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How to make an electromagnet. How to assemble the simplest electric motor at home An electric motor from a piece of wire, a battery and a magnet

And today we will talk about how to make a fully working model of an electric motor from a battery, copper wire and a magnet. Such a layout can be used as a craft on the table of a home electrician, as a good example for explaining the principles of operation of such mechanisms, and simply as a fun trinket that you can give to a loved one. To make it is quite simple and everyone can do it, you can put it together with your child, which will be great fun. Next, we will provide detailed instructions with photo and video examples so that the assembly of the simplest motor is understandable and affordable!

Step 1 - Prepare materials

To make the simplest magnetic motor with your own hands, you will need the following materials at hand:

Having prepared all the necessary materials, you can proceed to the assembly of the simplest electric motor that runs on just one battery. Making a small electric motor at home is not difficult, as you will see now!

Step 2 - Putting together a homemade

So, in order for the instruction to be understandable for you, it is better to consider it step by step with pictures that will help you visually understand the assembly principle.

We immediately draw your attention to the fact that you can remake and improve the design of a home-made small engine in your own way. For example, below we will provide you with a few video tutorials that may help you make your own version of the engine from a battery, copper wire and a magnet.

What to do if homemade does not work

If suddenly you have assembled a perpetual electric motor with your own hands, but it does not rotate, do not rush to get upset. The most common reason for the lack of rotation of the motor is too much distance between the magnet and the coil. In this case, you only need to trim the legs a little, on which the rotating part rests.

Also check whether you have cleaned the ends of the coil well and whether contact is ensured in this place. The symmetry of the coil also plays an important role, so try to do everything carefully and slowly.

Along with permanent magnets, since the 19th century, people began to actively use variable magnets in technology and everyday life, the operation of which can be controlled by the supply of electric current. Structurally, a simple electromagnet is a coil of electrically insulating material with a wire wound around it. With a minimum set of materials and tools, an electromagnet is not difficult to make on your own. We will tell you how to do it in this article.

When an electric current passes through a conductor, a magnetic field arises around the wire; when the current is turned off, the field disappears. To enhance the magnetic properties, a steel core can be introduced into the center of the coil or the current strength can be increased.

The use of electromagnets in everyday life

Electromagnets can be used to solve a range of problems:

  1. for collecting and removing steel filings or small steel fasteners;
  2. in the process of making various games and toys together with children;
  3. for electrifying screwdrivers and bits, which allows you to magnetize the screws and facilitates the process of screwing them;
  4. for conducting various experiments on electromagnetism.

Making a simple electromagnet

The simplest electromagnet, quite suitable for solving a small range of practical household tasks, can be made by hand without using a coil.

For work, prepare the following materials:

  1. a steel rod with a diameter of 5-8 millimeters or a 100 nail;
  2. copper wire in varnish insulation with a diameter of 0.1-0.3 mm;
  3. two pieces of 20 centimeters of copper wire in PVC insulation;
  4. insulating tape;
  5. source of electricity (battery, accumulator, etc.).

From the tools, prepare scissors or wire cutters (side cutters) for cutting wires, pliers, a lighter.

The first stage is the winding of the electrical wire. Wind several hundred turns of thin wire directly onto the steel core (nail). Doing this process manually takes a long time. Use the simplest winding device. Clamp the nail into the chuck of a screwdriver or electric drill, turn on the tool and, guiding the wire, wind it. Tape pieces of larger diameter wire to the ends of the wound wire and insulate the contact points with insulating tape.

When operating the magnet, it remains only to connect the free ends of the wires to the poles of the current source. The distribution of the polarity of the connection does not affect the operation of the device.

Using the switch

For ease of use, we propose to slightly improve the resulting scheme. Two more items should be added to the list above. The first of them is the third wire in PVC insulation. The second is a switch of any type (keyboard, push-button, etc.).

Thus, the electromagnet connection diagram will look like this:

  • the first wire connects one battery contact to the switch contact;
  • the second wire connects the second contact of the switch to one of the wire contacts of the electromagnet;

the third wire completes the circuit by connecting the second contact of the electromagnet to the remaining battery contact.

Using the switch, turning on and off the electromagnet will be much more convenient.

coil based electromagnet

A more complex electromagnet is made on the basis of a coil of electrically insulating material - cardboard, wood, plastic. In the absence of such an element, it is easy to make it yourself. Take a small tube of the indicated materials and glue a pair of washers with holes on the ends to it. It is better if the washers are located at a small distance from the ends of the coil.

I would like to be able to create independently a powerful electromagnet for various cases, of which there are many at once. But this is not at all easy, as practice shows. But a simple one, based on an ordinary nail, batteries and wires, can be done even by a younger student, and all this can be done at home, having bought the necessary parts in advance in the store. By the way, this idea can also come in handy in physics lessons.

We will tell you what spare parts and actions are needed for this little magnet.

So, we need to prepare copper wire, electrical tape, AA batteries, a nail, scissors, pins before work.

First, we must wrap the copper wire around the nail.

It is very important that the turns of the wire lie tightly on the coil. Cut off the excess and clean the wire from the insulation. Then connect the terminals. Cut off a piece of tape. Connect one lead to negative and the other to positive. We have received such an electric magnet. In conclusion, it needs to be checked.

And you can buy a powerful magnet in a Chinese online store.

More on how to create an electromagnet

It's pretty easy to build an electromagnet. All you have to do is wrap a few turns of insulated copper wire around the iron core. If you attach a battery to a wire, an electric current will flow and the iron core will become magnetized. When the battery is disconnected, the iron core will lose its magnetism. Follow these steps if you want to build the electromagnet described in our Magnets and Electromagnets experiment:

Step 1 - Gather Materials

To build the electromagnet described in our Magnets and Electromagnets experiment, you will need:

One iron nail 15 centimeters long. Three meters of insulated stranded copper wire. One or more D-cell batteries.

Step 2 - Remove some of the insulation

The copper wire should be exposed so that the battery can connect well to the mains. Use a pair of wires to remove a few inches of insulation from each end of the wire.

Step 3 - Wrap the wire around the nail

Gently wrap the wire around the nail. The more wire you wrap around the nail, the stronger your electromagnet will be. Make sure you leave enough unwinding wire so you can attach the battery.

The wire is wrapped around the nail to create an electromagnet.

When you wind the wire around the nail, make sure you do it in one direction. You need to do this because the direction of the magnetic field depends on the direction of the electric current it creates. The movement of electric charges creates a magnetic field. If you could see a magnetic field around a wire carrying electricity, it would look like a series of circles around the wire. If an electric current flows directly towards you, the magnetic field it creates spins counterclockwise around the wire. If the direction of the electric current is reversed, the magnetic field also reverses direction and guides the wire clockwise. If you wrap part of the wire around the nail in one direction and part of the wire in the other direction,

Magnetic field around a conductive wire.

Step 4 - Connect the battery

Attach one end of the wire to the positive battery terminal and the other end of the wire to the negative battery terminal. If all went well, your electromagnet is now working!

Don't worry about which end of the wire you attach to the positive battery terminal and which end to the negative terminal. Your magnet will work just as well as it did anyway. Which will change the polarity of your magnet. One end of your magnet will be its north pole and the other end will be its south pole. By reversing the way the battery is connected, you can reverse the poles of your electromagnet.

Tips for Strengthening Your Electromagnet

The more turns of wire your magnet has, the better. Keep in mind that the farther the wire is from the core, the less effective it will be.

The more current through the wire, the better. Attention! Too much current can be dangerous! When electricity passes through a wire, some of the electrical energy is converted into heat. The more current flows through the wire, the more heat is generated. If you double the current through the wire, the heat generated will quadruple! If you triple the current through a wire, the heat generated will increase 9 times! Things can quickly become too hot to handle.

Try experimenting with different kernels. A thicker core can create a stronger magnet. Just make sure the material you choose can be magnetised. You can test your core with a permanent magnet. If a permanent magnet isn't attracted to your core, it won't make a good electromagnet. For example, an aluminum rod is not a good choice for your magnet's core.

nail magnet

Today I would like to tell you how to make a simple electric magnet.

Maybe someone already knows this or studied in physics or crafts classes. I'm going to show it to those who don't know it yet. We need copper wire, electrical tape, AA battery, nail, scissors, there are test pins in the box.

The other day I was showing my child how an electric motor works. I remembered an experiment in physics from school.

Source materials:

  1. AA battery
  2. Enamelled wire 0.5 mm
  3. Magnet
  4. Two paper clips, about the size of a battery
  5. Stationery tape
  6. Plasticine


We bend a part of the paper clip.

We wind the coil of enameled wire. We make 6-7 turns. We fix the ends of the wire with knots. Then we clean up. One end is completely cleared of insulation, and the other only on one side. (In the photo, the right end is stripped from below)

We fix the paper clips on the battery with tape. Install the magnet. We fix the entire structure on the table with plasticine. Next, you need to correctly install the coil. When the spool is in place, the bare ends should touch the paperclip. A magnetic field arises in the coil, we get an electromagnet. The poles of the permanent magnet and the coil must be the same, that is, they must repel. The repulsive force turns the coil, one of the ends loses contact and the magnetic field disappears. By inertia, the coil turns, the contact reappears and the cycle repeats. If the magnets are attracted, the motor will not spin. Therefore, one of the magnets will need to be turned over.

Such a device is convenient in that its work is easy to control with the help of electric current - change the poles, the force of attraction. In some matters, it becomes truly indispensable, and is often used as a constructive element of various homemade products. It is not difficult to make a simple electromagnet with your own hands, especially since almost everything you need can be found in every home.

  • Any suitable sample of iron (it is well magnetized). This will be the core of the electromagnet.
  • The wire is copper, always insulated to prevent direct contact between the two metals. For a homemade electric / magnet, the recommended cross section is 0.5 (but not more than 1.0).
  • DC source - battery, battery, PSU.

Additionally:

  • Connecting wires for connecting an electromagnet.
  • Soldering iron or electrical tape to fix the contacts.

This is a general recommendation, as an electromagnet is made for a specific purpose. Based on this, the components of the scheme are selected. And if it is done at home, then there can be no standard - everything that is at hand will do. For example, in relation to the first point, a nail, a lock shackle, a piece of an iron rod are often used as a core - the choice of options is huge.

Manufacturing procedure

Winding

The copper wire is neatly, coil by coil, wound onto the core. With such scrupulousness, the efficiency of the electromagnet will be as high as possible. After the first "pass" over the iron sample, the wire is laid in a second layer, sometimes a third. It depends on how much power the device needs. But the winding direction must be unchanged, otherwise the magnetic field will be “unbalanced”, and the electromagnet is unlikely to be able to attract something to itself.

To understand the meaning of the ongoing processes, it is enough to recall the lessons of physics from a high school course - moving electrons, the EMF created by them, the direction of its rotation.

After winding is completed, the wire is cut so that it is convenient to connect the leads to the power source. If it's a battery, then directly. When using a PSU, battery or other device, you will need connecting wires.

What to consider

There are certain difficulties with the number of layers.

  • As the turns increase, the reactance increases. This means that the current strength will begin to decrease, and the attraction will become weaker.
  • On the other hand, increasing the current rating will cause the winding to heat up.

That is why it is not worth focusing on third-party advice from “experienced and seen”. There is a specific core (with its own magnetic conductivity, dimensions, cross section), wire and power source. Therefore, you will have to experiment, achieving the optimal combination of parameters such as current, resistance and temperature.

The principle of operation of an electromagnet is described in detail in the following video:

Connection

  • Cleaning the conclusions of the "copper". The wire is initially covered with several layers of varnish (depending on the brand), and, as you know, it is an insulator.
  • Soldering copper and connecting wires. Although this is not fundamental - you can make a twist by isolating it or with adhesive tape.
  • Fixing the second ends of the wires on the clamps. For example, like "crocodile". Such removable contacts will allow you to easily change the poles of the electromagnet, if necessary during its use.
  • To make a powerful electromagnet, home craftsmen often use a coil from an MP (magnetic starter), relays, and contactors. They are available for both 220 and 380 V.

It is not difficult to pick up an iron core according to its internal section. For ease of control, a rheostat (variable resistance) must be included in the circuit. Accordingly, such an e / magnet is already connected to the outlet. The force of attraction is controlled by changing the R of the chain.

  • It is possible to increase the power of an electromagnet by increasing the cross section of the core. But only up to certain limits. And here you have to experiment.
  • Before making an electric / magnet, you need to make sure that the selected iron sample is suitable for this. The check is quite simple. Take an ordinary magnet; there are a lot of things in the house on such “suckers”. If it attracts the part selected for the core, it can be used. With a negative or “weak” result, it is better to look for another sample.

Making an electromagnet is quite simple. Everything else depends on the patience and ingenuity of the master. You may have to experiment to get what you need - with the supply voltage, wire size, and so on. Any homemade product requires not only a creative approach, but also time. If you do not feel sorry for him, then an excellent result is guaranteed.