To understand the process of making an asynchronous electric motor with your own hands, you should know its structure and operating principle. If you follow the step-by-step instructions, you can make the structure yourself with minimal costs for materials, since improvised means are used during assembly.
Preparation of materials
Before starting assembly, you must ensure that you have the necessary materials:
- insulating tape;
- thermal and superglue;
- battery;
- several bolts;
- bicycle spoke;
- wire made of copper material;
- metal plate;
- nut and washer;
- plywood.
It is necessary to prepare several tools, including pliers, tweezers, a knife, and scissors.
Manufacturing
First, the wire is wound uniformly. It is carefully wound onto a reel. To make the process easier, you can use a base, for example, a rechargeable battery. The winding density should not be high, but light is also not needed.
The resulting coil must be removed from the base. Do this carefully so that the winding is not damaged. This is necessary to make a speed controller for the engine with your own hands. The next step is to remove the insulation at the ends of the wire.
At the next stage, they make a frequency converter for the electric motor with their own hands. The design is simple. A hole is drilled in 5 plates with an electric drill, then they should be put on a bicycle spoke, which is taken as an axle. The plates are pressed, and they are fixed using electrical tape, the excess is cut off using a stationery knife.
When an electric current passes through the coil, the frequency generator creates a magnetic field near itself, which disappears after the electric current is turned off. Taking advantage of this property, one should attract and release metal parts, while turning on and off the electric current.
Manufacturing of current interrupting device
Taking a small plate, attach it to the axis, pressing the structure with pliers for reliability. Next, they make the armature winding of the electric motor with their own hands. To do this, you need to take unvarnished copper wire.
Connect one end of it to a metal plate, installing an axis on its surface. The electric current will pass through the entire structure, consisting of a plate, a metal breaker and an axis. When contacting the breaker, the circuit is closed and opened, which makes it possible to connect an electromagnet and then turn it off.
Making a frame
The frame is necessary, since the electric motor does not allow you to hold this device with your hands. The frame structure is made from plywood.
Making an inductor
2 holes are made in the plywood structure; subsequently, the electric motor coil is secured here with bolts. Such supports perform the following functions:
- anchor support;
- performing the function of an electrical wire.
After connecting the plates, the structure should be pressed with bolts. To ensure that the anchor is secured in a vertical position, a frame is made of a metal bracket. Three holes are drilled in its design: one of them is equal in size to the axis, and two are equal to the diameter of the screws.
Cheek making process
You need to put paper on the nut, and punch a hole on top with a bolt. After putting the paper on the bolt, a washer is placed at the top of it. In total, four such details should be done. The nuts are screwed onto the upper cheek, a washer should be placed underneath and the structure is secured with hot glue. The frame structure is ready.
Next, you need to rewind the wire for electric motors yourself. The end of the wire is wound onto the frame, while twisting the ends of the wire so that the coil is beautiful and presentable. Next, unscrew the nuts and remove the bolt. The beginning and end of the wire are cleaned of varnish, and then the structure is installed on the bolt.
Having made the second coil in a similar way, you need to connect the structure and check how the electric motor works. The bolt head is connected to the positive. You should carry out a smooth start of the electric motor assembled with your own hands.
You should pay close attention to your contacts. Before starting, you should check that they are connected thoroughly. The structure must be glued with superglue. As the current increases, the electric motor power increases.
If the coils are connected in parallel, then the total resistance decreases and increases electric current. If the structure is connected in series. then the total resistance increases, and the electric current greatly decreases.
Passing through the coil structure, an increase in electric current is observed, which leads to an increase in the size of the magnetic field. In this case, the electric magnet strongly attracts the electric motor armature.
If the design is assembled correctly, the electric motor operates quickly and efficiently. To assemble a model of an electric motor, you do not need any special skills or knowledge.
You can find it on the Internet step by step instructions with photos at each stage. Taking advantage of this, anyone can quickly assemble an electric motor from scrap materials.
Photos of electric motors with your own hands
And today we’ll talk about how to make a fully working model of an electric motor from a battery, copper wire and a magnet. Such a model can be used as a craft on the table of a home electrician, as a clear example to explain the principles of operation of such mechanisms, and simply as a funny trinket that can be given to a loved one. It’s quite simple to make and anyone can do it. You can put it together with your child, which will be great fun. Next, we will provide detailed instructions with photo and video examples so that assembling a simple motor is clear and accessible!
Step 1 – Prepare materials
To make the simplest magnetic motor with your own hands, you will need the following available materials:
Having prepared all the necessary materials, you can proceed to assembling a simple electric motor that runs on just one battery. Making a small electric motor at home is not difficult, as you will now see!
Step 2 – Assembling the homemade product
So, to make the instructions clear to you, it’s better to look at them step by step with pictures that will help you visually understand the principle of assembly.
We immediately draw your attention to the fact that you can remake and improve the design of a homemade small engine in your own way. For example, below we will provide you with several video lessons that may help you make your own version of the engine from a battery, copper wire and a magnet.
What to do if the homemade product does not work
If suddenly you have assembled a perpetual electric motor with your own hands, but it does not rotate, do not rush to get upset. Most often, the reason for the motor not rotating is that the distance between the magnet and the coil is too large. In this case, you just need to trim the legs a little yourself, on which the rotating part rests.
Also check whether you have cleaned the ends of the coil well and whether contact is ensured in this place. The symmetry of the coil also plays an important role, so try to do everything carefully and slowly.
Let's consider individual aspects of design. We will not promise the production of a perpetual motion machine, similar to the type of creation attributed to Tesla, but the story is expected to be interesting. We won’t bother readers with paper clips and batteries; we suggest we talk about how to adapt a ready-made motor for your own purposes. It is known that there are a lot of designs, all of them are used, but modern literature leaves the basic principles behind. The authors studied a textbook from the last century, learning how to make an electric motor with their own hands. Now we invite you to plunge into the knowledge that forms the basis of a specialist.
Why are commutator motors often used in everyday life?
If we take the 220V phase, the principle of operation of the electric motor on the collector allows us to produce devices 2-3 times less massive than when using an asynchronous design. This is important when making appliances: hand blenders, mixers, meat grinders. Among other things, it is difficult to accelerate an asynchronous motor above 3000 rpm; for commutator motors there is no such limitation. What makes the devices the only ones suitable for implementing designs of centrifugal juicers, not to mention vacuum cleaners, where the speed is often no lower.
The question of how to make an electric motor speed controller disappears. The problem was solved long ago by cutting off part of the supply voltage sinusoid cycle. This is possible, because it makes no difference to the commutator motor whether it is powered by alternating or direct current. In the first case, the characteristics drop, but the phenomenon is tolerated due to obvious benefits. The commutator type electric motor operates in both the washing machine and the dishwasher. Although the speeds are very different.
It's easy to reverse too. To do this, the polarity of the voltage on one winding changes (if both are touched, the direction of rotation will remain the same). Another problem is how to make an engine with a similar number of components. It is unlikely that you will be able to make the collector yourself, but rewinding it and selecting the stator is quite possible. Note that the rotation speed depends on the number of rotor sections (similar to the amplitude of the supply voltage). But the stator has only a couple of poles.
Finally, when using the specified design, it is possible to create a universal device. The engine runs easily on both alternating and direct current. They simply make a tap on the winding; when switched on, the entire turns are used from the rectified voltage, and when the voltage is sinusoidal, only a part is used. This allows you to save the nominal parameters. Making a primitive commutator-type electric motor does not look like a simple task, but you will be able to completely adapt the parameters to your own needs.
Features of operation of commutator motors
In a brushed motor there are not too many poles on the stator. To be more precise, there are only two - northern and southern. The magnetic field, as opposed to asynchronous motors, does not rotate here. Instead, the position of the poles on the rotor changes. This state of affairs is ensured by the fact that the brushes gradually move along the sections of the copper drum. Special winding of the coils ensures proper distribution. The poles seem to slide around the rotor, pushing it in the desired direction.
To ensure reverse mode, it is enough to change the polarity of the power supply of any winding. The rotor in this case is called the armature, and the stator is called the exciter. These circuits can be connected in parallel to each other or in series. And then the characteristics of the device will begin to change significantly. This is described by mechanical characteristics, take a look at the attached drawing to visualize what is claimed. Here are conditionally shown graphs for two cases:
- When the exciter (stator) and armature (rotor) of a commutator motor are powered in parallel with direct current, its mechanical characteristic is almost horizontal. This means that when the load on the shaft changes, the rated shaft speed is maintained. This is used on processing machines, where changes in speed do not have the best effect on quality. As a result, the part rotates when it is touched by the cutter, as quickly as at the start. If the hindering moment increases too much, the movement stalls. The engine stops. Summary: if you want to use the motor from a vacuum cleaner to create a metalworking (lathe) machine, it is proposed to connect the windings in parallel, because a different type of connection dominates in household appliances. Moreover, the situation is understandable. When the windings are powered in parallel with alternating current, too much inductive reactance is formed. This technique should be used with caution.
- When the rotor and stator are powered in series, the commutator motor has a wonderful property - high torque at the start. This quality is actively used for moving trams, trolleybuses and, probably, electric trains. The main thing is that when the load increases, the speed does not drop. If you start a commutator motor at idle in this mode, the shaft rotation speed will increase immensely. If the power is low - tens of W - there is no need to worry: the friction force of bearings and brushes, an increase in induction currents and the phenomenon of magnetization reversal of the core will together slow down the growth at a specific value. In the case of industrial units or the mentioned vacuum cleaner, when its engine is removed from the housing, the increase in speed occurs like an avalanche. The centrifugal force turns out to be so great that the loads can break the anchor. Be careful when starting commutator motors with series excitation.
Commutator motors with parallel connection of stator and rotor windings are highly adjustable. By introducing a rheostat into the exciter circuit, it is possible to significantly increase the speed. And if you attach one to the armature branch, the rotation, on the contrary, will slow down. This is widely used in technology to achieve the desired characteristics.
The design of a commutator motor and its connection with losses
When designing commutator motors, considerations regarding losses are taken into account. There are three types:
Typically, when powering a commutator motor with alternating current, the windings are connected in series. Otherwise, too much inductive reactance results.
To the above, we add that when a commutator motor is powered by alternating current, the inductive reactance of the windings comes into play. Therefore, at the same effective voltage, the speed will decrease. The stator poles and housing are protected from magnetic losses. The necessity of this can be easily verified by a simple experiment: power a low-power brushed motor from a battery. His body will remain cold. But if you now apply alternating current with the same current value (according to the tester), the picture will change. Now the housing of the commutator motor will begin to heat up.
Therefore, they even try to assemble the casing from sheets of electrical steel, riveting or gluing using BF-2 and analogues. Finally, let us supplement what has been said with the following statement: the sheets are assembled along a cross section. Often the stator is assembled according to the sketch shown in the figure. In this case, the coil is wound separately according to a template, then insulated and put back on, simplifying assembly. As for the methods, it is easier to cut steel on a plasma machine and not think about the cost of the event.
It’s easier to find (in a landfill, in a garage) a ready-made form for assembly. Then wind coils of copper wire with varnish insulation under it. Obviously the diameter is selected larger. First, the finished coil is pulled onto the first protrusion of the core, then onto the second. Press the wire so that a small air gap remains at the ends. It is believed that this is not critical. To keep it in place, the sharp corners of the two outer plates are cut off, the remaining core is bent outward, pressing the ends of the coil. This will help assemble the engine to factory standards.
Often (especially in blenders) there is an open stator core. This does not distort the shape of the magnetic field. Since there is only one pole, you can’t expect much power. The shape of the core resembles the letter P; a rotor rotates between the legs of the letter in a magnetic field. Circular slots are made in the right places for the device. It is not difficult to assemble such a stator yourself from an old transformer. This is easier than making an electric motor from scratch.
The core at the winding site is insulated with a steel sleeve, and on the sides - with dielectric flanges cut from any suitable plastic.
Making an electric motor from what you have at hand is not at all difficult.
I came across the idea for such a motor on the website www.crafters.ucoz.ru As you can see in the photo above, for the motor we will need adhesive tape, a couple of pins, a magnet, a battery and a piece of copper wire.
Instead of a regular battery, it is better to take a battery because the battery charge for such an electric motor will not last long. Take copper wire and wind 30-50 turns around the battery.
Secure the ends of the wire to the opposite edges of the resulting rotor; they will serve as the axis. They can be tied in a knot.
Clean both ends of the wire from the varnish insulation with sandpaper or a knife.
Now take a battery, tape and pins, attach the pins with tape to the battery contacts, insert the prepared copper rotor into the ears of the pins.
ATTENTION! At this moment, the circuit of our rotor closes the battery contacts and it is not recommended to keep this structure in a “quiet” position for a long time! The battery electrolyte can get very hot, so do not make the rotor less than 30 turns, the more the better (more resistance). Now place a magnet under the rotor on the battery, it will “stick” to the battery itself. The rotor will begin to rotate quickly.
The rotor should not touch the magnet and it would be even better if the magnet is at a distance of 5-10 mm from the rotor. Try the magnet in different positions, rotate it, try to move it away from the copper rotor, achieve maximum rotation speed.
This is the simplest example of an electric motor, we went through its circuit more than once in physics lessons at school, but for some reason we were never shown this simple and interesting design :) Let's watch a video of how this homemade motor works.
[video lost by rutube]
Many radio amateurs are always not averse to making some kind of decorative device solely for demonstration purposes. For this purpose, the simplest circuits and available means are used; movable mechanisms that can clearly show the effects of electric current are especially in great demand. As an example, we will look at how to make a simple electric motor at home.
What is needed for a simple electric motor?
Please note that to make a working electric car designed to perform any useful work from rotating a shaft at home is quite difficult. Therefore, we will look at a simple model demonstrating the principle of operation of an electric motor. With its help you can demonstrate the interaction of magnetic fields in the armature winding and the stator. This model will be useful as a visual aid for school or as a pleasant and educational pastime with children.
To make a simple homemade electric motor, you will need an ordinary AA battery, a piece of copper wire with varnish insulation, a piece of permanent magnet no larger than a battery, and a pair of paper clips. All you need from the tool are wire cutters or pliers, a piece sandpaper or other abrasive tool, tape.
The manufacturing process of an electric motor consists of the following stages:
A simple electric motor is ready - just push the coil with your finger and it will begin a rotational movement, which will continue until you stop the motor shaft or the battery runs out.
Rice. 4: Start the reel If rotation does not occur, check the quality of current collection and the condition of the contacts, how freely the shaft moves in the guides and the distance from the coil to the magnet. The shorter the distance from the magnet to the coil, the better the magnetic interaction, so the operation of the electric motor can be improved by reducing the length of the racks.
Single cylinder electric motor
If the previous option did not perform any useful work due to its design features, then this model will be a little more complicated, but it will find practical application in your home. To make it you will need a 20 ml disposable syringe, copper wire for winding the coil (in this example used with a diameter of 0.45 mm), larger diameter copper wire for the crankshaft and connecting rod (2.5 mm), permanent magnets, wooden strips for the frame and structural elements, DC power supply.
Additional tools you will need are a glue gun, a hacksaw, a stationery knife, and pliers.
The manufacturing process of an electric motor is as follows:
- Using a hacksaw or utility knife, cut the syringe to create a plastic tube.
- Wind a thin copper wire around a plastic tube and secure its ends with glue; this will be the stator winding.
Rice. 5: Wind the wire around the syringe - Remove the insulation from thick wire using a utility knife. Cut two pieces of wire.
- Bend these pieces of wire into a crankshaft and connecting rod for an electric motor, as shown in the figure below.
Rice. 6: Bend the crankshaft and connecting rod - Place the connecting rod ring on the crankshaft to ensure a tight fit; you can put a piece of insulation under the ring.
Rice. 7: Place the connecting rod onto the crankshaft - From wooden dies, make two stands for the shaft, a wooden base and an eyelet for neodymium magnets.
- Glue the neodymium magnets together and glue the eyelet to them using a glue gun.
- Secure the second ring of the connecting rod in the eye using a cotter pin made of copper wire.
Rice. 8: fix the second ring of the connecting rod - Insert the shaft into wooden posts and put on bushings to limit movement; make them from pieces of original wire insulation.
- Glue the stator with the winding, the struts with the connecting rod on a wooden base; in addition to wood, you can use other dielectric material.
Rice. 9: Glue the struts and stator - Using flathead screws, secure the terminals to the wooden base. The two contacts must be long enough to touch the motor shaft - one curved, the other straight.
Rice. 10: Shaft touch points - Place a flywheel on the shaft on one side to stabilize rotation, and an impeller for the fan on the other.
- Solder one terminal of the motor winding to the knee contact, and the second to a separate terminal.
Rice. 11: Solder the winding leads - Connect the electric motor to the battery using alligator clips.
The single-cylinder electric motor is ready for operation - just connect power to its terminals for operation and spin the flywheel if it is in a position from which it cannot start.
Rice. 12: connect power To stop the fan rotating, turn off the electric motor by removing the crocodile clip from at least one of the contacts.
Cork and spoke electric motor
It is also a relatively simple homemade option; to make it you will need a champagne cork, insulated copper wire for winding the armature, a knitting needle, copper wire for making contacts, electrical tape, wooden blanks, magnets, and a power source. The tools you will need are pliers, a glue gun, small nail file, a drill, and a stationery knife.
The manufacturing process of an electric motor will consist of the following stages:
Rice. 14: connect the ends of the winding and the leads For better contact you can solder. The leads should be bent so that they literally lie on the spoke.