little generator

Nice, simple and elegant. I expect that fat car heat sink on the head cools it very well. Be sure and get us some Volt/Amp readings under a load. Good work.
Rusty

Well done. Your effort proves that you don't need to over-think ideas like this. Sometimes simple is better. You can waste (as we have seen on another thread) a lot of time by hypothesizing, when it's actually easier & quicker to just go ahead and do it & see how it turns out.
I too look forward to some figures.
Rod.

Knap gedaan Robot!!!

thank you all
i cant stand it if somone wants to do the same as me and starts it bevore me
so i work harder to get mine to work firsth

and i got lucky
the metal was readaly avaliable on my work
(it only needed some cutting)
my nephuw welds realy quick
and same for the paint
and i cant wait till all the parts are perfect bevore i test it

now that it works i will be improving it

and for the thing that needs to be done
1. a mount for the engine (a hose clamp and a few screws)
2. a tank (ordered can take up to 2 weeks bevore it arives)
3. starting electronics (already thinking of it)
4. a base so that it does not vibrate of the table

Congrats, nicely done!

Lol, remember you're only winning until somebody beats you!

Looking forward to some more photos and maybe a video of start up. How did you start it? I noticed in your first post you have a spring starter on it, is that what your doing?

Sounds like engine was happy with RPM range, is that a "350" size r/c motor your using for a generator?  I also see from your earlier post its probably larger?

Maybe try some soft rubber pads at each corner, to keep it from walking.

An old 35mm film can can make a nice fuel tank.  

Great stuff Robot!!!
Cool to see so much progress
in such a short time.
All the heavy stuff is out of the way
now, so let the refinements begin.
Good job. Keep us posted.
Bob

Great work robo-dude!

Be sure to get some amps&volts measured and post them here.

Oldenginerod wrote:Well done. Your effort proves that you don't need to over-think ideas like this.  Sometimes simple is better. You can waste (as we have seen on another thread) a lot of time by hypothesizing, when it's actually easier & quicker to just go ahead and do it & see how it turns out.
I too look forward to some figures.
Rod.

On the other hand "the other generator project" involves thesis work. A thesis is practice for "real world" engineering and often the journey is more important than the end result. If the thesis is "a simulation" of an R&D project, you should research and evaluate different possibilities, analyze, think ahead, sometimes overthink, instead of slapping things together and seeing what happens. A few weeks' design period may be overkill for a .049 powered generator, but if you are, for example, designing container cranes for loading ocean-going ships, it's peanuts, and with a 200ft tall structure you can't try to learn by doing, it gets expensive and dangerous real quick. This is not the case with a little generator, but a project like this is a good and safe platform to practice for the big stuff.

The thread in question seems to be a project diary more than an actual build thread, and should be handled as such. For me personally, it's too long to read  My own master's thesis has probably been read maybe by 15 people in total, skimmed maybe by another 50, 10% of whom are family members. For the other 7000 million people on the Earth, it is most likely not that interesting or entertaining.

Just wanted to say this, because I can relate to the "overthinking" part, it's one of my habits that are not beneficial in all projects. And I have no idea what Steven's thesis will actually be about either.

Good on you for pointing out the difference in and explaining the two approaches, KariFS.
Rusty

This turned out looking really cool! Could easily make a handheld .049 powered flashlight out of that. Maybe set it up so you can charge your cellphone with it. Did you take any readings with it yet? See how much load you can put on it?

RknRusty wrote:Marvelous. The great generator race of 2015 is On!

This would fun! We could probably get a prize lined up or maybe one of our main Cox dealers to sponsor it. We'll see, we have a lot of other contests going on here right now though.

i agree
a yearly competition would be nice
but i suggest a entry fee that is used to buy the prices
that way people are serius about it


and i scavaged trough my glow head box (match box)
and i found a dieselhead that somone made themself
and a little metal disk that comes with it (mine has a teflon disk)

i may build a second generator just to put it in a flashlight
becaus i like that idea

is a babebee crank strong enough?
i have a babebee with recoil starter laying around here

i also have run out of fuel
and i have looked at the fuel
it was 4 years old
yet it ran fine
1:1:1 mix of lampoil (parafin) wonderoil (castor oil) ether

i will make another video when i improved the engine
and the mounts

this is how it looks now
i need to mount the tank (still has not arived)
and allign the engine better
but it still runs

Looking real good. Way to slay that dragon. +1
Bob

and when i am done with it
it will be the most awsome thing i have ever build

i am thinking of an other colour the orange is realy cool but it is not yet epic

what do you guys sugest

i have withe
black
yellow
red
silver
grean


i am thinking of black of green

robot797 wrote:...and allign the engine better
but it still runs

Hey Robot, how are the two shafts coupled? I was wondering how hard it would be to build it perfectly straight. A U-joint should be available from the boat, car, heli, etc. guys.
Rusty

i've always liked orange and black, classic colors, maybe add some black and white checkers on the side!

Hi Robot,

On vessels, generators are usually coloured light green







Emergency generators are sometimes painted white:





The paint used is Hempel's Hempalin enamel 52140. It's engine room paint and resist to oïl and high températures.

http://www.hempel.com/en/products/hempalin-enamel-52140

The corresponding paint colour reference can be found here:

http://www.seapost.co.uk/hempel-multicoat-boat-paint-8456-p.asp

When you do a search for Hempel's paint, you can find plenty of other colour charts.

To give your generator a scale look, you could add a walkway around the generator or your engine with an access ladder and handrails. That can eaily be made from piano wire or brass rod and soldered together. You can find examples on model steam engines:



Lieven

You could also use a short length of speedometer cable like guys use on model boats for a coupling.

Simple, cheap and effective.

Nice work on the little generator, Robot! A classic finish I think.. would be an all-black base w/Cox decals on each side. Does your nephew (that did your welding..) have access to powder-coating or better yet.. anodizing?

Both Rusty and 1/2A Nut mentioned shaft-alignment. I believe you stated that you "did" use a straight .125" to .125" dia. marine-coupler. There is the option of using a "Dumas" purpose-designed U-joint for the Cox .049 engine.

The brass U-joint is 5-40 threaded on both ends. (you probably have one in your model boat) The Dumas .049 running hardware kit includes a 5-40 stub-shaft for mounting the U-joint and their flywheel to the engine. A hole could be drilled/tapped for a set-screw to connect the elec. motor shaft.. (similar to the coupler that you're using). Does your elec. motor have a flat on the output-shaft for a set-screw to lock-on?

The engine side of the U-joint has a "hex" for tightening it securely to the crankshaft via the 5-40 stub-shaft and your flywheel would be sandwiched in-between, for a real solid mount. This would eliminate one set-screw from your current set-up and allow for less critical alignment/shimming after you paint/re-assemble it.

i would love to have some of those copelings
those are hard to get (just like the cooling clamps)
but in my generator it is not needed
the engine is 0.1 mm of its target
and the plastic flexes enough to correct this
(i am gonna make a little spacer for this)

i am also thinking of the coulor
i think i leef it orange but the tank is gonna be black
the generator does not need cooling but i will sand it down so it can cool (when needed)

i am also thinking of the inverter idea
little boostconverter inline with the generator boosting/bucking it to 12V and that in a standard 12-230V inverter

the nicest thing would be a inverter that works from 12-50V

i have been buzzy latly

i just found time to make a holder for the tank

in about 2 days it will run without a external tank

i got another video for you guys

i need help btw
were can i get metal compresson disks
and a little fuel line
my fuel line is to big and just snapped