Belated SQUEEEEEE!!!

[tcepsa]

The parts from the order that I placed back on craft night came in a few days ago. I've now got most of the means to get power from my motor to the part that actually needs to be rotating in the generator that I'm attempting to build. I've got a mess of little neodymium magnets (about 1/2" diameter). I've got a fairly sizable spool of copper magnet wire somewhere, but the gauge is higher than I'd like it to be (it's thinner than I really want) so I'm agonizing over whether to try to get some thicker copper, use the stuff I've got, or try silver (for mostly romantic reasons, though the fact that it technically is a better conductor than pretty much anything else also is appealing--practically, however, it is unlikely to make that big of a difference). I also have yet to make the part of the rotor that will actually hold the magnets--that's the biggest remaining hurdle. I think I've worked out a way to create a template using the GIMP (custom scripts rock!) so I can just follow the pattern when making most of the cuts and everything should line up as long as I'm careful. It's less "traditional" than making all of the measurements by hand, but I'm also reasonably sure it's less error-prone, and I want to get rid of as much error-possibility as I can.

I also need to build the stator/something to hold the whole thing as it's spinning, but I don't think that'll be as big of a challenge.

Of course, the rest of my life has been incredibly busy this week, so while I did get a chance to play with all the parts a little bit and get excited about how well it looks like they'll all fit together, it'll probably be at least next week before I can actually start making the rotor part... patience is a good thing!

Comments

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

I have spools of magnet wire (enamel coated copper) in 4 or 5 thicknesses, I think in the range you're looking for. The smallest is about 28 or 30ga I think, and they go up from there. 20 inches seems way too little, did I read that right? In any case you're welcome to use what I have. They actually came from Radio Shack in a single package, if you want to go check there.

Oh I also found a wall wart you can have that'll power the 68hc11 board.

[tcepsa.livejournal.com]

~grin~ Good catch on the 20 inches; it's definitely way less than I'd need for a more traditional design. But for the way that I'm doing this, 20 inches (plus the extra for leads, etc.) should be enough. At least, it should be enough to tell me whether it'll work or not.

Thanks for the offer--I'm not sure I'll need it, but if you're not using it I may pick it up just in case ^_^

Yay for powersupplies!

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

Sounds pretty interesting! I definitely want to see it when it's done.

[tcepsa.livejournal.com]

Assuming that I am not compelled to burn it in shame, I think that could be arranged ^_^

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

Even if it doesn't do what you expect, it's still a success as long as you learn from it.

And tangentially, you just gave me a cool idea. I have to do some numbers to see if it's feasible and then I'll let you know.