New CNC Router

Here are some pictures of my router build in progress:





It is 03:30 here and I have everything wired up except the parallel printer cable to the controller, LOL. But it was time for a beer, and I wanted to keep my track record of not having "let the smoke out" of any of the bits yet ;-) I will work a bit more tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully have some pictures (or a movie) of the spindle mount moving around (the "spindle" (router) won't arrive till Monday or Tuesday, LOL, so for now the machine will just "move around" LOL!

I was really worried about my selection of colors because I have near-ZERO visualization skills, and everyone I asked said, "That is too many colors." But I went ahead with Red, Black, Blue and Yellow. I think it looks good, but as my 20 year-old son pointed out: "Dad, this thing makes a lot of dust and mess, right?" To which I responded, "Oh yea!" Then he said, "Well dad, you paint it any color you want, all people will see is the dust and mess." LMFAO.

Anyway, I am excited. I guess it is silly; I have waited over 20 years to own a CNC machine and now I want to make it look good before I "cover it up with dust", lol. I wanted to point out to my son, "If I hadn't been busy paying for prep-school and college I would have simply bought what I wanted 10 years ago, Smart-A$$." LOL. But all is good, I couldn't be happier.

FIsh

Fish

[Gotwind Ben]

Looking good Fish.
Don't take this the wrong way, but I kind of liked the natural look you posted earlier.
It's your baby, I was always told when studying product design that 2 colours work best, 3 at a very push.
I'm just looking around me and seeing an Epson printer that is black and silver - you get the idea :)
In fact that is what we have here, Tan (wood) and silver - It doesn't really matter 8-)



I look forward to your updates, no rush, it's your hobby, so most importantly enjoy it :D

Hey Ben!

I am now officially ready to make some of your parts (assuming you still need any, lol). You don't even need to "CAD any thing up", it is actually MUCH easier to simply use the "CAD" portion of the "CAM" program I am using to make the outlines for 2D (yea, 2D is what they call parts machined from flat stock that is not "rotated") rather than import a true CAD vector rendering.

I still think "molding/casting" is your best option for production, but I would be happy to make a few dozen parts for you, or even a mold! (I really do love just watching the machine 'do its thing'). I cannot express how 'cool' it is to watch parts emerge from raw stock! The accuracy of the machine is stunning (1/24,000th of an inch!). I am looking forward to receiving some new "cutters" designed for PCB "engraving". I am still working feverishly to figure out the software to go from schematic capture to "engraving", hopefully I will have it worked out by the time the bits arrive!

Anyway, I have been thinking about designing a small 3 phase alternator similar in construction to yours...I just have to find the time! Learning so much is taking up all of my time.

Fish

[Gotwind Ben]

Hi Fish.
Sounds like you are having some good fun over there, great stuff :D

My idea of CAD actually relates to a flat 2D drawing, I use Corel Draw 11 that can export in all sorts of file types, DXF from the top of my head for CNC stuff.

I would be very happy for you to run off a couple of dozen pieces, I'm just modifying the design a bit.
And I will see if these 'mini kits' sell, who knows, certainly worth a go. To be honest that little alternator design gains more interest via email than many of the bigger (more expensive) projects, there is genuine interest, I've always thought it would be great for kids to learn from and so simple.
I would also be very interested to explore your 3 phase radial air core design, The only other person to do something similar is of course the great Ed Lenz, I'm sure you've seen his work in this area.
http://www.windstuffnow.com/main/radial ... rnator.htm

Happy to cover any costs via Paypal.
Have fun and keep us posted :D

Here is a picture of some gears I cut from MDF. My camera powered up just long enough to capture a few pictures before it died again, LOL.



Off to the right are a couple of stator pieces I cut just to test how well it would work. Obviously it went well. After looking @ the stator pieces I was inspired and decided to give spur gears a try, LOL!

Fish

[Gotwind Ben]

Nice CNC cutting Fish (with your instruction).
I'm thinking a pre-built stator board that one winds coils directly onto seems the obvious route to me with your set-up.
Much like Ed's http://www.windstuffnow.com/main/3phase_turbine_kit.htm
Maybe larger, and more powerful I don't know.
I'm thinking kits for kids, or older kids like me :D

Ben,

A venue that I am exploring is BLDC motors from the RC hobby industry. They are quite interesting little devices with very high current handling capabilities. This class of motor is a three phase permanent magnet motor with a solid state commutator. They are rated by RPM per Volt input but should function very similarly as generators. Most are fairly high RPM/High Current/Low Voltage devices which is not exactly ideal for wind turbine purposes; however, the designs appear to be well suited for modification. Here is an example of an 8.5kW model:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wt ... LXXJW6&P=7

Can Diameter: 3.14" (80mm)
Can Length: 3.35" (85mm)
Shaft Diameter: .39" (10mm)
Mounting Space Length: 3.83" (97.3mm)
RPM/V (kV Rating): 160
Input Voltage: 33.3-55.5V (9-15S LiPo)
Connector: 6mm bullet plugs
Max. Constant Current: 135A (at 12S)
Max. Continuous Power: 7500W
Max. Surge Current: 150A (at 12S)
Max. Surge Power: 8400W Max.
Constant Watts: 7500W
Weight: 52.2oz (1480g)

This beast would require ~2400 RPM to achieve 15V No-Load, and ~9,000RPM to reach rated power which is way out of range for a 7.5kW wind turbine. Sadly the commercial hobby models increase in RPM/V as the power rating decreases, but a study of the basic design shows a lot of promise for Wind Turbine use. The more powerful models are "OutRunner" designs meaning the "can" & Magnets rotate around the stator coils. Obviously this configuration places some rather high demands on the main shaft & bearings and limits the length to diameter ratio, but it also offers some interesting options for magnets & coils. While I have yet to play with one of these motors, I suspect cogging to be rather significant in the production models.

I plan on ordering one of these:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wt ... LXLWW0&P=7

to play with. While my interest is in it's functionality as a motor, I will certainly explore its alternator properties. I suspect re-winding the stator coils would significantly reduce its output power, but may make it a viable, inexpensive retrofit for a small wind turbine alternator. Out of the box, the model I am looking @ is rated at 22.1V 50A 10,000RPM $100. A SWAG @ re-winding might be 10A 30V 1000RPM < $150, but again, I suspect cogging may be a real issue with stock designs.

Just thought I would bring these up.

Fish

[Gotwind Ben]

Hi Fish.
Yes i have looked at RC motors as wind alternators.
I sort of gave up on them when I read the VERY high rpms required to generate any voltage.
They are ideal in many ways as you say, brushless, Neo magnets solid construction.

I fear they will cog very badly but may make a great bicyle dynamo :idea: probably power a 50 watt halogen front lamp.
if they can be succesfully re-wound with thinner wire, we may have something.

Look at this beast for $100
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/stor ... 8eq:_70-55

Thanks for the link Ben! I actually ordered two of their motors (though not the one you linked). Their prices are fabulous, but the shipping is from Hong Kong and was a bit pricey ($30 for a $70 order, LOL, but the comparable motors from the US suppliers were still more expensive to the door.) My main focus is building a spindle for a CNC machine, but while I am researching the drivers I should learn a lot about what might be possible with them. For my purpose the only "modification" needed is a line driven power supply/speed control as opposed to their native battery supply, but for an efficient wind turbine alternator I am afraid starting from scratch is going to be the only option.

If you still need some stators/frames cut, let me know, I have the CNC router process pretty much down to a science. I don't need CAD drawings, just 2d dimensions & thickness. I can make parts and/or a mold in very short order. It won't cost you anything except the materials and shipping ;-)

Fish