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Step 2Building and Preparing the Motor (if necessary)
Follow the instructions to build the Beakman's Electric motor. The motor should be mounted on a suitable base so that it can run freestanding a bit off the table. I used some Brio construction set pieces (I have a lot of toys laying around).
The most important thing to ensure reliable motor operation is to make sure the coil is balanced and the tails of the coil are very straight. I drew a diagram using my coil form and a ruler, then laid the completed coil on the paper to align the tails perpendicular to the coil and to make sure they were straight. I then used a drop of superglue where the tails were wrapped around the coil to make sure they couldn't slide.
To enable the coil to break the light-beam, place a piece of opaque tape (I used black electrical tape) across the coil. This might slow it down a tiny bit, but if all of your coils have the same sized piece of tape in the same position, your results between coils should be relatively consistent.
The most important thing to ensure reliable motor operation is to make sure the coil is balanced and the tails of the coil are very straight. I drew a diagram using my coil form and a ruler, then laid the completed coil on the paper to align the tails perpendicular to the coil and to make sure they were straight. I then used a drop of superglue where the tails were wrapped around the coil to make sure they couldn't slide.
To enable the coil to break the light-beam, place a piece of opaque tape (I used black electrical tape) across the coil. This might slow it down a tiny bit, but if all of your coils have the same sized piece of tape in the same position, your results between coils should be relatively consistent.
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