Shake it like a Tic-Tac!

Step 3 Wind the coil:

Cut a slot down one of the endcaps.

Leave 3" of wire hanging out of this slot and begin carefullly winding the coil. Winding this coil is probably the biggest pain in the ass of this project. I had many failures. There is a ton of information on the web about coil winding, but my best advice to you is go slow. The neater and tighter the wire is wrapped the more effective it will be.

When you get to the end of the coil tape your wire off and leave about 3" hanging off the end.

Comments

[colin55]

Let me say a few things about the design of the coil. The coil should be no longer than the length of the magnet. In fact it should be slightly shorter to get the best efficiency. For this, we are assuming the magnet is a bar magnet (round) and is not segmented. If it is segmented, the coil should be no longer than one of the segments. If the magnet is short, heap the coil with as many turns as possible in the shortest distance so the flux cuts as many turns as possible as the magnet passes though the centre of the coil. Colin Mitchell TALKINGELECTRONICS.COM [e-mail] If you don't do this, the voltage produced by parts of the coil will be of reverse polarity and will cancel the voltage produced by other parts of the coil. The net result could be a low as zero output.

[porcupinemamma]

Colin55 Perhaps you should do your own Instructables. Maybe even write a book with fun projects and brief explanations. Instructables is a site where we respect each other and encourage people and share our creations. I applaud the author for giving his time and offering his idea. I do not believe he intentionally steered readers in the wrong direction. Diplomacy and encouragement are key in this community.

[zachninme]

What is the best way, do you think, to strip the enamel off the wire?

[Jonny Katana]

Fire. Just hold a lighter flame on the very end and you'll see a little trail of enamel burn off.

[H2S04]

Scrape the wire with a utility knife to remove the enamel

[Slushba132]

Sandpaper...really fine sandpaper is what Im using

[frodobot]

why did you need you remove the enamel from the wire?

[dadslilsweetie54]

Thank you for that,because that idea is for my science fair project

[Dustron2000]

If anybody is still trying to figure out the coiling thing, here's my take: When you use a single coil, the north and south poles of the magnets will induce currents that flow in opposing directions. This will tend to cancel out the voltage. You could only cover half the tube with coiling, and this problem would be solved. Alternatively, you can cover the top of the tube with a coil in one direction (say clockwise), then, at the midpoint, coil the bottom of the tube in the other direction (counterclockwise). Then, the induced voltages/currents will be reoriented to add instead of cancel. Good luck.

[Geekers]

You've covered the whole tube. I think you'll get a better charge rate if you only cover half of the tube with windings. You need to change the total magnetic flux passing through the coil since the voltage produced is proportional to the rate of change of flux. One way to do that is to flip the magnet lengthwise. The other is to have the magnet enter and exit the coil which is what I'm suggesting. What you've got is the magnet getting close to the end of the coil which will reduce the flux somewhat, but most of the flux will still be passing through the coil.

[xperience]

wouldn't the amount of voltage be the same because the magnets would travel through more coil if all of it is coiled, but the flux would change less; And the magnets would travel through less coil but the flux would change more the other way?

[dprs]

interesting perspective i'll try that out.

[Slushba132]

How many times do I wind this??? anybody please answer

[H2S04]

Did anyone get the coil to work? I tried making one but isn't producing enough electricity. If anyone has hints or suggestions on how to make it work better they would be appreciated.

[Geekers]

Warning. I've not tried the following suggestion yet.