Magnets in the can...

[lobstermash]

OK, I just learnt something new: how to place the magnets in the can! It has to be N next to S.

I had given up on a motor because after it arrived in the mail, I had to change the shaft (very tight). When I bashed it out with a hammer, some magnets came loose. As I was putting them back in, I noticed most were loose, so I took them all out and glued them all back in with epoxy. I thought I'd got the setup right, but after the glue dried and I fired up the motor I realised it was not... So after being shelved for 8 months or so, I pulled it out, lit a candle and heated the epoxy to just beyond 'glassing point' (it starts to bubble). The magnets came out relatively easily and didn't lose any magnetic power.

To make my life easier to figure out the poles, all the magnets were slightly curved. I separated the magnets into two groups based on whether it stuck to the concave or convex side. You know you've got it right when you start putting them in the can and the sides are attracted to each other.

So anyhow, I just spent a good 3/4 hour fixing a $10 motor... At least I don't have to wait for a new one to arrive from HK!!!

 

[UndCon]

It is always a pleasure to bring some life into stuff that has been shelved.

I was very happy when I was able to make 1 working 22-20L-motor from 2 broken ones

//UndCon

 

[lobstermash]

I've been off sick from work today with a sinus infection. I've learnt about history (Greatest Tank Battles on History Channel (on youtube)), fixed up my wing that's been sitting without gear in it for a while, fixed one motor and definitively proven that a Bixler motor is dead.

On the latter, I used the same heating technique to get the magnets out. The magnets are not very magnetic any more (from their time in the tree). Odd, I'd have thought that if the magnets have a Curie temp of 300 odd, the foam should have set on fire. It blistered (like when you pour hot water on it) and the hot glue holding the mount in ran down the wiring channel, but nothing caught on fire or melted.