UnintegratedCircuit
Part 8 - Wrap Up
​
The Project With An Enclosure
The project was mounted into a small aluminium pot with a clear plastic lid which I found laying about. As a result, this is not the cleanest finish to the project; however, it still looks relatively smart with the brushed metal, vintage glass tube, and matte black PCB with electronics on display. The white rectangle was added on in post to protect the identity of the friend I gave it to (I put their name on the PCB in the form of a plated pad design). Small holes were cut in the side and on the top to allow the USB cable and power button to poke through respectively.
​
​
The PCB, since high voltages were present to power the Nixie tube, was elevated from the aluminium base using a number of double-sided foam pads. This not only prevents any short circuits, and improves safety, but also helps secure the PCB and prevent it from rattling around inside the enclosure.
​
The Flickering Flame Effect
The video below gives an idea of the flickering effect. Unfortunately, it is terrible quality, both in terms of resolution and camerawork as this was uploaded to my Snapchat story once it was working. Whilst this was the final version of the effect in software terms, it would have been much more helpful to have shot it in a dark environment with a steady camera, but alas, this is the only video footage I have saved of the project in operation.
​
Overall, I have been immensely satisfied with this project, and may well make more of them in the future - although, there will undoubtedly be some modifications going forward. Hopefully, I have made it clear how the project creates a relaxing flickering fire/flame effect, giving one's desk a more cosy vibe, and adding a bit of uniqueness for a relatively low price - I would estimate probably about £40 to recreate this exactly, although a cheap pre-built Nixie power supply could be bought from somewhere like AliExpress. Considering that just the tubes for a full-blown Nixie clock are unlikely to offer much change from £40 these days (the numeric tubes are more in demand, and therefore more expensive), this is certainly a good way to bring a Nixie tube into your life on the cheap.
​
I would like to give a special thank you to my friend who gave me not only the inspiration to make this project, but also allowed me to write it up and publish it, their Instagram account showcasing their artwork can be found here.
​
​
​