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Forum Index : Other Stuff : Poor man’s Axial Flux Alternator
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| desert_rain Newbie  Joined: 30/12/2011 Location: PakistanPosts: 8 |
Dear All; I am Naeem, have the habit of inventing things mostly from discarded junk. This one I am posting is my effort to make cheap electricity through a turbine fixed on a canal (Yakkatoot canal near our home town in Peshawar, Pakistan) and another one which would run with a very small engine (about 35 to 50 cc two stroke engine) as there has been the worst electric power breakdown in our country. Life without electricity is miserable, even our computers and cell phones stop working and life is all frozen. When I started my work, I was a beginner with only little know-how about electronics. Only that I have built an electric bike using junkyard materials and equipped my self with basics of science otherwise I do not have any degree or qualification in mecatronics. Internet is my only source of gaining knowledge To build an axial flux alternator I have used materials collected from different junkyards in my area. For example, hard drive magnets and bicycle wheel, while few things I bought were new like magnet wire and a bicycle hub (for new flawless bearings). I am a man with very little income, therefore, I could not buy copper magnet wire and therefore, I had to go with aluminum wire which is sold out here at a very low price (540 rupees which is about 6 dollars per kg). I wanted to share my story with the rest of the world and therefore I have been making videos and sharing it on youtube (my nick is “numberonebikeslover”). I have found this forum in google and it is a great pleasure for me to share my story here. I did a small scale project first to understand the whole concept and do practical work after going through a lot of theory. After a series of trial and error situation I decided that this model would be a three phase machine with 15 coils (110 turns) of 19# SWG wire (aluminum not copper) having 20 mags on stator. At first the magnets were placed side to side but then for better results the magnets were broken in two pieces for the fact that computer hard drive magnets are odd, having both poles on both faces. Breaking them makes a single magnet having one pole at each side of it. I staked up some to make a pile of mages about 1 cm thick. (See the following series of videos for a better understanding of what I am saying. Please click on my nick “numberonebikeslover” to see all the series of my videos in my youtube channel). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-6pQU9WtI0 After when the small scale machine was complete the reading at 800 rpm (approximate) were about 30 volts on no load condition. It could charge a 12v battery at .5 amps while could lit three 12 volt bulbs of a bike. It was just a toy thing to understand the whole thing. The larger machine I have made has the same 20 mag and 15 coils but this time thicker wire (18 swg aluminum wire) with greater turns (210 turns) were made and results were amazing. 75 – 80 volts after rectification on no load. Must mention here that I run the alternator with a hand drill which was 650 watt Sancan which has the button that works like throttle (how far you press that fast the drill runs). I have already made an un-intrupted power supply unit (UPS) which runs on 4 batteries. I connected my machine with this UPS and found out that it could run 4 energy saver lights each rated at 24 watts thus, a total of 96 watts. On my channel you will see in the last video where I put a great load of 220 volt 500 watt tube and ran the machine and amazingly it was lit so well. I checked the meters the voltage read about 90 volts while amps were 1.3 so, the power is 117 watt. In case of UPS there were losses but when the machine was directly connected there were no loses. What I have noticed is that aluminum wire wouldn’t give much power. Could any body tell me how much power will copper wire give if it were a copper wire with same specifications (size of wire, number of turns, number of coils and magnets etc.)? After this experiment I have intended to make a machine that suits my power and will make an alternator which could produce 220 volt at certain engine rpm. I have noticed that conventional generators are quite less efficient than permanent magnet alternators. Could any body tell me how much the permanent magnet alternators are efficient? (Statistically speaking) Please, remember that this is just a beginner’s effort. Please, feel free to discuss. Your useful feedback will be highly appreciated. Yours Respectfully Naeem Peshawar, Pakistan. |
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Naeem Welcome to the forum or "4m" as I like to call it. Sounds by your story here, you're well ahead of many of us, myself included. I too build "toys" as I like to construct small projects. I applaud your resourcefulness. Your generator made from two bicycle rims is ingenious. When I first started building windmills, I used them to pump air. After many failed attempts to make a working wind-driven alternator to my pleasing, I have reverted back to using the wind turbine as a source of power to compress air. I also manufacture very small steam engines, which I run on compressed air and as such, you may find it easier to do as I do, then couple the small air engine to your alternator and run it on your work bench. I'm in the process of replacing several engines and pumps I've built over the years and given away or canabalized to make something else. As I progress, I'll post the builds and show others how to use compressed air as a "battery" so to speak instead of manufacturing electricity right at the turbine. One of the little engines I make uses aluminum extrusions and wood pistons. I designed it to be built by someone who didn't have a lathe or mill. It works like a champ and its power output is limited only by the amount of compressed air you can cram into the cylinder. It is of the "uniflow" design and I'll post the build sometime soon. To aid you in future posts, if you look at the "Post Reply" box at the bottom of the page, there is a small box with a tree and a blue arrow. You can use this to post pictures to your page. It makes reading stuff more interesting to other members. Also, there is a little chain link or two in front of a blue ball. This can be used to insert a Web page link. Yet another way is to click on the blue "Forum Codes" link at the bottom of the "Post Reply" box and choose the code that makes a hot link. It's the one that says "My Link" in the code. Just copy and paste the code, then replace the URL code and the title code with your own stuff and it creates a hot link. If you do this with your Youtube page, it looks like this: My Youtube Video. This too makes it easier for folks reading your post to follow along and holds their interest. Great job so far. We all look forward to watching your progress. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| desert_rain Newbie Joined: 30/12/2011 Location: PakistanPosts: 8 |
My Dear Mac; Thank you for taking time to post a response to my topic. Here are some of the picture of the my work as you said. It will take me a little time to get acquainted with the forum tools and tips and tricks. I believe that in forums like these every body is learning from everybody. So, no body is a student and teacher and every body is a teacher and student. It is indeed honour for me to be here and to join the family of enthusiasts who build useful things for fun. 
This is the old toy stater 15 coils, 110 turns per coil, 19 SWG (3 phase) Maximum voltage=30 volt. 
Old toy rotor with solid hard drive magnets stacked on to each other. 
A Hard Drive Magnet 
Broken Magnets. 
New Stator with 15 coils, 210 turns per coil, 18 SWG, (3Phase) Maximum voltage = 90 volt. (looking for 220) 
Side view of coils on statur 
the new rotor with three set of broken magnets N - S - N - S situation Please feel free to ask any question or query I would be more than happy to replay. Respectfully Naeem |
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yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
Sorry Naeem, I thought I had posted a reply to you, it seems it has vanished. This is the only bit I can find from the original post Resistance and Resistivity for Metals 10-ga wire Resistance Ohms/ft---------Resistivity 10-8 ohm-m @ 25 C Silver---------0.00094------------------1.617 Copper--------0.00099-----------------1.712 Gold-----------0.00114------------------2.255 Aluminum------0.00164-----------------2.709 Iridium--------0.00306------------------4.7 Brass---------0.00406-----------------6.13 Nickel---------0.00452-----------------7.12 Iron----------0.00579-----------------9.87 Platinum------0.00579-----------------10.7 Steel---------0.00684-----------------11.8 Lead----------0.0127------------------21.10 Dividing the number for ALU in the resistivity column by copper's number 2.709/1.712 = 1.58. this number and a few fairly simple equations will give direct comparisons from one metal to another. I cant find a number for zinc? I remember thinking it was good that you broke the magnets in half. Some of the rare earth oxides in hard drive magnets are highly toxic if the dust is breathed in to the lungs. They can be cut wet with an angle grinder to prevent dust and the grinding waste can be buried where rusting will make it safe. regards yahoo I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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| electrondady1 Senior Member  Joined: 12/02/2009 Location: CanadaPosts: 208 |
whether aluminum or copper those coils are beautifully formed. very nice work. is this a single magnet rotor? or a double magnet rotor? |
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Rastus Guru Joined: 29/10/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 301 |
Hi Naeem, Congratulations on your rescourcefulness,industriousness and success.Thanks for letting us follow your journey.Cheers Rastus see Rastus graduate advise generously |
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