The Pulse Motor
During my internship, I had the opportunity to work on another exciting project: building a pulse motor. This type of motor leverages a series of electrical pulses to generate a rotating magnetic field, which in turn interacts with magnets on a rotor to produce mechanical motion. The key components included a capacitor for storing electrical energy, coils that acted as electromagnets, and magnets strategically placed on a rotor. To bring this concept to life, I designed a disc in a CAD software (Fusion 360), which would revolve around a metal pin and have magnets positioned on its outer edge. The motor's operation involved polarizing a capacitor to charge a spool of wire. This generated a magnetic field that attracted the magnets on the disc, causing it to rotate. This hands-on project allowed me to gain valuable experience working with Fusion 360 and the foundations of electricity and magnetism.
01
Conceptualization
Before designing the pulse motor the initial factors I had to think about was motor's intended speed, torque, and voltage. For this project I wasn't concerned about the speed of the pulse motor but the acceleration. I had to make sure that the motor would be able to accelerate quickly and also reach terminal velocity quickly as well. In order to do this I would have to increase the torque, either by using stronger magnets or adding more coils to the motor's stator. I would also have to minimize mechanical friction by using low-friction bearings as well as design the motor to combat air resistance.
02
The Electronics & Design
Choose the components: Select appropriate magnets, coils, capacitors, and power sources based on your requirements.
Design the structure: Create a 3D model of the motor, considering factors like coil placement, magnet arrangement, and rotor dimensions.
I decided to use a capacitor as the power source that would store DC voltage from a 6 volt battery pack rather than using the battery itself because capacitors are specifically designed to handle pulsed loads, making them more suitable for applications like pulse motors.
