Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
February 9, 2017
Dr. Psaker
Objectives: Continue construction of the electric motor. Fix glued magnets on aluminum sheet
metal. Glue wind turbine blades to hub and investigate construction of the wind turbine.
Progress:
During the past two weeks, the electric motor has almost been completed. At the
beginning of these two weeks, the two armature frame pieces had just been glued together and
the magnetic wire had been wrapped around each of the ten spokes. The next step was to
complete drilling holes on the outer rim of the spokes. The holes were drilled and the iron filings
were put into them. This took about three class periods to complete because of the difficulty with
filling the holes with the iron filings without having a funnel readily available at the time. A pen
cap was used and a piece of paper taped around it to make a funnel small enough so the iron
filings could slide right into the holes. Duct tape was also placed over each of the holes to ensure
that the iron filings would not fall out of the holes. This proved very effective and helped
complete the construction of the armature (figure 1). The magnets were also all glued onto the
aluminum sheet that was cut to eventually embody the exterior of the motor. This process took
more time as magnets could not be applied until the epoxy putty dried. At first epoxy glue was
used to place the magnets on the sheet metal, but it was discovered that the glue would not be
strong enough to hold the magnets in place. Some magnets had to be removed and placed back
down with epoxy putty instead. The new commutator was also made after the old one was
removed with a multi tool saw. The replacement commutator pieces were cut with newly bought
tin snips. These pieces were much smoother and were easily placed on the reapplied epoxy putty
(figure 1). The fan blades were printed previously, but more were printed to replace those that
were printed incorrectly (figure 2). The hub was also printed previously, but a new one is being
printed because the hub was too small and was scaled down incorrectly (figure 3). The new scale
PROGRESS REPORT VII 3
was sent to Dr. Gutierrez, and the hub is in the process of being printed. The website has been
Figure 1: This is an image of the finished armature with the new commutator. The old
commutator was taken off with pliers and a multi tool saw. Then, using epoxy putty, a new
commutator was formed with 10 pieces of newly cut copper. These pieces were longer,
smoother, and had more defined edges than the previous pieces, providing a smoother surface for
the soldering of the wires and the brushes to make contact. The armature was drilled with 6 holes
on each spoke and filled with iron filings in order to provide a more stable magnetic field for the
electromagnet. The holes were then covered with duct tape to make sure the filings did not
escape.
Figure 2: The wind turbine blades were 3D printed and there are 17 in total. These blades will be
attached to the hub once it is printed again. See the below image for more information on the
PROGRESS REPORT VII 4
hub. The blades measure approximately 4 in or 10.2 cm long. The base measure 4 cm or 1.5 in
long. There are two blades that were misprinted that only measure 3.25 in long.
Figure 3: The hub was printed incorrectly the first time and is being 3D printed to match the
blades of the wind turbine. The original hub was too small for the blades to fit. The blades will
slide into the slots on the hub and be glued using epoxy to secure them in place.
The electric motor will be completely constructed and some tests may be conducted on
the electric motor by the end of the next two weeks. The first part of the wind turbine will be
constructed with the new hub. The wind turbine blades will be slid into their spots and secured
with epoxy putty. This will ensure that they stay in place as the wind turbine spins. There will
also be continued investigation of the wind turbine. Research will be done on the construction of
the wind turbine in order to generate the most power possible. It will be determined how to
connect the motor to the wind turbine itself. Some parts for the wind turbine may need to be
ordered, but that has not been determined yet. This will be one of the components that will be
researched and discussed over the next two weeks. The website will continue to be updated with
PROGRESS REPORT VII 5
pictures of the construction of the electric motor and wind turbine. An outline for the testing of
References