Neodymium slip ring thoughts/idea

[gotwind2]

I was playing with some round neo magnets with a central hole in the middle. 1/2" Dia x 1/4" thick - 1/4" through hole.

And it occured to me that 2 magnets could be mounted on a non conducting (Nylon for example) bolt with nuts. The magnet/bolt assembly would rotate with the wind turbine 'head'.
Inside the mounting pole there would be 2 hinged or flexing steel and greased 'fingers' that are attracted to the magnets to transmit the current to the ground.

I'm unsure how to connect the turbines 'head' power wires to the magnets or the ability for Neo magnets to transmit power efficiently. I guess thats what I am asking here.
Might be of use on low power stuff, Ameteks e.t.c

Let me know if this is unclear, I will sketch it up.

Happy to hear any thoughts.

Ben.

[Tritium]

Sounds like it could work as long as it doesn't heat up for any reason. That would destroy the magnetism in a hurry.

Thurmond

[fabricator]

What are you transmitting the power through?

[prasadbodas2000]

I feel that the current flowing through the contact at the magnet surface will result in peeling off of the stainless steel coating which protects the magnet body/core. And also conductance of these magnets will be far less than copper or even mild steel?
The only advantage u seem to seek is the adhesion/attraction of the steel brushes on the magnet surface...
[please correct me if my understanding of the concept is itself wrong....]

[joestue]

you'll need to copper plate the magnet at a minimum.

I can't see this as any help. you still need an assembly to support the brush, all the magnet does is eliminate a 25 cent spring.

[fabricator]

The plating on these neos is nickel not stainless, and it comes off if you scrape it with a finger nail.

[niall2]

not really related to your idea Ben... but it is alarming easy to get the nickle covering off

little autopsy fun...not a brand new neo ...but still appeared to be ok  



niall

[BigBreaker]

The problem with slip rings is the contact point between the brush and the running surface.  The surface and brush either wears down, oxidizes or sustains arc damage from intermittent losses of contact.  Pushing the brush against the surface is not the hard part.  Springs or a weight do that just fine.  The best slip rings use mercury in the interface to maintain the electrical connection.

[gotwind2]

joestue and others.
 
I have to agree with you, a silly idea of mine that i can now see 
Worth tossing ideas 'out there' though, the great benefit of this forum. Long live Fieldlines.

[windy]

gotwind2,

 Just throwing in my two cents.
I have my 16 footer running just about 4 years now and I never had to unwind the cord coming down the tower. I would agree that slip rings are just another place for things to go wrong.

windy

[DanB]

I think using magnets instead of a spring is a fine idea, I would not use the magnets as a 'conductor' though.

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

One more reason to not even try it:

Once the coating wears off the arcing to the magnet may ignite it.  Then you have a metal fire distributing highly toxic rare-earth oxides in a plume downwind of your burning equipment.

Luckily this ignition is NOT a problem for normal alternator designs, even if the alternator catches fire.  If it were the eco-wackos would have the perfect excuse to ban our hobby.

[carmatic]

however, it is possible to coat the magnets with some type of conductive and non-paramagnetic material and use it that way

that way the coating will cause the current to flow around the magnet, and its non-paramagnetic nature will not block the magnetic flux

what this coating actually is, however, is another matter...

[fabricator]

That would be a fantastic plan though! Replace a $0.20 spring with a magnet with a $500 space age coating that would eventually wear off anyway and need to be recoated, a perfect fix for a spot with no problem.