Portugal, Nicholas Principles of Engineering B8 May 2nd, 2013

The Engineering Behind My Electric Motor

Constructing an electric motor for Principles of Engineering has been a fascinating experience, as I obtained the opportunity to speculate how the power of only magnets and copper wires can generate a substantial amount of power, while opposing gravity and friction at the same time. To create this project, I followed steps on an instructional packet, which evidently taught me how to utilize magnets, nails, and wires in a fashion I have not previously conceived before. Contemporaneously, the fundamental educational principles of electric motors attribute the significance of magnetic attraction and repulsion, which are incorporated in the electric motor to yield superlative results without inducing friction. By winding a long copper wire carrying an electric current around an iron bar, it will create a magnet, which can be effortlessly be switched on and off. This composition will embody the construction process of my electric motor; discuss the troubleshooting I incurred during construction, and the results of the project. First and foremost, before I began constructing my electric motor, it was important to check and understand all the written instructions as well as appropriately gather the necessary materials. The core objectives by constructing and utilizing an electric motor included: using tools and processes to create a working DC motor, being able to list and describe the parts of a DC motor, being able explain how a DC motor works, controlling DC motors by adjusting its parts, and investigating relevant science concepts to DC motors in terms of current, conductivity, insulation, magnetism, circuits, and inductance. Consequently, the process to creating my electric motor commenced with assembling the rotor and electromagnet core and coil. The electromagnet is created when a coil of wire is wrapped around an iron core and electricity is applied to the coil. Following this, the next step in the construction process was to wrap the copper wire on both sides of the core, during which half the wire provided on a spool of about 40 wire length is wrapped around one core, and the other half on the second core. During the coiling process, it was essential to leave off approximately 6

of wire uncoiled and placed through the second hole in the rotor disk. The third step was to assemble the permanent magnets, during which two magnets were screwed into two vertical supports, and the supports snapped into the base of the motor. Subsequently, to complete the rotor and commutator assembly, I installed an axel, onto which I slid on my rotor supports and rubber washers, and then placed the wires through the holes on the rotor supports, and removed the enamel insulation coating on the wires with a piece of sandpaper. The penultimate portion of this project involved the creation and installation of the brushes, during which a wire stripper removed the insulation from the 10 length of solid core wire, and I ensured the brushes were touching the magnet wire between the commutator rings. After placing the rotor and core ends (screw heads) to face the magnets, I made sure that the commutator rings and the magnet wires made contact with the brushes, and attached a 9-Volt battery to them to begin testing. As a result, the testing didnt quite go as expected the first time around. At first, I had to switch batteries a couple times to ensure that my motor could work at its full potential. After several attempts to get the motor working, I was unsuccessful and ended up taking it apart and putting back together again. By the time that I made my reconstruction, I tested the motor and it finally worked. I found out that all I had improved was the positioning of my copper wires, which was the only strategy I was able to use in order to contrive its functionality. This was the process of my construction of the electric motor. If you could construct an electric motor, what would you do if it went wrong or didnt work?