This is a possibly-printable electric motor. The motor can be operated as a DC motor or a stepper motor, depending on how you set it up. We built the motor by casting plastic and metal parts, but most of the parts can probably be built with a laser cutter or a Reprap/Cupcake/Fab@home type machine. It runs at about 400rpm at a voltage of 6V and a current draw of 7A (yes, seven amps).
You can see a video of the motor in operation at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSAof007cS4
A video of the first prototype, which is easier to make, is at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHML3gVQ-uU
For more info, also check out our paper
Towards cyclic fabrication systems for modular robotics and rapid manufacturing, by M.S. Moses, H. Yamaguchi, and G.S. Chirikjian. Proceedings of Robotics: Science and Systems, June 2009.
https://rpk.lcsr.jhu.edu/Publications#Robotic_Self-Replication
Before you try to make the motor, you should understand what it is and is not.
It IS An experimental design that you can build, try out, and hopefully improve so it does something useful for you.
It IS NOT An inexpensive alternative to an off-the-shelf motor. If you need a motor you can put in your project, go buy a motor. This motor is very inefficient, produces low output power, and takes a lot of work to build.
| basePlate-mm.stl | 927.6KB | |
| basePlate.dxf | 68.3KB | |
| cardboardCoilTemplate.dxf | 66.5KB | |
| coilBackPlate.dxf | 26.3KB | |
| coilLeft-mm.stl | 233.5KB | |
| coilRight-mm.stl | 232.4KB | |
| coils-with-offset.dxf | 62.4KB | |
| commutator-mm.stl | 69.2KB | |
| commutatorShaft-mm.stl | 155.7KB | |
| easyMotorCommutator-mm.stl | 81.3KB | |
| gearLarge-mm.stl | 574.1KB | |
| gearPlate-mm.stl | 297.1KB | |
| gearSmall-mm.stl | 329.5KB | |
| gearStuff-with-offset.dxf | 142.5KB | |
| magnetDisk-mm.stl | 423.2KB | |
| magnetDiskNoHoles-mm.stl | 230.4KB | |
| magnetPlates-with-offset.dxf | 23.3KB | |
| spacer-mm.stl | 122.1KB |
