Introduction
The Electric Generator is designed to help students understand how electricity is generated by actually allowing them to generate their own electricity. This generator is created using mostly household items. Follow the instructions below for optimal power generation. Have fun!Video:
Materials List
| Cardboard |
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Magnet Wire |
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| Metal Rod |
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2x Magnet |
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| String |
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Red LED (1.6v) |
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| Optional Green (2.2v) and Blue (3.8v) LED |
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Suggested Tools:
- Hot Glue Gun
- Scissors
- Sandpaper
- Multi-Meter
- Wire Stripper
- Ruler
- Electrical Tape
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Signing UpStep 1: Building the Housing
Step One
The first thing we need to do is design the housing for the generator. The most important factor in deciding the shape and size of the housing is the size of your magnets. The magnets we are using are Ceramic Block Magnets with a size of 3/8” x 7/8” x 1-7/8”. Because of the magnet size we decided to make our housing 2-1/2” x 1-1/2” x 3”. This leaves enough room for the magnets to spin around inside the housing.
Step Two
Grab your cardboard box or piece of cardboard that you will be using. The thicker or stronger the cardboard the longer it will last. We found the easiest way to build the housing is to cut one length of cardboard and fold it. In our case we cut a piece of cardboard 3” x 8”. We then folded at 1-1/2”, 4”, 5-1/2” to form a rectangle. Just like the picture above. We then used hot glue to hold the ends together. Make sure you use enough hot glue that it holds together quite well. Now that your housing is built you can start to add the wire.
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I also have the windings of a 1.5 horse motor from the mill I work at that I was thinking about using. The bearings went out on it and they threw it away so I snagged it a took it apart. I found magnets in another motor and need to remove them from the housing to put them in a better position. Do the magnets need to spin in a specific way according to the windings?
That's great, scavenging parts for electronics is the way to go! I don't believe it makes a difference how they spin according to the winding as long as it gets a clear North and a South Pole alternating. If it was to go diagonally (1/2 South, 1/2 North) it would weaken it and not work well. . The key is to get the wires as close to the magnet as possible without scraping the sides. We tried the Magnet going the same way as the winding and it was less powerful, which I believe was due to the magnet being a little farther away in our design.
Good Luck. Post a reply when you finish, I would love to see it!
EG Robotics
The reason I ask is I have access to spools of coated wire but not uncoated.
The magnet wire has a thin coating around it to keep it from contacting. This is why we sand the ends of the wires before we hook them up to an LED.
You should be able to use insulated wire. It may decrease the strength of it slightly as you will not be able to wrap it as closely. Plastic should not hinder the magnetic forces.
Most insulated wire is a smaller gauge (bigger wire), which should give you more amperage than the magnet wire.
Good luck with it and let us know how it worked out for you!
thank U
this( long time) isn't acceptable by children hence they prefer playing.
really it is a great effort ... thank u again .
Thanks for the note of shielded wire, I'll change it to magnet wire.
We didn't put the back to front LED in the guide, but have tried it out previously and works well. Even with two sets of LEDs it lights up well.
As far as only having one LED on it, we have tested it out quite a bit and have had no problem with them so far. We noticed the students lose them or break the generator before the LED breaks down.
Will be trying this soon, thanks for the nice instructable!