Having some fun with a baja bug engine...

I was trying to that with a dragster engine. How do you connect the shaft to the engine? If you have an old printer, those motors generate more current.

microflitedude wrote:I was trying to that with a dragster engine. How do you connect the shaft to the engine? If you have an old printer, those motors generate more current.

I could try it with a blitz .05cc but don't want to risk it.
although it would be cool.
You could generate more power by messing with gearing.
i think a .010 sized one would be pretty cool.

Sure, using a stepper motor should generate waaaay more power, and I've got a few of those.... But the torque needed is higher than a classic DC motor, and I don't want to risk breaking anything off...


For the connection, well, I had to modify a bit the starting system of the engine... It's not easy to explain, as my english is not perfect, and this pull start system is a bit complex


When I received the engine, it was competely seized... I removed the cylinder-piston assem, to ease the crankshaft unlocking, and removed the plasic gear installed onto the flyweel... Unfortunately, the metal hex "nut" going into this plasting thing broke off when I tried to make it turn over... So I just put another screw directly onto the flywheel, and simply pressed the plastic gear on the flywheel... It's simply held by the shavings in the end of the flywheel (I think it's called the knurling )

This is the engine side... For the motor side, the shaft connects into the hole where the screw holding the plastic gear used to be... It's not the exact diameter, but I stuffed it with some folded paper, so that the motor shaft makes a tight fit with the screw hole. It doesn't hold perfectly, but that's good enought for me

Hope you understood, if not, i'll try to make some pictures tomorrow

ideeman1994 wrote:Sure, using a stepper motor should generate waaaay more power, and I've got a few of those.... But the torque needed is higher than a classic DC motor, and I don't want to risk breaking anything off...


For the connection, well, I had to modify a bit the starting system of the engine... It's not easy to explain, as my english is not perfect, and this pull start system is a bit complex


When I received the engine, it was competely seized... I removed the cylinder-piston assem, to ease the crankshaft unlocking, and removed the plasic gear installed onto the flyweel... Unfortunately, the metal hex "nut" going into this plasting thing broke off when I tried to make it turn over... So I just put another screw directly onto the flywheel, and simply pressed the plastic gear on the flywheel... It's simply held by the shavings in the end of the flywheel (I think it's called the knurling )




This is the engine side... For the motor side, the shaft connects into the hole where the screw holding the plastic gear used to be... It's not the exact diameter, but I stuffed it with some folded paper, so that the motor shaft makes a tight fit with the screw hole. It doesn't hold perfectly, but that's good enought for me

Hope you understood, if not, i'll try to make some pictures tomorrow

It may be knurling is it similar to what is at the tip of a crankshaft?

Yes, I think that's it... Oh, wait, I'll take a picture

ideeman1994 wrote:Yes, I think that's it... Oh, wait, I'll take a picture

cool it most probably is.

You see, normally the screw and the hex shaped metal thing goes all the way throught this plastic gear...
From the flywheel to the plastic thing, it was: the hex long nut throught the gear (screwed in place in the flywheel), then the screw holding this plastic part, whose head was sticking where the pen is.




But here, as the hex nut broke off, I replaced it with a simple screw, going directly into the flywheel, and the plastic gear holds with those metal irregularities.




Another shot where the end screw was, whitch is now where the DC motor shaft is installed.

yeah that is knurling.

That grey piece has what looks to be, or could be used as a o-ring pulley groove. that way you could keep all those pieces intact and bolted on.

Purchase some o-ring material the same width as the groove in that grey drive piece, and pulley off to another dynamo motor.

You can get the little dynamo right here.
http://www.ministeam.com/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2eministeam%2ecom%2fcgi%2dbin%2fss000001%2epl%3fTB%3dA%26GB%3dA%26SS%3ddynamo%26SX%3d0%26PR%3d%2d1%26PG%3d%26REFPAGE%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww%252eministeam%252ecom%252facatalog%252fsearch%252ehtml%26PN%3d1&WD=dynamo&PN=Mamod_Accessories%2ehtml%23aMADY#aMADY

Holy monster link!! sorry about that. It does work tho'

I also thought that, but it ended that it would be easier to connect the shaft directly... I didn't want to make something reliable, just to see if i'd work...

Maybe one day, if I've got some time, I'll try to build a better one, with a metal base and that kind of pulley

I was always going to build a .049 generator after I saw one at our state fair about 6-7 years ago. I believe it was a stand selling Generac generators. I wish I would have taken a picture but then, I didn't have a camera phone then so I couldn't take a pic. I remember they had a Estes Babe Bee with a grooved (so a string could be wrapped to start it) flywheel and a gear connecting to a small complex gearbox. The gearbox turned a small AC alternator (the rotor was a solid magnet while the stator had the windings). The alt was able to power a hand held TV and a few flashlight bulbs.

Admin wrote:I was always going to build a .049 generator after I saw one at our state fair about 6-7 years ago. I believe it was a stand selling Generac generators. I wish I would have taken a picture but then, I didn't have a camera phone then so I couldn't take a pic. I remember they had a Estes Babe Bee with a grooved (so a string could be wrapped to start it) flywheel and a gear connecting to a small complex gearbox. The gearbox turned a small AC alternator (the rotor was a solid magnet while the stator had the windings). The alt was able to power a hand held TV and a few flashlight bulbs.

That mustve been cool i actually saw one with a wen mac .049 on youtube.

A hand held tv

Mine cannot power more than a 5V lightbulb...

ideeman1994 wrote:A hand held tv

Mine cannot power more than a 5V lightbulb...

yes but if you use a transformer you could turn that to 1 million volts that is the theory behind how a 230v mains supply can charge a 3.7 volt lipo battery.
Infact power stations create power at 25000 volts but at our home we get 230v
so if you want to you can power a hand held tv with yours if you like.
pocket tasers use 3 1.5 volt AAA cells.

I can raise it to 2 millions volts if I want, but I still won't have enought power... My lightbulb uses 4.8V under 500mAmps, and it lights up faintly... Whitch means I've got less than 2 watts... A handheld TV uses a bit more than that

ideeman1994 wrote:I can raise it to 2 millions volts if I want, but I still won't have enought power... My lightbulb uses 4.8V under 500mAmps, and it lights up faintly... Whitch means I've got less than 2 watts... A handheld TV uses a bit more than that

yeah i know i was only adressing the problem of voltage not electrical power.

ideeman1994 wrote:A hand held tv

Mine cannot power more than a 5V lightbulb...

They had a complex gearbox that raised the speed and torque. The gearbox was about 2 times the size of the .049 and it spun a alternator about 2 times the size of the .049 as well. I think it was one of those LDC hand held TVs that take like 4 AA batteries, it wasn't one of those Sony Watchmans with the tube that takes a few more amps.

The are steppers in printers, but there are also plain 'ole DC motors. I have a bunch and they seem to give the most amperage.