ELECTRIC BULB

BY
ANBARASU
SATHIYA
BALAVINAYAGAM
INTRODUCTION
• Until the beginning of the 19th century FIRE was
man’s primary source of light.
• First attempt at using electric light were made by
English chemist “Sir Humphry Davy” in 1802.
• Thomas A.Edison, a young inventor working in Menlo
park, New Jersey, began working on his own form of
electric light in the 1870’s.
• On 19th Oct,1879, Edison ran his first test of this new
lamp. It ran for 2 days & 40 hours.
• Various Incandescent (defined as glowing with intense
heat) electric light are,
 Tungsten halogen lamps.
 Fluorescent lamps.
 Mercury vapor lamps.
 Neon lamps.
 Metal halide lamps.
 High – pressure sodium lamps.
Thus, the search for the light bulb
illustrated new forms of research &
development that were later developed by
GENERAL ELECTRIC, WESTINGHOUSE,
and Companies.
RAW MATERIALS
 Many different materials were used for the
filament until tungsten because the metal
of choice.
 Tungsten filament can withstand
temperature as high as 4500* Fahrenheit
(2480* Celsius).
 Comparing to other filaments in earlier
days, tungsten filaments is considered the
greatest advancement in light bulb
technology because it is produced cheaply
and last longer.
 The Connecting or lead-in wires are
typically made of nickel-iron wire.
 Then the wire is dipped into a borax
solution to make the wire more adherent
to glass.
 The bulb itself is made of glass and
contains a mixture of gases, usually argon
and nitrogen, which increase the life of the
filament.
 A Standardized base hold the entire
assembly in place. It is known as the
“Edison Screw base”.
 Base is made of brass & insulated with
Plaster of Paris and later porcelain.
 Today, aluminum is used on the outside
and glass is used to insulate the inside of
the base, producing a stronger base.
THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS
THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS
The Uses of light bulbs range from street
light to automobile headlight to flash lights.
For each use, the individual bulb differs
in Size and Wattage.
All incandescent light bulbs have the
three basic parts,
- the filament
- the bulb
- the base.
 Originally produced by hand, the light
bulb manufacture is now almost entirely
automated.
FILAMENT
 The filament is manufactured through a
process known as drawing.
 Tungsten is mixed with a binder material
& pulled through a die – a shaped orifice –
into a fine wire.
 Next, the wire is wound around metal bar
called a mandrel (in order to mold it into
its proper coiled shape).
 And then it is heated in an process known
as annealing (to softens the wire and
makes it structure more uniform).
 Mandel dissolved in acid.
 The coiled filament is attached to the lead-
in wires and have hooks at their ends
pressed over the end of the filament.
GLASS BULB
 The Casings are produced using a ribbon
machine.
 After heating in a furnace, a continuous
ribbon of glass moves along a Conveyer
belt.
 A ribbon machine moving at top speed can
produce more than 50,000 bulbs/hour.
 After the casings are blown, they are
cooled.
 Next, the inside of the bulb is coated with
Silica to remove the glare caused by a
glowing, uncovered filament.
 The Company emblem and bulb wattage
are then stamped onto the outside top of
each casing.
BASE
 The base of the bulb is also constructed
using molds.
 It is made with indentations in the shape
of a Screw so that it can easily fit into the
socket of a light fixture.
ASSEMBLY
 Once the filament, base and bulb are
made, they are fitted together by
machines.
 First, the filament is mounted to the stem
assembly, with its ends clamped to the
two lead-in wire.
 Next, the air inside the bulb is evacuated,
and the casing is filled with an argon and
nitrogen mixture.
 These gases ensure a longer life for the
filament.
 Finally the base & the bulb are sealed.
 After testing, bulbs are placed in their
packages and shipped to consumers.
QUALITY CONTROL
 Light bulbs are tested for both lamp life &
strength.
 Selected bulbs are Screwed into life test
racks and lit at levels far exceeding their
normal burning strength.
 This provides an accurate reading on how
long the bulb will last.
 The Average life of the majority of
household light bulbs is 750 to 1000
hours, depending on wattage.