how to build a maglev train

Alright this is my first instructable and im only fifteen so please give me a break.  Also this instructable/project im working on wont be finished till the end of summer vacation of 2011.  I decided to post the instructable now while im in the blue prints stage of this project because well 1. I want to try and win the epilog lazer cutter caues that would be very usefull for other projects that im going to do like making templates and stuff like that that i could use to help me with my art work; 2. i thought it be better to post it now while im in the blue print stage so that people could take my blue prints and copy them and make theirs better or more complicated then what i have and maybe redisng the whole thing to create something entirely different or use the blueprints to help with another project they might want to do.  I'll create a new instructable on this when i finish at the end of summer vacation.  This project origanlly started for me whith the thought of recreating an 8th grade engineering and technology project we did that was a model maglev train but it was strait.  The thing that got me going was the though of using magnets to propell magnets; after that i though of making the track curved.  Then it cameto where what if i could turn the magnets on and off and control the power level of them; then it came to where i started writing a book about a better and greener world to where i though what if i sued solar panels and a wind turbine to power the whole thing.  Well then it came to using magnets to propel magnets; controlling the power of the magnets and turnign them on and off; powering the whole thing with a wind turbine and solar panels; and now keeping the car floating while my electromagnets are off...Also i want to say that i want you to build your track your own way so i wont tell you how to build the track or the car but i will tell you some basic stuff for doing your trtack and car because you can build the track any which way you want so do enjoy...well lets get started on this instructable...

Step 1 Step 1: making the wind turbine

okay first things first we have to make our wind turbine to power the track right; right...this wind turbine doesnt turn into the wind though it actually doesnt have a yaw and tail on it...unfortunatley i am not going to put any pictures in this step of how to build the turbine because its from someone elses design im just crediting them i will put pictures of my own wiring diagram sin though for everything...so heres how i did this:
for this step youll need:
- a mini solar panel
- a 2 phase or higher stepper motor (i recomend a two phase)
- pbc pipe
- 2 2" pbc pipe end caps
- 5 pbc corner pieces
- a pbc slip x slip x slip tee (the piece that looks like a t if you dont know)
- 2" pbc ring
- an old fan blade (i'd prefer a plastic one the one im going to use has a 1/2" diameter in the middle whole)
- a dowel that has the same radius as the whole in the fan blade (im going to use a 1/2" diameter dowel)
- aluminum tape (or duck tape or you could use some sort of strong glue like guerrilla glue maybe whatever you want)

For the instructable of where i learned how to build the wind turbine click here it's by Tool Using Animal.

to build the wind turbine:

- Cut the dowel to about 3/4" longer than the motor shaft

- Drill a 7/32" whole all the way through the center of the dowel to fit the 5mm motor shaft into

- split the end of one dowel with a razor saw to allow the use of a hoes clamp

- Place the fan blade upside down and fit the dowel into the whole with the split end facing up don't push the dowel out the other side though

- Drill a 7/32"whole into the end of one of the end caps and a 1/4" whole into the side of the sane end cap

- Fit the pbc ring into the end cap with the holes drilled into them

- Now place the motor into the end cap with the wholes in it running the motor shaft through the whole on the end of the end cap and run the cable through the whole on the side of the end cap

- Place the other end cap over the ring and

- Take one of the pbc corners and cut of half of one end of it so it the end looks like a u shape when you look strait at it

- Place the cut down end of the end cap to the motor housing so that the corner of it is on the side of the motor housing that the motor shaft is coming out of and the cable sticks out of the cutdown end of the corner peice

- Tape the pieaces together using the aluminum tape (or whatever your using)

- cut the pbc piping to your desired length, maybe about 9 inches (keep in mind that you need to cut six of these four of them the same size)

- Connect one end of the pbc peice to the cutdown corner peice and the other end to the side x side x side tee pbc peice

- Two 4 1/4" peices of pbc piping and attach one end to one side of the tee and the pieace to the other side of the tee

- Attach a corner piece to both peices of pbc piping

- Cut a 9" peice of pbc piping and attach it to one of the corners

- Attach a corner to the other end of that peice of pbc piping

- Cut another 9" piece of pbc piping and attach it to the corner you just attached

- Attach a corner piece to the end of the other end of that piece of pbc piping

- Now cut another 9" piece of pbc piping and attach it to the two corner peices that have nothing attaching them

- Now connect the fan to the motor shaft connecting it so the end of the dowel with the split end is sticking out

Okay!...I know that may have been hard to follow thats why i put the link to the original instructable for the wind turine at the top incase mines to confusing to understand...now lets connect the solar panel to the motor!!!

- Take the solar pane and attach it to wherever you want to on the wind turbine using whatever you want (i'd use gorrilla glue on this part

- The wire coming out of the motor housing should have five wires on it, four of them should be grouped their colors are Red, Green, Blue, Yellow...Red and Green are the A wires or Positive wires and Blue and Yellow ar ethe B wires or Negative wires

- Solder the Blue and Yellow wires to the Black wire on the solar panel

- Solder the Red and Green wires to the Red wire on the solar panel

- Don't worry about that other wire we'll worry about that in the next step

- Youre fan should now be running you can add a switch if you want but thats up to you (i would because you dont want the fan constantly running you want to be able to build up a power charge in the solar panel if you want to use at night or inside

Okay!!!! that may have been hard to follow but i put up the wiring diagram i made and the wires are color coded to what they actually are so onto the next step...

Comments

[zazenergy]

Very ambitious!

[luneydude]

Thanks one of the things that started me on wanting to do a big project over this summer that involved engineering and electronics and architecture was that i wnt to recieve my doctorate in engineering and architecture at either harvard, yale, or stanford i really havnt decided yet but thanks for the support

[bjacob1]

hey luneydude...thx for putting this thing up for every1...i was gonna make my personal project about a maglev train and how to make some changes to it so that it becomes a better means of transport...my original thoughts were about what would happen if the wind that the train creates is harnessed to power smaller things within the train...so i decided to put miniturbines on the sides in niches of the train...do u think this will reduce my aerodynamics?...if yes can u pls give me a suggestion to improve it?...thx a lot bro

[luneydude]

your aerodynamics mainly depends on the design of the the trains body if you put the miniturbines in niches like you said then as long as they're not sticking out in any kind of way you should be fine. aerodynamics are actually pretty simple to understand, basically if wind hits a flat surface then it has no where to go but to go around the flat surface horizontaly which will cause that object to slow down. if wind hits a slanted surface then the wind can ride up or down the surface instead of having to go around which can increase speed, the smaller the slope angle the faster an object will travel. wind can move around sloped and rounded objects more easily than it can flat objects which allows rounded and slanted objects to be more aerodynamic than flat objects. so its mainly going to depend on how your miniturbines are setup. if you do this id like to see a picture so i can show you how you can make your designs more aerodynamic if thats alright with you. glad i could help

[bjacob1]

hey luneydude...im sorry i couldnt follow up...i had to draw and then redraw my design...my problem now is that i cant find a scanner in school...im sure theres one so ill find out and send them to u...im sorry for the delay...i really appreciate u putting ur time and effort into this....thx a lot