I'll cut to the chase
This is from my newsletter and you don't need to hear the rant that started me off Friday morning
... on the off chance you do wish to read the intro:
http://outfitnm.com/2011/04/15/bmn-renewables-losing-momentumAnyway, or regardless, or whatever,
I spent the day in my wonderful little renewable energy shop yesterday. This felt very good. Jackson joined me after a while. We had a nice fire going, because damn it was colder than a witches' titty yesterday, and windier than hell too. The project at hand is building a new stator for our axial flux wind turbine. The old stator cracked, and generally wasn't built very well to begin with.
Stator-Coils-Winder- A stator is the stationary component in a motor or alternator. Our stator is flat with the coils positioned axially, as opposed to radially like most motors and alternators. I can provide more information about axial flux alternators if you like. Nell just commented that yesterday's BMN was good and the quantity and quality of comments proves it. I mention this because I can provide links and information to requests in the comments. When you write in the comment field, I know I'm on track with my newsletter.
Stator-Coils, Winding coils is somewhat akin to patting ones head while rubbing ones tummy in a circular motion. There are three main issues to pay close attention to: Guiding copper in a neat and orderly fashion around and round. Keeping consistent tension on the cooper so the overall shape of the coil is uniform. Last but not least is counting while doing the first two. It may sound easy, but be assured it is not. Stop for a second to guide the copper to a better place and always remember that if you lose count even once the coil won't be the same as the others, which they absolutely must be, because each coils makes a specific quantity of electricity. There are nine coils wired in three pairs creating three phase alternating current. I know this is probably gibberish to many of you, sorry. The important thing here is I know what I am doing. It would be nice if you wanted to know how this works, and I'd be happy to answer to the best of my understanding.
Stator-Coils-Winder- Here is the modified winder. The last time we used our winder, it had an 1'8th inch plywood disk on the right. That plywood was too thin and it wasn't keeping the copper in place properly. I made a new disk yesterday employing 1/2 inch thick plywood. It worked much better.
Stator-Coils-Winder, Closer view of the new plywood disk. The pins control the inside shape of the coils. There is a sleeve with a hex-key set-screw which holds the two disks in place. When done counting off 73 wraps of #14 copper, I release the set screw, and gingerly remove the coil taping the copper wire in place until we're ready to solder the coils together in a star configuration.
Stator-Coils-Winder, I wound seven coils and was starting on the next of nine needed when I noticed the copper was about to run out.
Not a problem, thanks to BMNer Mackenzie Thatcher. He had sent us what he called " a remnant," from the place he works. Although this copper has a slightly different color coating it is the same gauge. I quit for the day because I'll need to either do like a sewing machine user does when spooling a bobbin, and move some copper from the big spool to the smaller spool, or just run the copper fro the big spool on the floor. We have a spool holder and dispenser at work, I'll borrow that this weekend, and with a little bit more patience, and a lotta luck, I should be ready to solder the coils together by Sunday.
Yesterday I ordered more vinyl-ester resin for potting the stator
