Simplest Magnetic Spinning Toy.

Magnets have always fascinated me, if handled well they can retain their magnetic properties for so long, attracting ferrous metals and other magnets while also repelling like poles. Their ability to do this without any external source of power (except in the case of electromagnets) is intriguing.

In this instructable, we will make a spinning toy that's secretly operated with magnets. It works on the principle of "like poles repel", when one of the like poles is tilted at an angle, the other repels in addition to rotating alongside.

Supplies

3 ring ferrite/ceramic magnets. (15mm x 9mm x 5mm)

2 disc ferrite/ceramic magnet (12mm x 4mm)

2 bottle caps (one of them should have a rounded bottom).

Cardboard

Strong glue (or other similar adhesives).

Scissors / blade

Ruler

Pen/Pencil

Marker

Small plastic toy human figures (optional)

Step 1: Getting the Right Materials.

The most important thing to know is that the black bottle cap has a rounded bottom i.e not flat, so it allows the cap to wobble when disturbed unlike the bottle cap with flat bottom (the orange cap). The black bottle cap is for Coca-Cola and I found that most of their bottle caps have the same rounded bottom. The rounded bottom allows it to spin/roll much more easily.

You don't need to have exactly the same magnets as I, just get ones that can fit into bottle caps and are not too small either. If you're dealing with smaller or larger magnets for the spinner cube, adjust the dimensions of the sides of the cardboard cube correspondingly. I used 3 magnets for the spinning top so as to provide enough weight to prevent it from flipping over, you could use only two and it'll work fine.

Two of the three ring magnets I used have metal rings attached to them because I got them from old toy speakers and found it quite difficult to remove the rings without breaking the magnets. It's actually of no importance.

Step 2: How It Works.

From the picture above, this toy is made up of two different parts; a spinning top made of the two bottle caps which spins when near the spinner cube and the spinner cube (that causes the spinning top to spin using a repelling magnetic field) that is enclosed in the cardboard cube.

Step 3: Making the Spinning Top.

In order to make the spinning top we need the two bottle caps, the three ring magnets and the glue.

Glueing the magnets together.

Take the three ring magnet and glue the opposite poles to another to form a cylindrical form. Carefully lay each magnet on the other as they might want to jump on top of the other (i.e attraction) in a manner we don't desire and with the glue drying quickly, it might be difficult to get them apart. The glue is applied so as to keep the magnet secure so they don't fling apart when the spinner is mistakenly dropped. Allow the glue to dry properly.

Glueing the magnets to the bottle cap.

Take the cap with the rounded bottom (the black one in this case) and apply glue generously inside it. We will now take the cylindrical magnet we earlier made from the three ring magnets and quickly place it into the centre of the bottle cap (so it balances well without leaning more to one side than the other) make sure it is pressed into the glue. Leave it to dry well, it will take some time due to the large amount of glue applied.

When dried, shake the cap to check if the magnets are properly secured by the glue.

Covering it up with the second bottle cap.

Take the other bottle cap with the flat bottom (the orange one in this case) and apply glue around its rim, apply glue to the rim of the first bottle cap as well and place the two bottle cap together so the rims touch each other round while completely enclosing the inner cylindrical magnet.

Leave it to dry completely.

Now we have completed making the spinning top, lets proceed to making the other part, that is the spinner cube.

Step 4: Making the Spinner Cube.

Cutting the cardboard pieces.

In order to make the cardboard cube we have to cut six cardboard squares, the size of which depends on the diameter and thickness of the magnets to be used. Inside the cube, the magnets will be placed at an inclined angle of about 45° so we have to make each side of the cube a little larger than the magnets diameter so that it provides room for tilting the magnets. The diameter of these magnets is 12mm (1.2 cm) so we will make each side of the cube a square of 20mm x 20mm (2cm x 2cm).

Take the cardboard piece and cut six squares of dimensions 2cm by 2cm.

Take two cardboard squares and glue it into an 'L' shape, take one more cardboard square and glue it to one side of the 'L' shape so that it forms an arrow head as in picture 6.

Adding the two disc magnets.

Take the two disc magnets and place them on top of each other with the opposite poles so that they attract each other.

Tilt it by about 45° and place it in the corner of the arrow head formed by the cardboard, before applying glue, move it close to the spinning top we earlier made, if it repels each other then that's the correct side, if it attracts, flip it over so that it repels when placed next to the spinning top. Now glue the magnets into the corner by applying glue to the edges of the magnet making contact with the cardboard.

Attach two more cardboard squares to the other two sides and glue them in place. The last cardboard square should be marked with an arrow pointing to the corner where the magnets are glued so we can easily know which side to push against the spinning top without having to do any guess work. Now glue this last piece on top of the box to make a complete cube and then we have completed making our spinner cube.

Step 5: "Test-Riding" Our New Toy.

Though we did some sort of testing while making the spinner cube (to get the polarities right), but now that we're completely done with it let's enjoy it some more.

Step 6: Additional Bits.

You can glue whatever you want on the spinning top so long it isn't too heavy or tall. For example, tiny plastic toy figures of superheroes, soldiers or even a dancing Barbie figure.

If you're like me and you don't have these toy figures already, we can cut a circular white foam and draw a spiral line on it with a marker and then glue it lightly to the spinning top (use just a tiny drop of glue, enough to hold it well enough to prevent it from falling off while spinning but also fairly easy to remove in case you want to use something else).

Trying it on different surfaces, it is obvious that it'll spin faster on smoother surfaces like glass.

Alright! That's it, I hope you liked it and thanks for checking out my instructable.