Build Process

I will be basing my motor off of a model which we have in our physics class room. It is a simple DC motor involving 4 solenoids. 2 which act as magnets, as their polarity does not change, and two that rotate on the axel and do switch current. An illustration of the motor can be seen at the bottom of this page. In order to build this, I will need:

Materials

• Wood
• Wire
• Coil wire
• Nails (must be ferromagnetic)
• Steel axel
• Bearings
• Copper
• Cardboard
• Lugs
• Screws
• Glue
• Battery

Tools

• Handsaw
• Drill
• Hammer
• Scissors
• Compass

The following are the steps I will take to build the motor:

1. Cut the wood into 2- 12”x12” pieces which will act as the lid and base
2. Cut some 2x4 wood into 4- 8.5” pieces which will attach the lid and base as well as act as a position to attach the outer solenoids to. View Picture
3. Drill a hole the diameter of your steel axel in the center of both the lid and base
4. Then drill a hole the size of your bearings, just deep enough to allow them to recess, but not as far to let them out the other side. View Picture
5. Place you bearing in the hole and cut a piece of card board out larger then your bearing. Cut a hole in the middle the size of your axel. Center the hole of the cardboard with the hole of you bearing and glue it in place. This will make sure the bearing doesn't fall out. View Picture
6. On one of the pieces of 12"x12" wood, fasten a piece of copper over the hole opposite the side of the cardboard. This will restrict the axel from falling out that side. View Picture
7. Now take your ferromagnetic nails and wrap several tight loops around it. Leave enough of the sharp end of the nail to be able to nail it into the 2x4. The more loops the stronger your magnetic field. Make sure to always wrap in the same direction to best amplify the field. End wrapping at the same end you started so both ends of the wire are on the same side. A drill makes it easy to guide the wire in one hand and wrap by pulling the trigger with the other. View Picture
8. Nail the two outer solenoids to the 2x4’s leaving the wires hanging out the sides. View Picture
9. Get a piece of wood doweling that is larger in diameter then your axel. Cut a piece long enough to nail the other two solenoids into the circular faces while leaving enough room to drill a hole through the center the size of your axel.
10. Drill a hole the size of your axel through the side of your dowel to allow the solenoids to rotate perpendicular to the axel.
11. Nail the remaining solenoids to the circular faces of the dowel leaving the wires hanging out the side. This will be your inner solenoids
12. Cut another piece of doweling no longer then 1” in length
13. Drill a hole the size of your axel through the circular faces
14. Get 2 pieces of thin copper plate the length of the dowel you just cut and slightly less the half the circumference of your dowel
15. Notch out a space on this dowel to place a lug and then place the copper plate on top and put a screw through connecting the copper and lug to the dowel. Repeat this with the other piece of copper. Make sure to leave equal gaps on each side between the copper plates. This will act as the commutator in the motor
16. Slide both the commutator and inner solenoids (put the commutator on top) onto the axel lining up the gaps in the commuter perpendicular to the direction of the nails of the inner solenoids. Attach these with some super glue
17. Attach one end of the wire on one solenoid to an end of the other solenoid. The two remaining ends will be attached to the lugs of the commutator. The two inner solenoids need to be opposite in polarity. Test this using a compass and a battery. If they are not opposite, then switch one of the ends of a solenoid
18. Put the axel through the lid and base pieces. Line up the two 2x4’s with the solenoids attached on opposite sides. Try to position them so when the nails on the inner solenoid are in line with the outer solenoids, there is a minimal gap (less then ¼”). This will increase the effect of the attraction and repulsion forces
19. Once everything is in line, attach the 2x4’s with solenoids to the lid and base. Once this is done, test to ensure the axel can freely rotate. If successful, attach the other 2 2x4’s for better support. View Picture
20. Now cut 2 pieces of dowel equal in length as the distance from the lid to the base of the commutator
21. Attach these in line with the outer solenoids approximately 1” from the commutator
22. Cut 2 piece of copper a tall as your commutator and long enough to attach to the newly placed doweling and brush the sides of the commutator. These will act as brushes to allow the current over the inner solenoids to switch direction and polarity
23. Notch another space on each of the new pieces of doweling for lugs and then attach the lugs and copper to the dowel the same as on the commutator
24. Now there are 3 points which need power. Simply wiring everything to a positive and negative point on the lid would make powering the motor easier. To do this first attach the two outer solenoids on the lid, similar to the inner ones, ensuring that they are opposite in polarity. Use a compass to check
25. Once this is done, you can connect either wire from the outer solenoid to either wire on the inner solenoid. Below is a picture of an electrical drawing