Running head: PROGRESS REPORT VI 1

EMWiT Progress Report VI

Lauren Warner, Shannon Woolfolk, Paulina Hall

January 26th, 2017

Dr. Psaker

The Governors School at Innovation Park

Objectives: Continue construction of electric motor. Reconstruct commutator. Continue updating

website. Connect wind turbine blades to hub and investigate construction of wind turbine.
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Materials and Methods

Progress:

The armature was recieved in two separate pieces, as planned, and glued together using

plastic epoxy glue (figures 1, 2, 3). The ends of the two separate pieces of the armature that were

supposed to be glued were uneven, so the ridged edge, as seen in the pictures below, was glued

as it was more level. The wire was wrapped around the spokes of the armature, beginning the

construction of the electromagnet (figure 4). A couple different ways to add the iron filings were

reviewed using an additional piece of similar plastic to the armature. Additionally, 6 holes were

drilled on the end of each spoke to fill with iron filings in order to direct the magnetic field. The

rod was glued into the armature and copper pieces for the commutator were cut using the old tin

snips. These pieces were glued to the rod, but after receiving the new tin snips, it was decided

that the commutator would be reconstructed and new copper pieces cut (figure 5 is old

commutator). The old epoxy putty has to be removed in order to reconstruct the commutator.

The metal exterior of the motor was cut and has been marked for the magnets. Gluing of the

magnets has started, but considering the strength of the magnets, only a few can be glued at a

time. The wind turbine blades were printed as well as the hub. The hub still had rafts on it, so

those were removed. The website has been updated with pictures, which are present below.
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Figure 1: 3D printed armature frame components were completed January 12th. The armature

frame had to be printed in two parts, so they have to be glued together. After the parts are glued,

the copper magnet wire can start being wrapped around each of the ten spokes. This will create

the electromagnet that will help the armature spin.

Figure 2: To glue the two armature frame parts together, JB Weld glue was used, which is just a

type of epoxy glue. This glue was used instead of another type of glue because it is one of the

strongest epoxy glues available and it can be used with plastics. This was very important because
PROGRESS REPORT VI 4

some glues would have actually burned or melted the plastic, which would damage the armature

frame.

Figure 3: This is the final armature frame after it was glued together. The thick spots of glue on

the outside of the frame are there to fill in the gaps there were between the two parts when

putting them together. During the 3D printing process, the second piece printed a little crooked,

so when the two were put together, they did not align perfectly. Now that the armature frame is

completed, the magnet wire needs to be wrapped.

Figure 4: The magnetic wire was wrapped around the armature frame and the frame was glued to

the rod. The magnetic wire will help to create an electromagnet when an electric current is sent

through. Epoxy glue was used to attach the frame to the metal rod. In order to complete the
PROGRESS REPORT VI 5

armature, the commutator needs to be constructed, the carbon brushes connected, and the ends of

the magnetic wire soldered to the commutator. Soldering the end of the magnetic wire to the

commutator makes it so that each time the commutator changes the charge, the new current can

be sent through the wire to change the charge of the electromagnet also. This will cause the

armature to spin as the poles repel and attract to each other continuously as a result of the charge

of the electromagnet changing.

Figure 5: This is the first commutator that was built. The copper pieces are visibly jagged since

the first set of tin snips were used. The pieces have been recut using the new snips and the epoxy

putty needs to be cut off using a drimmel in order to reconstruct the commutator.

Work planned for the next two weeks:

The electric motor will continue to be constructed. The first commutator will be removed

using a drimmel and the new one created. The new, well-cut pieces of the copper sheet metal

will be attached to the rod using epoxy putty again. These pieces are longer than the first pieces

in order to provide room for both the soldered wires and the carbon brushes. The magnets will be

glued to the aluminum sheet metal and the sheet metal formed around the armature. The wind
PROGRESS REPORT VI 6

turbine blades will be glued to the hub using epoxy glue. Further investigation of how to connect

the wind turbine to the electric generator will be completed. The website will continue to be

updated with pictures of the process. An outline for the testing of the electric motor will be

created to prepare for testing before the end of February.

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Data and Results

No data or results at this time. No experimentation has occurred.

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References

No references at this time.