Using copper pipe

[cbart1]

Could I use 1 inch copper pipe for center of my coils or would this cause any problem.

[DanB]

why would you want to?

In most alternator designs I suppose it would act like a shorted coil so I would avoid doing that.

[coldspot]

I'd think it might make an OK form for winding the coil but it should be removed before the stator is

poured. (If magnets are 1" round, for coil centers to be equal to magnet size).

[Countryboy]

If you want to use copper pipe for something, I think the best use would be to make homemade lugs for bolting your cables.

Use a couple inch long piece of copper pipe about the diameter size of your cable.  Solder the cable in the end of the pipe.  Smash the other end of the copper pipe flat, and then drill a hole through the flattened copper pipe for your bolthole.

[wind pirate]

I found a place that makes this a little cheaper - and less troublesome than pounding and drilling copper pipe.

http://www.wiringproducts.com/?target=dept_40.html

$.57 ea for #2 wire connector. Easy to work with.

WP

[brushycreek0]

Just a sugestion! I think that 1" PVC pipe would be OK.

As for the connectors mentioned they can be purchased

at wall mart.

[nothing to lose]

As someone said, it would probably act as a shorted coil. I am wonder if eddy currants would create heat in the tubing also? Could perhaps be a breaking/slowing effect and also put heat into the coils/stator instead of removing the heat the coils make.

PVC was mentioned as an idea, but water line PVC does not take heat well. I have seen cold water PVC pipes used for normall hot water tanks and swell and bust, so it does not take much heat to mess it up. I boil PVC in water to soften it to reshape it sometimes. I don't think this would be good for the center of a coil. Also I think PVC might cause the coils to hold heat and you don't want that either. Although hot water line type PVC may not soften as easy holding heat would still be a concern maybe.

 Anything that does not scratch the wires is fine for winding coils if removed, not much is any good to be left in the center hole though because of reasons of heat and eddy currants etc..

In defense of the homemade cable terminals, they work well, cheap, easy to make, and better than some store bought ones! I can make them faster and cheaper than driving to the store to buy them or ordering online! A great use for bent kinked junked scrap tubbing if the right Dia. for the wires. When I can get it cheap I stock up on junk copper tubbing from scrapyards or anywhere else.

 There is nothing hard about cutting small copper tubing into sections and beating with a hammer and copper is soft so drilling is pretty easy, not like plate steel!

 I got fancy with a few and rounded the ends and shined them up nice. Look great and work perfect. When looking at some old unused batteries the other day out of about 12 cable ends mine were still pretty nice looking and kinda clean whereas the store bought ones were corroded and gunked up. Cheap store bought cables, nice wire but junk terminals. I hadn't messed with those batteries for about a year, scrap yard salvage I dragged home and used for awhile.

 Rather you solder or just crimp the wires into the terminals is the same rather homemade or store bought. Soldering is the best for any of them I think, but some people don't do them that way. When in a rush and I want them now, I have just pushed in the wire and hammered the tubbing flat, then use something like a rounded straight blade screw driver to crimp a very tight slot down the center. Then drill the hole through both the tubbing and wire!

 Also with the homemade ends you can push the wire all the way through, hammer the tubbing flat and tight (solder if you would) then drill the bolt hole right through the wire! Makes a better thicker terminal instead of just the flimsy tab you normally have on store boughts. The wire itself is part of the terminal connection this way, not just a thin tab.

 

[nothing to lose]

Hey DanB

I had a thought and wondering if you ever tried it, or your opion on it.

 Since the same size Neos are normally used so much, 2"x1"x0.5" have you ever tried making a mold of the Neos and casting some resin centers for a coil winder? A core like this could be made for any size or shape.

What I am thinking about here is if we did this we could cast the center CORE different from the entire stator if we wanted. Like use twice as much ATH to get rid of the heat.

When winding the coils just leave the cores in there and cast as normal otherwise.

Should be the same amount of resin either way, it takes the same volume to fill the center rather before or after.

You have everything pretty well figured out, but I am also thinking the cores could be cast with left over resin when casting the stators. I don't have the volumes figured out perfectly myself, so I will be mixing up too much resin I am sure, so why not use it for something like casting cores? Just add more ATH if wanted to the extra resin and pour into the mold after casting a stator. Make the cores for the next one with leftovers from this one, that might even save a bit on the resins in the long run by having less waste.

My 2 concerns on this, when casting the Vinyl Ester will it bond to itself well? We don't want any cores popping out loose in the stators but with fiberglass clothe used front and back sides I don't think that would happen.

Also would the resin penitrate the coil to bond the wire well enough through the rest of the coil since it would not be entering from the center?

I am still playing with coils for the mini 6" genny and not ready to cast a stator yet,

but I had the thought of casting cores like this when I do cast it and use those for the bigger magnets when I build the larger ones. Or I may just mix up some resin and cast some for the 1/2" disks and coils I need now.

Either cores or I could just cast some Vinyl Ester items in my pewter molds with the leftovers when I cast a stator. Need any Frogs?

What do you think?

And I put it here cause if a good idea then he may want to do this instead of copper pipe for a center.