
- McLeod Gauge
- Capacitance Manometer
- Absolute Pressure Mechanical Gauges
- Othe Vacuum Gauges
- Troubleshooting
- Use of a Testing Coil
- Sealing the Word to the Vacuum Manifold
- Evacuation Hints
- Time Required for Evacuation
Bombarding
- The Importance of Bombarding
- Bombarding Equipment
- Bombarding Control
- Switches for Bombarding Work
- High-Voltage Connections
- Bombarding Layout
- Bombarding Procedure, Simple Case
- Bombarding Fluorescent Tubing Used for Cold-Cathode Lighting
- Multiple-Tube Bombarding
- Bombarding Current
- Reasons for the Bombarding Procedure
- Bombarding Gas
- Helium Electrodes
- Oven Heating
- Induction Heating
- Bombarding Tests
- Caution Required
Filling, Testing, Aging
- Filling the Tube
- Inert Gas Containers
- Glass Flasks
- Installing Glass Flasks
- Using a Metal Gas Cylinder
- Filling the Tube
- Measuring the Inert Gas Pressure
- Filling the Tubes Hot
- Testing the Tube on the Manifold
- Sealing off the Tube
- Filling Mercury Tubes
- Methods Used for Mercury Insertion
- The Mercury Trap
- The Mercury-Injector Method
- Quantity of Mercury Necessary
- Flow-Through Filling
- Aging Methods
- The Completed Tube
- Painting Out Crossovers
- Block-Out Tubing
The Complete Luminous Tube Sign
- Shop-Assembled Sign
- Installation of Transformers
- Skeleton-Type Signs and Mountings
- Transformer Mountings for Skeleton Signs
- Mounting Border Tubes
- High-Voltage Wiring - General Practice
- The Low-Voltage Circuit
- Multitransformer Installation
- Correct Loading of Transformers
- Loading Electronic Power Supplies
- Packing of Luminous Tubing
- Shipping Large Outdoor Signs
- Shipping Small Neon Signs
- Types of Shipping Containers
Flashers and Animators
- Mechanical Animators: Primary vs. Secondary Flashing
- Thermostatic Primary Switches
- Motor-Driven Primary Flashers
- Secondary Flashers: Rotating Gap Type
- Electronic Animation
- Special Effect Electronic Transformers
- Animation Diagrams
- Time Switches
Radio and Television Interference
Sign Maintenance
- Cause of Service Calls: Tubing Failures
- Tubing Repairs and Replacements
- Electrical Failures
- Flasher Failures
- Maintenance Guarantees
- The Service Contract
- Estimating Repair Costs
- The Importance of Service
Safety in the Neon Shop
- Mercury
- Asbestos
- Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide
- Phosphors and Glass
- Electrical Shock
- Cuts and Burns
- Fuel Gases
- Hydrofluoric Acid
- Miscellaneous Safety Concerns
Specialty Neon and Lighting Displays
- Single-Ended Tubes
- Spelling Neon
- Borosilicate Neon
- Off-Hand Blown Glass
- Plate-Glass Neon
- Luminglas
- Crackle Tubes
- Plasms Displays
- Lighting Displays
- Other Gas Mixtures
- Miscellaneous Electronic Effects
Index
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