Stator coil winder

These drawings are not to scale, so please use the specified dimensions.

 

The handle and the stand are the two easiest pieces to start with. The handle was made by bending a piece of 8mm threaded rod at 90deg angles marked 15cm apart. I made my stand to clamp to my work bench, but any configuration can be used so long as it's sturdy. Drill a 10mm hole in the centre of one end of the stand to insert the threaded rod through.

Thread two nuts onto the rod and spin them down to the 90deg bend, then tighten them together. Install a 10mm washer, the stand, another washer and finally two more nuts, jamming them together also. The picture below explains it well.

For the jig itself start by marking a horizontal line on the plywood, 70mm down from the top edge. Draw a second horizontal line 42mm past the first line. Next I drew a vertical line 70mm from the side edge, and a second line 26mm after the first. This gives a small rectangle showing the four corner marks to drill the 8mm holes for the dowels. From these corner marks draw two diagonal lines connecting the corners, giving the centre mark.

Using the center mark a drew a 120mm circle around all of it, and I drew a second 120mm circle on the wood beside the first one. Only the face of one disc needs to have the hole markings on it.

Cut the circles out with a jigsaw, sandwich them together (with the marked face out) and then clamp them tightly together. Using the drill start with the centre hole, drilling through both cheek faces at once. When the hole is finished install an 8mm bolt through it to help keep everything aligned. Next drill the four corner points, installing wooden dowels as each hole is finished.

Double checking at this point the outside of the dowel holes should measure 46mm x 30mm. This size is specific to the size of the magnets being used, the centre opening of the finished coil needs to be the same OD of the magnets.

Next draw three horizontal lines, the first 4mm from the top edge, next at 26mm and the last at 30mm.

Moving to the edge of the wood draw three vertical lines at 4mm, 42mm, and 46mm, giving a rectangle inside a rectangle. Using the same method as before draw diagonal lines connecting the corners giving the center of the part were the 8mm hole is drilled. With the jigsaw cut out the larger rectangle (30mm x 46mm). Use a 1" chisel to notch out the corners, allowing space for the dowels. This could also be done with the saw, either way works well. 

Axial flux generator

Before I go any further I have to give credit were it's due; this wouldn't be possible without Hugh Piggott and the original Wind power recipe book.
Above is the first drawing of a basic axial flux generator. Keep in mind that dimensions will change before the final prototype is completed.
The red section (stator) contains 9 copper wire coils encapsulated in epoxy and stays stationary, mounted with a bracket on the back. The coils will be wound by hand using the tool described in an earlier blog. I'll post pictures of the finished product as I go.
The blue sections, front and rear are "magnet rotors". Each steel rotor will contain 12 Neodymium magnets epoxied in place and is mounted to the center hub. The magnet rotors rotate using the kinetic energy in the wind (or pedal power, or water, or...). As they pass the copper coils the coils interrupt the magnetic flux, picking up a small amount of electricity.
The ultimate target of this project is a turbine that will turn at approx 200-250rpm and produce around 800w-1000w of electricity. But it needs to be built from easily found parts so it can be produced in rural areas with limited resources.
So stay tuned, as this project moves forward so will the blog page. I intend on posting all of the steps involved in making this project, as well as the results from the testing phase this fall.

Micro wind turbine pvc blade design

This is a cool little project, a micro sized turbine that really will produce electricity! The blade was cut from a piece of 3.25" pvc pipe and measures 31" long. You can see the curvature of the blade, a result of the original round shape.

It's mounted through a 3/8" center hole to one end of an old bicycle hub. We cleaned out all the old grease, took out every second ball in the bearings, and used a light, lanolin based lubricant in an effort to reduce drag.

The leading edges where filed down to produce a smoother more aerodynamic shape, and the trailing edges were sanded smooth.
It takes very little wind to start it spinning, and a decent wind moves it along quite well.

  The next step will be to source out a used hard drive motor (?) to turn, some ni-cad batteries and led lights for the porch. More too come...