ENGR 1020 10/27/09

Generator Project Design and Assembly

Client: Ms. McGinnis Instructor for Roseville Area Middle School

Team DBT

Dan Joachim Team Leader Brandon Sohn Team Member Thai Vang Team Member

Abstract
The objective was to construct a generator that would demonstrate the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy. The client was Ms. Pamela McGinnis, a middle school teacher at Roseville Area Middle School. Her class of 7th and 8th graders would be the intended audience for this demonstration. The intent of the project was to create a generator that would be approximately shoe box size, durable and interesting to the students. The team designed a generator using materials found in the FabLab acrylic, magnets, m agnet wire, tie wraps, and LEDs as well as a few common items and materials found at hardware stores. The generator has a rotating shaft with four attached magnets. The shaft is mounted inside a rectangular acrylic box. Four coils of magnet wire are fixed inside the box and the magnetic field from the magnets cuts through the coils, creating an electrical current. The coils are attached to two light emitting diodes (LEDs), and the LEDs light up when the shaft reaches rotational speed sufficient to generate enough electricity. The LEDs will become brighter as the shaft rotational speed increases. Attached to the rotating shaft is a simple mechanical gear assembly consisting of a larger gear turned by hand to drive a smaller gear on the end of the shaft contain ing the magnets. The design is a working model of how mechanical energy , in the form of a force turning a wheel, can be converted to electrical energy as demonstrated by lighting LEDs. While the design met the requirements of the client, there are innumerable methods and designs that would satisfy the objective. Given the time, materials, and expertise of the builders, the goals were achieved and a generator was constructed with a moderate amount of effort and a minimum amount of material cost. A team approach was used throughout the project and each team member contributed to all phases of the project.

Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................... 4 Design Procedure............................................................................................................ 5 Problem Definition........................................................................................................ 5 Constraints and Criteria ............................................................................................... 5 Research ..................................................................................................................... 6 Alternative Solutions .................................................................................................... 7 Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 11 Decision..................................................................................................................... 11 Decision Matrix .......................................................................................................... 12

Specifications. ............................................................................................................... 13 Bill of Materials .......................................................................................................... 13 Fabrication instructions .............................................................................................. 13 Assembly Instructions................................................................................................ 14 Recommendations and Conclusions ............................................................................. 15 Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 16 A - Photos...................................................................................................................................... 16 B - Pro/E drawings....................................................................................................................... 19 C - Project Costs.......................................................................................................................... 20

Introduction
The client, Ms. Pamela McGinnis, was interviewed during c lass on September 17, 2009. Ms. McGinnis is a middle school teacher at Roseville Area Middle School (RAMS). She teaches an earth science course to 7th and 8th graders. Ms. McGinnis requested a portable device that would demonstrate the conversion of energy from mechanical to electrical. The demonstration device would need to be durable, reusable, and interesting to the audience. The project was to be made from materials found in Century Colleges FabLab and/or materials found in local hardware stores. Material costs were to be tracked and kept to a minimum. The project makes use of several software programs and utilized a few of the processes and machines found in the FabLab.
This report is divided into several sections. We will discuss how we defined the problem, the constraints and criteria used for this project and the various websites reviewed to generate solution s to our project. We will present several alternative designs to the problem as well as the final solution we choose and how we decided upon the selected generator design. The report will show how we built our project and provide the reader an understanding of how our generator was assembled and how well it meets the requirements of our client.

Design Procedure
Problem Definition
Design and build a generator that can easily demonstrate the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy. The intended audience will be 7th and 8th grade students and the project should be both durable and interesting. Use materials from in the FabLab and/or materials that could be found in hardware stores while controlling costs. Use engineering software to model and build the generator components.

Problem Statement: Build a product that demonstrates the conversion of energy from mechanical to electrical so that it can be used in a middle school science program. The final product must conform to the constraints and criteria defined by the client and our instructor.

Criteria

Interactive Durable Easy to use Demonstrates the concept Interesting to the target audience User safety

Constraints
Approximate size of shoebox Use materials found in FabLab and/or a hardware store Cost of materials less is better Use team approach participation by all team members October 27 deadline

Research
Our team reviewed numerous websites on the Internet prior to choosing and assembling our generator. We used typical search engines with combinations of the word generator and descriptive phrases that we wanted for our project simple, mechanical to electrical conversion, experiment, easy to use, building, magnetism, electronics, etc. These searches produce an enormous array of interesting and informative websites. We reviewed videos of working generator examples on YouTube (www.youtube.com) as well as videos depicting principles of electrical generation. Each of these websites added to our knowledge of generation electrical energy and helped to form some of the ideas we would later use to design and construct our project. Many times these websites would lead to additional sites with similar information . Using this wealth of information, we were able to form the ideas and concepts that would help in our brainstorming portion of the project.
Samples of reviewed websites are listed below. We reviewed all of th e recommended sites listed on the course information on Century Colleges D2L website.
#mandg http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/electricmotors.html 10' diameter wind turbine construction http://www.otherpower.com/turbineplans.shtml Copper and electricity. Introduction. http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/cda/16plus/index.html Disc Magnets http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/SearchResult-CategoryID-28.html Exploratorials - Physics UNSW http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/exploratorials/catalogue/activities/activity_faraday.htm Hamster-Powered Night Light http://www.otherpower.com/hamster.html How an Electric Generator Works http://new.wvic.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=46 How I built an electricity producing wind turbine http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/index.html HowStuffWorks Generators http://science.howstuffworks.com/electricity2.htm Magnetic field - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_field Neodymium magnet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium_magnet Science fair project Ultra-simple Electric Generator, spinning magnets http://www.amasci.com/amateur/coilgen.html Science Fair Wind Generators http://www.otherpower.com/toymill.html#danf Toys from Trash http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/toys/opengenerator.html Ultra-simple AC Electric Generator http://www.amasci.com/amateur/coilgen.html

How to make an Electric Generator

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609137_make-a-generator.html

Alternative Solutions

Proposal A Rotating 4 magnets on disk with 2 coils and 2 LEDs. The magnets would need to be on a wheel or disk and rotated so that the magnetic field would intersect the coil winding. The coil would be connected to LEDs.

Proposal B 2 coils rotating on shaft with a fixed magnet. The coils would be connected to a LED.

Proposal C Magnet fixed to a rotating shaft. Coils (wire in the diagram) fixed inside a box or shell. LEDs (not shown in this example) would be connected to the coil wires.

Proposal D Use a drumstick to create vibration in a drum containing piezoelectric sensors. Sensor generates current. Amplifying circuits would power LEDs to spell out RAMS.

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Analysis
Proposal A This proposal would meet our objectives. Further analysis would be required to determine how many magnets, coils, and LEDs we could use to maximize the impact. We decided that this project might also have some difficulties with getting magnets mounted to a disk or wheel and building a gear driven rotating wheel.

Proposal B This proposal takes a different approach by fixing the magnets and rotating the coils. We never came up with a clear plan as to how we could rotate coils without tangling the lead wires that would be hooked to LEDs. This proposal was quickly abandoned.
Proposal C This proposal uses a shaft with magnet or magnets attached. The shaft rotates such that the magnetic fields intersect coils fixed above and below the rotating magnet. The coils would be connected to LEDs. This generator offered some advantages as we could add a number of magnets and coils depending on the length of the shaft. Coils could also be place on four sides assuming we used a rectangle box as a holding structure for the coils. We thought we might be able to drive more LEDs using this generator design. Proposal D One of our earliest brainstormed model involved using a simple drum to generate current. This idea was taken from some popular games such as Rock Star or Guitar Hero. We spent some time exploring this concept but the electronics involved with converted drum vibrations to a voltage with sufficient power to light LEDs seemed to be beyond the expertise of the team members.

Decision
We decided that build simplicity would be the primary factor in choosing our design. We wanted a project that would ensure completion before the deadline while keeping cost of materials and fabrication difficulties to a minimum. We also wanted a project that would fit the skill and experience level of the team members. In retrospect, these choices may limit the interest our project generates.
Our team kept coming back to a basic principle: We needed to move magnets so that the magnetic lines of force would intersect with coil windings. We discussed various ways to accomplish this and demonstrated our ideas using sketching and verbal descriptions. Our inspiration for our final design was the Ultra Simple Generator found at this website:

http://www.amasci.com/amateur/coilgen.html
We modified this design to better fit our objectives. We added magnets, coils, and LEDs. We built the holding box for this configuration and added gears and brackets. We discussed various modifications to our design including a crank handle and additional LEDs, especially after seeing the in -process designs of other teams.

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Decision Matrix
The table below represents the factors we used to determine which design would best fit our requirements. The most weight (Value) was given to meeting the objectives of the project, followed by the time needed for the project and the difficulty level of fabrication and assembly. The least amount of weight was given to cost although we still wanted to create a project that would make efficient use of materials. We determine the scores for each factor as applied to each of the four proposals. We determined that Proposal C, with a score of 80 points, would be the best fit for our requirements.

Factor Cost Time requirement Meets objectives Within the abilities of the team
Totals

Value Proposal A Proposal B Proposal C Proposal D 10 5 5 10 2 20 15 10 20 5 50 40 40 30 50 20 15 15 20 5

100

75

70

80

62

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Specifications
Bill of Materials
1 each 18 x 24 x acrylic, laser cut to form pieces: 2 each box ends with teeth 2 each box sides with teeth 1 each box cover without teeth 1 each magnet shaft gear 1 each drive shaft gear 6 each washers 2 each holding brackets 1 each bottom base 4 each magnet wire coils approximately 100 of 30 gauge wire per coil 4 each one inch diameter disc magnets

2 each magnet shaft - wooden dowel rod diameter x 6 length

2 each red light emitting diodes (LED) Misc. supplies Tie wraps, glues, electrical tape, solder

Fabrication instructions
Fabricate pieces from acrylic sheet:

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H.

Box end pieces with teeth Box side pieces with teeth Box Cover Washers for holding shaft in place and gear spacing Holding brackets Bottom Base Drive Shaft gear Magnet Shaft gear

Fabricate from wooden dowel: 2 each 6 inch shafts - drive shaft and magnet shaft Fabricated with FabLab coil winder: 4 Coils of magnet wire 30 gauge wire formed on FabLab coil winding machine. Approximately 100 feet of wire for each coil. 13

Assembly Instructions (Refer to photos in Appendix A)

Acrylic Box with Coils Assembly 2 sides and 1 end of the acrylic box using the acrylic pieces with teeth. Attached 4 coils of magnet wire using tie wraps on the inside of the box. The tie wraps should aligned with the laser cut holes in the box sides. Tighten the tie wraps so that the coils are against the acrylic.

Magnet Shaft Assembly Assemble the magnet shaft with 4 magnets glued in place. Align the magnet and shaft sub -assembly within the acrylic box such that the magnetic lines from the coil will intersect the coils of wire. The shaft will fit through the hole in the box end piece. Add the second box end piece to so that the shaft end goes through the hole. Push on acrylic washer on either end of the shaft to hold the shaft in the correct position.
Solder coils and LEDs The coils are soldered together to form pairs so that 1 pair of coil supplies voltage for 1 LED. Each coil should have one end of the wire soldered to a mating coil and one end of the wire soldered to a LED lead. Trial and error was needed to determine the correct current direction. Small Gear mounting and washer placements A small gear is fixed to one end of the shaft with the magnets on the outside of the acrylic box. Press a tight fitting acrylic washer onto the other end of the shaft on the outside of the acrylic box. The shaft should turn freely. Base plate and holding brackets Insert the holding brackets into the base plate. The cutouts in the base plate are sized so that the holding brackets fit snug. The holes in the holding brackets should align. Large gear mounting and washer placements A large gear is fixed to one end of the drive shaft. The drive shaft is feed through the holes of the brackets such that the large gear is on the outside of one bracket and meshes with the teeth of the shaft gear. The drive shaft is held in place by a tight fitting washer on the opposite end of the shaft on the outside of the holding bracket. Final assembly and acrylic cover The box should now be fixed to the holding brackets. The box should be aligned such that the magnet shaft gear meshes with the drive gear. We used acrylic glue to bond the box to the brackets. We glued a cover on top of the box to protect the coils and LEDs.

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Conclusions and Recommendations

1. Our team met the projects objectives. 2. Our team worked well together. We shared the workload and didnt have to rush to complete our project or our reports. 3. Time was critical. A more intricate design would have required additional time and effort. We chose a simpler design to ensure we could complete the project and related documentation requirements. 4. We gained experience in several fabrication and assembly techniques as well as associated software programs laser cutting, coil winding, soldering, vinyl cutting, and gluing. 5. While working in the FabLab, we were exposed to other teams project concepts. Our observations generated additional changes to our own design. Our original generator only had one shaft and the user would simply hold the shaft ends and spin the box. We decided to add another shaft with gears so that the user could either spin the gear or a crank. We also added brackets and a base so that our generator could be handled and supported. 6. There are several elements that could be added to our basic design:

a. Make the shaft longer and add more magnets, coils, and LEDs. If the shafts were 12 instead of 6 we would be able double the number of magnets. We could also add coils on 4 sides of the magnet shaft instead of just 2 sides. Adding magnets and coils would allow the generator to supply voltage to several LEDs. We could also add more magnets by having less space between them. b. Add a simple hand crank. This would allow the user to spin the magnet shaft more efficiently. We were going to try this idea but we decided that the large gear in our design would need to have a greater diameter for this to work.

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Appendix A Photos

Bracket Drive Shaft Gear Drive Shaft

Magnet Shaft Gear Magnet Shaft

Coil (4 ea.)

Magnet (4 ea.)

Base Plate

LED (2 ea.)

Complete assembly with features labeled

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Photos continued

2 end and 2 sides of the acrylic box End pieces have hole for magnet shaft, Side pieces have holes for the tie wraps that hold the coils

Acrylic box with 2 sides and 2 ends. 2 sides of the box are open.

Acrylic box with coils tie wrapped to sides and magnet shaft mounted through holes in box ends.

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Photos continued

2 Holding brackets, top cover, drive shaft gear, magnet shaft gear

Base plate with holding brackets and empty acrylic box

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Appendix B Pro/E models

Pro/E model of holding bracket

Pro/E model of base plate

Pro/E model of washer

Pro/E model of box end

Pro/E model of box side

Pro/E model of shaft

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Appendix C - Project costs

Description 1 sheet 24 x 18 acrylic Magnet wire Magnets Wood dowel 36 LEDs
Total Cost

Quantity 1/4 sheet 4 4 1 2

Cost / Unit $20.00 $0.51 $2.05 $0.16 $0.30

Material Cost $5.00 $2.04 $8.20 $0.16 $0.60 $16.00

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