Electromagnet

In this Tutorial, i will explain how to create a basic gauss cannon with various materials. This can be very dangerous with high voltages. Be careful. The higher the power, the faster the projectile. This is my first instructable.

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Step 1: First Step

FIrst, Get a tube, it doesn't matter what material, and get some wire. Take some black wire tape, and tape an end of the wire onto one of the ends of the tube. Start wrapping the wire around the tube, and keep the wire close together and very tightly wound. Once you get to the other end, start wrapping the other way, and stop about two-thirds down the tube. Move down the tube about one third of the way down the tube and wrap the wire until the end of the tube. Now cut the end of the wire, leaving about 5 inches of wire off the tube-coil. Now tape the end of the coil, so it doesn't go loose. Make sure your finished result looks like the picture below.

pro5200 says: Feb 24, 2012. 11:09 PM

Hi, I am interested to make it
but how to rolling direction of the cord, whether clockwise or opposite the clock?

Articas says: Mar 20, 2010. 5:21 PM

how thick doe sthe pipe have to be
can i use magnet wire
can i use a pizeoignitor as a power source
and can i use a pentube

lzornberg in reply to ArticasMar 28, 2011. 11:13 PM

a piezoelectric ignition (which I assume you meant by pizeoignitor) would be a sub optimal power source.

the electromagnet is only polarized when electricity flows through it

a piezoelectric source only produces a single electrical discharge, rather than a continuous current

your piezoelectric electromagnet (piezomagnet?) would only last as long as the electrical discharge. you probably would not even notice it.

theexpert in reply to ArticasNov 13, 2010. 9:39 AM

yes you could dont know about the power source though

John-4 says: Mar 3, 2010. 3:41 PM

cool idea im making it with magnet wire i think it would work better

sheepborg says: Sep 15, 2009. 7:22 PM

so you simply coil back and forth with decreasing length?

pufferfish in reply to sheepborgNov 24, 2009. 3:50 PM

no it has to be thicher at the firering end and thiner at the inlet

max911 says: Oct 29, 2009. 6:24 AM

how can you make an electro magnet, push things and pull things?

steven07 says: Aug 1, 2007. 3:36 AM

I think the magnet may have a greater effect if the coil is all wound the same way . read up on the "right hand grip rule" it helps with the basics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenoid

FIrst, Get a tube, it doesn't matter what material

The material actually does have an effect actually in a sense some materials "amplify" a magnetic field. So a iron tube may produce a stronger magnet .
however since its hollow i'm not to sure.

Anyway nice instructable

TheAirSpecialist in reply to steven07Dec 22, 2007. 4:46 AM

nooo not iron will just become a magnet!!!!!! you don't want, that u need something that is thin and is not able to become magnetic. and what is happening with the steel projectile down the barrel is it is getting drawn to the center of the coil where the magnetic field is strongest, and then the power supply to the coil is cut and the projectile is not stopped at the center, the projectile would continue it path down the barrel and to on.............. please look the theory on this other wise your cannon will not work!!!!!! 1 or 10 9v batteries will not power a cannon........... try massive capacitors! and look up how capacitors works and the properties of them discharging.......

wizerd 745 in reply to TheAirSpecialistSep 16, 2008. 6:38 PM

Wouldn't this be a coil gun?

szechuan53 in reply to wizerd 745Jul 29, 2009. 10:27 AM

gauss and coil guns are the same thing.

wizerd 745 in reply to szechuan53Jul 29, 2009. 3:51 PM

TheAirSpecialist in reply to TheAirSpecialistDec 22, 2007. 4:48 AM

and it does matter what material you use for your barrel!

chennate in reply to steven07Aug 1, 2007. 4:18 PM

I think the magnet may have a greater effect if the coil is all wound the same way . read up on the "right hand grip rule" it helps with the basics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenoid

I think you're right. I don't know all of the specifics, but I am pretty sure that the one layer that you wrap the oppisite way will provide an electromagnetic force in the direction opposite that of the other two layers, canceling out some of the power. If, when you finished your first layer you went back to the end you started wrapping and then wrapped in the same direction, then repeated for the third wrapping, you should get the optimum force

165

Kiteman in reply to steven07Aug 1, 2007. 7:19 AM

An iron tube would actually concentrate the field in the walls of the tube. The tube should be non-magnetic, and the projectile should be magnetic, so that the projectile acts as the core and the field is concentrated therein.

highvoltage says: Mar 30, 2008. 7:07 PM

IF you use bare copper wire, the electrons won't go in the spiraly way around the tube and just go straight to the end. It needs to be somehow insulated.

Aztof in reply to highvoltageJun 30, 2009. 2:45 PM

To insulate it, just cover it in electrical tape after you are done wraping

wotot2 says: Jul 2, 2008. 5:04 PM

arrrrg=( i got half way thru and the wire is too short

randempedestrian says: Apr 29, 2008. 11:27 PM

Despite what bart416 said awhile back, the voltage DOES matter (indirectly). I=V/R, so, given the same resistance (same coil), the higher your voltage is the higher your current is. You should ideally use a battery capable of supplying a lot of current (one with a high C-rating) such as an RC car battery. Maybe hook a few of them up in series :) Make sure you have enough distance of wire though.. if your wire is too short, the resistance is smaller, and therefor current is higher with a constant voltage. So if you have high voltage and a short wire, things will get pretty hot!

QwertyuioLP says: Jan 27, 2008. 2:24 AM

Will a battery work or do u hav 2 use the mains?

brad1150 says: Jan 9, 2008. 3:42 PM

Can I use bare copper wire with this, it seems to be all that I have lying around.

TheAirSpecialist says: Dec 22, 2007. 4:50 AM

it is not a volt meter its called a multimeter...... god

iainXYLAR says: Dec 6, 2007. 3:31 PM

how far can it shot with, say, a 9 volt battery? how many volts would you recommend?

bart416 in reply to iainXYLARDec 8, 2007. 2:08 PM

The voltage doesn't really matter at all. The strength of the magnetic field depends on the current, a battery can only deliver a limited amount of mAmps. If you want the formulas, search for Lorentz Force on the internet, you'll probably find them. You could than calculate the distance it'll go with some formulas that I'm too lazy to get into.

TheAirSpecialist in reply to bart416Dec 22, 2007. 4:34 AM

i have 7x 60v 37000uf electrolytic capacitors, i am planing to join them up in series to have a 420v 37000uf capacitor and then i am going to make a up a coil and so on, i still need a high amperage silcion linear switching device from some where. but i will make 1 soon i am currently working on my hi psi cannon at the moment................