Running head: PROGRESS REPORT VII 1

EMWiT Progress Report VII

Paulina Hall, Lauren Warner, and Shannon Woolfolk

February 9, 2017

Dr. Psaker

The Governors School at Innovation Park

Objectives: Continue construction of the electric motor. Fix glued magnets on aluminum sheet

metal. Glue wind turbine blades to hub and investigate construction of the wind turbine.

Continue updating the website.

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Materials and Methods

Progress:

During the past two weeks, the electric motor has almost been completed. At the

beginning of these two weeks, the two armature frame pieces had just been glued together and

the magnetic wire had been wrapped around each of the ten spokes. The next step was to

complete drilling holes on the outer rim of the spokes. The holes were drilled and the iron filings

were put into them. This took about three class periods to complete because of the difficulty with

filling the holes with the iron filings without having a funnel readily available at the time. A pen

cap was used and a piece of paper taped around it to make a funnel small enough so the iron

filings could slide right into the holes. Duct tape was also placed over each of the holes to ensure

that the iron filings would not fall out of the holes. This proved very effective and helped

complete the construction of the armature (figure 1). The magnets were also all glued onto the

aluminum sheet that was cut to eventually embody the exterior of the motor. This process took

more time as magnets could not be applied until the epoxy putty dried. At first epoxy glue was

used to place the magnets on the sheet metal, but it was discovered that the glue would not be

strong enough to hold the magnets in place. Some magnets had to be removed and placed back

down with epoxy putty instead. The new commutator was also made after the old one was

removed with a multi tool saw. The replacement commutator pieces were cut with newly bought

tin snips. These pieces were much smoother and were easily placed on the reapplied epoxy putty

(figure 1). The fan blades were printed previously, but more were printed to replace those that

were printed incorrectly (figure 2). The hub was also printed previously, but a new one is being

printed because the hub was too small and was scaled down incorrectly (figure 3). The new scale
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was sent to Dr. Gutierrez, and the hub is in the process of being printed. The website has been

updated with pictures, which are present below.

Figure 1: This is an image of the finished armature with the new commutator. The old

commutator was taken off with pliers and a multi tool saw. Then, using epoxy putty, a new

commutator was formed with 10 pieces of newly cut copper. These pieces were longer,

smoother, and had more defined edges than the previous pieces, providing a smoother surface for

the soldering of the wires and the brushes to make contact. The armature was drilled with 6 holes

on each spoke and filled with iron filings in order to provide a more stable magnetic field for the

electromagnet. The holes were then covered with duct tape to make sure the filings did not

escape.

Figure 2: The wind turbine blades were 3D printed and there are 17 in total. These blades will be

attached to the hub once it is printed again. See the below image for more information on the
PROGRESS REPORT VII 4

hub. The blades measure approximately 4 in or 10.2 cm long. The base measure 4 cm or 1.5 in

long. There are two blades that were misprinted that only measure 3.25 in long.

Figure 3: The hub was printed incorrectly the first time and is being 3D printed to match the

blades of the wind turbine. The original hub was too small for the blades to fit. The blades will

slide into the slots on the hub and be glued using epoxy to secure them in place.

Work planned for the next two weeks:

The electric motor will be completely constructed and some tests may be conducted on

the electric motor by the end of the next two weeks. The first part of the wind turbine will be

constructed with the new hub. The wind turbine blades will be slid into their spots and secured

with epoxy putty. This will ensure that they stay in place as the wind turbine spins. There will

also be continued investigation of the wind turbine. Research will be done on the construction of

the wind turbine in order to generate the most power possible. It will be determined how to

connect the motor to the wind turbine itself. Some parts for the wind turbine may need to be

ordered, but that has not been determined yet. This will be one of the components that will be

researched and discussed over the next two weeks. The website will continue to be updated with
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pictures of the construction of the electric motor and wind turbine. An outline for the testing of

the electric motor will be created to prepare for testing.

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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.