"RICK'S PIPE DREAM" Magnetic Motor-Generator

[rickoff]

May 18, 2010 Test Results

I performed a 5-test series on the new rotor magnet layout to see how close the results would be. In theory they should be identical, but of course there will be slight variations, mostly due to the axle bearings. I do believe that all of the human factors have been successfully removed, and the tests do show conclusively that all variations are in a range of less than 1/10th of a second, with most variations being only 2 to 3 1/00ths. Note that the most important column is the Gap time, as this shows the individual elapsed time through each of the 6 rotor magnet group sections on the flywheel. It is understandable that the first section has the lowest Gap time, because there is no reverse attraction from any preceeding magnets to contend with - only the wood of the flywheel. It is also understandable that section 6 has the longest time Gap, because there are only two magnets out beyond the end of the test, which have less attraction influence than the magnets preceeding the end. I believe that if I extend this out with several more magnets, that section 6 will show a reduced Gap time. What is very interesting to note, is that in each test the 5th section has a lower Gap time than the 2nd section. You would expect the 5th to have a larger Gap time than the 2nd section if the rotor is slowing down. Very interesting. So perhaps the rotor is actually accelerating slightly, and in spite of the fact that there are 8 screw heads at the rotor edge striking the lever switches to activate them. While the drag of each activation strike is not substantial, the sum of the 8 strikes certainly has a detrimental effect to the performance. I may just do a nother test with all of the Snap time screws removed, leaving only the Start and Stop screws in place, just to see how much the overall elapsed time would improve. Note that the overall elapsed time of 5.74 seconds in TEST #1 showed a 23% gain in efficiency over the 7.49 seconds result of the previous magnet layout test, by shaving off 1.75 seconds. It would be almost impossible to achieve similar efficiency gains in future tests, but it sure would be nice!

[tjnlsn255]

Wow Rick.....

Now that is a some test setup.....

I am looking forward to the day when you populate the whole rotor and it spins, spins, spins.....

Any thoughts and what would be your next steps for your project once you get the rotor to spin all the way around?

Awsome work!

Hopes and Dreams....

Tj

[kalakaflaca]

Hi Rick, I´m new in this forum ..very impresed for your great job on your magnet wheel not doubt you´re a very talented guy.. you have to feel very proud of that.. I´m looking too for the day ( I expect very soon) when your invent will be tested and producing some free energy..to be honest I don´t know about electronics but everyday I´m looking for some device for sale that produce free energy..I think with some help from guys around I be able to assemble your kits think you mentioned before..we´ll need hundreds of them! LOL ..in this poverished comunity a magnet generator producing 40..50..60 Watts..or more free energy that would be considered a miracle..
Please keep your wonderful job...thousands of people and more around the world are looking how your magnet wheel is in progress.

kalaka

[rickoff]

Video Update:

This evening I posted video #37 which is now ready for viewing here:

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

This video provides an in-depth look at, and explanation of, the Test results generated in the XNOTE STOPWATCH results window during the elapsed time test as shown in video #36.

Armed with these results, along with the results of the 4 additional comparison tests as shown in my last post, I was able to determine precisely which magnet groups were the slowest, and needed adjustments to improve performance. By adding just a few magnets here and there (3 singles, and 3 double-stacked), I was then able to cut an additional 1/2 second from the overall elapsed time, and to smooth the rotation somewhat. Here's what I ended up with, after just a little tweaking. Look how closely the Gap column times are now balanced! (Disregard the 0.68 reading, of course, because that group has no magnets preceding it, and therefore no reverse attraction.




The significance of this is that I probably never would have achieved this result without the information from the test results, and the ability to retest a modification quickly and accurately. This timer setup is going to make such a huge difference.

Now if all these groups can be balanced with no appreciable speed reduction, then it would seem that another plate or two, and magnet groups, could be added with little or no speed loss. My next video will show an added plate and magnets, and will compare results of "before and after."

Looking ahead, I want to try a test with a stainless steel shield added behind the stator, and hanging down almost to the level of the rotor magnets. My guess is that this will help shield the stator from the reattraction force of rotor magnets that have passed on by. If so, this will further reduce elapsed time while increasing rotor speed.

Best 2 all,

Rick

[rickoff]

A problem encountered

I was hoping to post another video today which I had taped, but ran into a problem while publishing the video in Windows Movie Maker (WMM). WMM uses very high hard drive speeds of relatively long duration while publishing a video to a wmv format, and while this serves to get the job done faster, it also is very rough on the hard drive. WMM starts the hard drive at a reasonable speed, but bumps the speed up to the next rpm level in about 10 steps, until reaching full speed of 7200 rpm for the duration. It's probably because I made so many of these videos that my hard drive has had just a bit too much of this, and during my last attempt it started to make an undesirable noise when it reached the highest speed level. After about 15 to 20 seconds of that, and with my video nearly completed, the computer crashed and shut down. I was able to restart normally, and the hard drive still works fine at normal operating speeds, but I'll have to install a new secondary drive to handle the videos. I'll be doing that later today, and will then post the new video, which is actually an interim video showing how I make up the steel plates for the prototype's birch plywood flywheel. I have an additional plate made up, painted, and ready to mount, and have received an order of new magnets, so will be adding this in the video that follows, and showing a comparison test to see exactly what happens when a new section is added to the existing ones. This will be quite interesting, and the new timer test will instantly give us a report detailing precisely what effects those changes cause. It raises the following questions:

1. Will the addition of an extra magnet group cause a large slowdown through that group?
2. Will extending the magnet sections out help to further lower the elapsed time of what is currently the last magnet group?
3. Will this affect any of the other magnet groups, and if so in what way?

Before having the timer setup, all of this would have been trial and error, and just pure guesswork, but now we can see exactly what is happening, and the precise effect of any changes. What a huge difference this makes in moving the project forwards!

I'm also going to do a test to determine how much drag the lever switches are imposing upon the flywheel. Since there are 8 switch activations in each test, and because some amount of anti-rotational force is involved in each activation, the overall amount of drag could certainly be causing the rotor to be running evenly, or slowing down, while it might otherwise be accelerating if the lever switches were not involved. To determine this factor, I will remove the six screws that actuate the SNAP time lever switch, and just leave the two others (start/stop), which will still provide the overall elapsed time. Then, when comparing the elapsed time with the reading before the 6 screws were removed, I will know exactly how much difference the drag is causing. I will also be installing a magnetically actuated reed switch to replace the Snap time lever switch, which should help things out. I wanted to do this when I set the system up, but couldn't obtain the reed switch at my local Radio Shack store, so settled on the lever switches while ordering and waiting for reed switches to arrive.

So, lots of things to do and try out in the days and weeks ahead. Things are looking better all the time, and the proof is in the tests.


Best 2 all,

Rick

[rickoff]

Video #38 ready

The new hard drive is in, and video #38 published and uploaded, ready for viewing. You can find it here: YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

[rickoff]

Pipe Dream Update

Hi there folks,

Just a quick note to tell you that video #39 is now ready for viewing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=scgt4UGGK80

This video shows the results of a 5-test comparison of the magnet layout seen in video #36, and shows how I have used the data from those results to tweak the individual magnet groups for better performance. Knowing the precise elapsed time, or "Gap time" of each individual rotor magnet group tells us which groups are the weakest performers, and we can focus our attention on making these particular groups stronger. I show how I make a group stronger by adding a magnet, either double-stacked or single, and then compare test results to determine the actual performance gains. This video covers a lot of material, so it will be continued in video #40.


Best to all,

Rick

[Mark]

Hello Rick

Your motor is coming along nicely. Can't wait to see you add another complete section, hopefully with only one more section your wheel will have enough speed to make it back to the start and will be a self runner.

Are you planning to just keep everything stationary, or are you going to move the stator? If you can keep everything stationary IMO that is the way to go.

Anyways great work and look forward to more!

Mark

[rickoff]

Reply to Mark:

Hi Mark,

Yes, things are progressing nicely now that I have the advantage of the elapsed time and snap time results to verify exactly what is happening after each change is made. I did try loosening the stator for one test, allowing it to align on its own, and I was surprised to see that the results were not as good, so this stator will remain locked in place. You and I are thinking along the same track about what needs to happen at the end of the layout. It does seem wise to end the layout at some point before the end point meets the starting point. That way, if we get past the end point while rotation continues, the starting point will add a surging thrust forward, just as we see at the beginning of each test, where the Gap Time through the first magnet group is about 2/3 that of the remaining groups. This should accelerate the rotor for each revolution, which is exactly what we want to see happen. I know that I can further increase the acceleration of any particular group by the judiciuos placement of additional magnets, and once I determine where I want the endpoint to occur, I will try adding enough magnets to the end plate to see if I can whip accelerate with enough force to evercome the reverse attraction. I think the flywheel is key to this, and may have to add more weight to preserve the momentum. Of course each metal plate and its magnets adds weight, so that in itself is good. By leaving a gap of several inches between the endpoint and start point, the wheel will be considerably out of balance, but I think this will work in my favor in overcoming the reverse attraction. Also, I am making up a stainless steel shield to hang down fromn the back end of the stator, which I think should help to cut down on reverse attraction. The rotor is already getting near the point where it has enough momentum to keep going forward at the end point. So between the shield, the flywheel weight and momentum that provides, and the increased momentum at the last magnet section due to extra magnet placements, I think it is quite possible to break free of the reverse attraction. If all that isn't quite enough, I believe that adding a second stator will do the trick, so that it is set in a position to interact with the starting point while the current stator is at the endpoint.

It's looking good so far, and I'm forging ahead.

Best 2 U,

Rick

[rickoff]

Test results after some tweaking

[rickoff]

Video #40 completed

Video #40 is ready for viewing at this link:
YouTube - Video #40, "Rick's Pipe Dream" Magnetic Motor-Generator This video shows the final results of the tweakings, and then I go on to add the new metal arc plate and do a test on that without magnets added. The result was interesting. It did result in some assistance to magnet group #6, but it also slowed the gap times of groups 2 through 5. It is probably due to either the magnetic interactions moving a heavier flywheel, or the added weight burden on the axle bearings, or maybe both. In any case, it resulted in a slower elapsed time. I ran a 5 test comparison on the plate to average out the readings, and here are the results:

The top result is the test done in the video, the first of the 5-test comparisons, and the lower results are the averages of the 5 tests.



Now I'm adding the magnets to the plate for the next test. At first I will add a standard layout and test that before I do any tweakings. Each plate accommodates two magnet groups, so there will now be 8 groups total. Hopefully I will still be able to achieve good throughput and maintain or improve upon the 5.25 second elapsed time shown in my last post. If I can't, then this will be a signal that I should allow the break point to occur at the end of the third plate. In that case, I would move the 4th plate to a new location, leaving a gap of a few inches in between the third and fourth plates, and when completed there would be two arc sections on the rotor with two equal spaced gaps between the ends.

Best 2 all,

Rick

[rickoff]

Results of Test #6

I populated plate #4 with magnets, and ran an elapsed time test. The results were not at all good, which I pretty much expected. In my experience, any time that you lay out an unbroken string of magnets more than half way around the rotor, the performance suffers greatly, and this was no exception. Here are the results, compared to the previous test #5 of just the plate addition:



As you can see, rotation halted at the end of the third magnet group. The gap time for section 1, which in all previous tests had been around 0.68 to 0.70, more than doubled, and became the slowest group. Quite a reversal, huh? I actually had 8 magnet groups for this test, but since it never progressed past the third group I had to calculate the figures for the percentage fields. Needless to say, the prototype definitely doesn't like this arrangement!

I'll be removing plate #4, and also plate #3, because I want to run a test on just the first two plates and magnets to see if the gap times through those 4 magnet groups will be faster than they were in the 6 group arrangement. If so, then there is no need for a third inline plate. In fact, there may even be no need for a second plate, so I will also test just a single plate to see the difference. The faster I can go through the plate or plates, the more momentum the flywheel will have, and that is important when attempting to go beyond the tail end of the plates. So I plan to first concentrate on a layout that will give the quickest possible elapsed time, and then I'll move on to solving the reverse attraction at the tail end. I have several ideas in mind to accomplish that.

Best to all,

Rick

[rickoff]

New tests completed

Hi folks,

Video #41 is now ready for viewing at this link: YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

This video shows results and comparisons of 4-plate, 3-plate, 2-plate, and 1-plate configurations. With all this data in hand, I have decided to concentrate on just one plate to see if I can arrange an optimum layout that will further reduce overall elapsed time, as well as to give me an acceleration through the second magnet group. Then I will be trying some additional experiments geared towards reducing the reverse reattraction at the tail end, and for that matter through the two magnet groups as well. One such method, which I mentioned earlier, will be to hang a stainless steel shield down behind the stator so that it nearly touches the tops of the rotor magnets. This should have a beneficial result of shielding the rotor magnets that have already passed by the stator, and reduce the reattraction effect. Another method, which I believe I also mentioned earlier, is employment of a second, and perhaps a third stator. The hard drive magnet that I use for my stator is mounted on what appears to be a 1/4 inch thick stainless steel plate, which I have mounted to the clear polycarbonate pivot mount. The stainless steel is non-magnetic, and I can lay one of my rotor magnets on top of it and there is barely any attraction. A paper clip will fall right off. So I'm thinking that if I suspend another one of these stator magnets either ahead of, or behind the current one, and place it at an angle so that the stainless steel backing is facing the oncoming rotor magnets, then those rotor magnets will not be opposed as they approach. The attraction to the other stator magnet, plus flywheel momentum, should keep the rotor magnets moving until they pass by the 2nd stator's stainless steel backing, at which time the second stator will propel the rotor magnets further ahead with repulsion force. Therefore, when the end of the plate is reached, the repulsion effect of the second stator will overcome the reverse attraction to the first stator, and accelerate the rotor as the last magnets move away from the stators. I know - sounds too easy, doesn't it? But anything simple, and sounding practical, is definitely worth trying. If this can work then there will be acceleration as the plate engages the stators, and acceleration as it leaves the stators, which would be ideal. Time will tell.

Oh, and I found my 16 tooth ratcheting bike wheel sprocket yesterday in the glove box of my truck. I looked everywhere for it, and had thought it must have been stolen. I guess that shows how often I dig around in my glovebox. Anyways, I plan to attach it to the bike wheel hub, and will affix it to remain stationary. That way, it will allow the wheel to move in the desired direction, but will stop the wheel quickly if reverse attraction is encountered. And that will help protect my mini lever switches from damage.

Best to all,

Rick

[gene gene]

Hi Rick, I have been waiting to here results of tests with SS shield & also with extra stator magnet in place. Any news?
Best of luck to you my friend,
Gene
p.s. I wonder what is in the glove box of my old van?

[rickoff]

Hi Gene,

I haven't been able to get to those tests yet, as I have been flat out lately working on repair projects at my summer cottage property (scraping, painting, replacing old siding, reglazing old windows, repairing weather damaged roof section of boat house, and fighting carpenter ant inferstations in some of the outbuildings). Gotta keep at that stuff while the weather is warm, which won't be for much longer here in Maine. So, the Pipe Dream project has been set on the back burner lately, so to speak. I wish I could keep at it on a daily basis, but realistically must set priorities. I do think about the project daily, though, and after I complete a few more magnet layout tests I believe that I have the best solution to the moving stator idea close at hand. Actually, it reverts back to mimicking the up-down motion of a moving stator that I demonstrated in Pipe Dream video #3, which can be seen here: YouTube - Video #3, "Rick's Pipe Dream" Magnetic Motor - Generator

Start watching at 5:18 elapsed time to see this method rotating the wheel. Note that my hand movements are actually exaggerated well beyond what is required to start and maintain rotation, and that the rotation would be much more powerful if I allowed the stator magnet to move closer to the rotor magnets, but as I note in the video, there is a "point of no return" where the stator magnet will slam down onto the rotor magnets when held by hand. By limiting the travel with a mechanical holding device, I can come within about 3/4 of an inch of the rotor magnets and greatly increase the rotational power. You will also note that this method does not use alternating polarity rotor magnet groups, which necessitates quickly moving the stator into repulsion mode at the tail end of each magnet group. Instead, this method allows the stator to freely coast past the tail end of each group and on through the void space to the next group. If not moved upwards as the next group approaches, you run into the brick wall effect due to repulsion at that point, but the relatively wide space between each of the 4 magnet groups should allow ample time for the lift to occur. I may even choose to only use 3 magnet groups, which would allow for an even longer lift time. A vertical lift of around 2 inches should do the trick, allowing the stator to pass over the lead end of the approaching rotor magnet group, after which the stator magnet can be dropped down and become interactively engaged with the group. A simple cam and lever arrangement can be used to accomplish the lift, and the drop would be automatic due to attraction effect which takes over after the lead in repulsion is overcome. I could even use the repulsion effect at the lead end of the rotor magnet group to assist in lifting the stator magnet after it has been partially raised. The energy required to lift the stator must come from the rotating wheel, of course, but can be kept to a bare minimum of next to nothing. My idea for accomplishing that is to mount my slider bar vertically, rather than the current horizontal mounting, and to use at least two guide mechanisms to keep the stator positioned correctly while in motion. At the upper end of the slider rail I will fasten a pulley. A wire attached to the movable stator mount, and draped over the pulley, will be connected to a counterweight of sufficient weight to nearly produce all the force required to raise the stator, so that the wheel is hardly robbed of any rotational force at all. A half ounce or less of force, created by the cam and lever device should be well within reason, since there is no attraction force counteracting the lift when between rotor magnet groups. Can you visualize exactly what I am proposing, after viewing the video? I would think probably so, and it is a relatively simple solution to implement. I see this method as showing the greatest promise for achieving a self running moving stator magnet motor in the shortest possible time frame. I still believe that using alternating polarity rotor magnet groups, and quickly moving the stator into repulsion at the tail end of the magnet groups would offer even greater speed and power, but the method of moving the stator then becomes far more problematical and time consuming to work out, so I'll save that for later on. I will begin working on some drawings of the new concept and post them when ready, but probably won't be able to demonstrate the actual mechanisms on video until October or later, as there is still much work to be done both at the cottage and here at home, and being retired I really can't afford to pay others to do the work. Sorry that delays the progress on the prototype, but that's just reality. As soon as I have time, I will be posting another video or two showing a couple of additional magnet layouts I have experimented with. I actually have been successful now at achieving a faster elapsed time through the second half of a rotor magnet layout, something that was not achieved in earlier shown tests. I sincerely believe that the combination of increasing speed throughout the rotor magnet group, and easily moving the stator magnet up and down via purely mechanical means should prove to be very promising.

My best to you, and to all readers,

Rick