Day 1 of Making Prototype: 

I started by cutting out the blades and the center of the windmill. I discovered a problem with the theoretical first plan, since using a cardboard windmill is very hard to reach the number of volts needed for the red light to light. Using the multimeter, I discovered the voltage the windmill could produce (by turning the fan fast using my hand) is at most 0.5 volt, and the LED light I plan to use needs at least 1.5 volts.  

After identifying this problem, I asked Mr. Michie for feedback on my design, and he suggested that I should try using gears. Therefore, I started to consider using gears to maximize the voltage. When the fan is connected to the large gear, and the large gear is connected to the small gear, one round turned by the large gear would equal several rounds of the small gear; therefore, increasing the energy by at least 3 times. 

Next time, I would start to put together the gears after I have made out a possible plan at home.  

Figure 1 – Gear connection idea to increase energy production by the windmill.  

 

Day 2 of Making Prototype: 

Using my second plane and the second model (figure 3) that I drew; I started by connecting the blades of the windmill to the 5cm diameter gear. I then made a box for the gear to be connected to and used an iron wire to connect the box and windmill (figure 2). The problem I encountered is that because the blades, the gear, and the box are close together, the friction created is too high for the windmill to work without encountering a stop of blades hitting the side of the box. I asked Mr. Michie for feedback on whether the prototype is in an optimistic situation, and he suggested the same as I thought, which is the problem with friction. He also suggested that the cardboard prototype is not rigid enough, which I also agree since my current prototype does not seem stable.  

Next time, I would solve this problem, a possible solution could be adding a piece of material that causes less friction between the gear and the box. I would also need to utilize the part of the motor tower and the connections between the LED light and the motor.  

Figure 2 – Windmill front and side view. 

Figure 3 – Second model (the first model is shown in the Develop and Plan post). 

 

Day 3 of Making Prototype: 

Today, the problem with friction previously mentioned is mostly solved by adding another gear onto the first gear (see the windmill part of figure 4). Using hot glue, I connected the 1.5cm diameter gear to the dynamite motor, added a piece of cardboard to the side of the motor, and connected the motor to the box behind the windmill. By doing this, I changed the idea of making another tower for the motor itself. I decided to only make one tower, which could avoid the problem of the two gears not matching up if the two towers’ heights are not measured correctly. To secure the motor, I hot glued a piece of cardboard with the dimensions of 2cm by 6cm from the bottom of the motor to the tower, holding up the motor. Afterward, I used 2 wires with alligator clips and connected the motor to the LED light (figure 5). Considering the light of the LED could be very limited, I changed the idea of making a cloud lamp since the cotton added onto the lampshade would block the already limited light.  

My classmate (William Pan)’s feedback suggested that I could make the blades of the windmill longer, so it captures more wind and therefore increases the electricity produced. Next class, I would take this into consideration and try using a fan to test whether the windmill would work if possible. At last, I could paint the windmill white to make it more presentable.  

Figure 4 – Windmill connected to the lamp. 

Figure 5 – Wire connection to the motor. 

 

Day 4 of Making Prototype: 

Today, I added a 5cm addition to the blades of the windmill (figure 6) and glued the lampshade to the cardboard base (figure 7). Considering how the appearance of the windmill is not presentable, I used sand acrylic to paint the windmill (figure 7). Since most of the practical work is done, I worked on my documents and spent time revising my Create and Improve. 

The design lab did not have a fan and we could not borrow one anywhere; therefore, I will bring a hairdryer to school next class and try out if the LED would work, and then make changes if necessary.  

Figure 6 – Additional part to the blade. 

Figure 7 – Painted windmill. 

  

Day 5 of Making Prototype: 

Today I brought a hair dryer to blow the windmill, but the windmill did not work as expected. Using the multimeter, the voltage varies between 0.5 to 0.8 volts. At one point, the motor reached 8 volts for two or three seconds, but it did not maintain there, and nor could it go back to 8 volts anytime during today. As a result, I surmised that it might be the multimeter’s error. 

After checking several times that the wire connection did not have a problem, I tried changing another motor (figure 8). By testing the two motors several times, and connecting the multimeter directly to the motor, I concluded that the loss of energy was not because of the motors and might be that the windmill itself was not stable enough.  

 

Figure 8 – New motor 

Trying to find a better way of the design, I asked Mr. Michie and Ms. Amanda for feedback on the design. Mr. Michie suggested taking off the small gear and using a rubber band to connect the 5cm diameter gear directly to where the small gear was on the motor. This was to maximize more energy. I tried this idea out, but the motor and big gear could not hold the rubber band in a stretched-out state while the rubber band pulled the previous two together. Afterward, Ms. Amanda suggested using a piece of wood to substitute the small gear and put the rubber band around i. This too ended with the rubber band pulling the wood and the big gear too close together.  

Considering the stability of the windmill, I changed the soft iron wire that was used to connect the windmill to the box into a relatively harder metal stick. After this change, the windmill has a much more stable connection to the box. However, after several experiments, the windmill still could not power the windmill.  

The most problematic obstacle for my design is that I could not identify where the energy was lost in the cycle even after eliminating and redesigning all the places that could cause a major loss of energy. However, after comparing the possibilities of why the windmill could not power, I think the rigidness of a cardboard windmill is the most influential to my design, and I should have considered using a more stable material in my designing stage. 

Figure 9 – Change of iron wires. 

Figure 10 – Wire connection to LED light. 

 Timeline

 Feb 15: Complete Define & Inquire

Day 1 Feb 17: Complete Develop & Plan, buy the cotton and the material to hold the lamp structure, and start to make the cardboard part of the windmill.

Day 2 Feb 21: Finish the making of the windmill. Decide whether to use gears, if so how to connect them.

Day 3 Feb 23: Carry out the plan from the last class.

Day 4 Feb 27: Connect the circuit and consider the appearance of the prototype.

Day 5 Mar 1: Finalize the prototype.

Materials

1. motor*1
2. 2 pieces of cardboard 50cm*50cm
3. Cotton
4. Lampshade
5. Wires 10cm
6. LED light that can be connected to wires
7. Clear glue
8. White glue
9. 5cm diameter gear and 1.5 cm diameter gear.

Procedure

1. Make 4*3cm diameter circles with a hole in the middle using cardboard and stick them layered together using white glue.
2. Cut an 8cm*2.5cm rectangle, cut the top corners, and cut out a semicircle on the other shorter edge.
3. Curve the rectangle cardboard in half and stick it onto the circle made in step 1 to make a blade of the windmill.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for 4 times, and connect the windmill made to the 5cm diameter gear.
5. Connect the gear to the cardboard box using iron wire (see model).
6. Make a 20cm long cylinder cardboard stick connecting to the bottom of the cardboard box.
7. Cover the side DC motor with cardboard, connect the 1.5cm gear with the DC motor by putting the top of the motor through the hole in on the center of the gear.
8. Glue the finished windmill to a base of 9cm*9cm.
9. Glue the finished motor in step 8 to another 9cm*9cm cardboard base, matching together the gears.
10. Connect the finished windmill with the base to a 40cm to 25cm cardboard.
11. Glue the LED light on the same 40cm*25cm cardboard, beside the windmill.
12. Connect the wires of the motor with the extra 10 cm wire, then connect it to the LED light.
13. Glue the cotton onto the lampshade.
14. Glue the cotton lampshade onto the 40*30 cardboard on top of the LED light.

First model:

Second model: (gear connection, other parts are the same as the first model).

Success Criteria:

1. Create a rigid prototype of a windmill using cardboard that could produce energy when in an environment with a large wind.
2. The LED light would be successfully powered through wind power.
3. The appearance of the windmill and lamp is considerably appealing.

The goal of this engineering project is to create an engineering prototype that shows the transfer of energy. To reach this goal, we will be using the design process and creating a toy that fits the audience, has a clear purpose, consider the environment, and has an appealing appearance. In this document, I would record my ideas and problems that I would consider.

Problems:

Safety: The making process of any idea would most possibly include electricity; therefore, when making the prototype I need to make sure that the electricity would not leak, and I would not use anything that conducts electricity to touch it. The process might also use hot glue, which has a very high temperature that would burn hands.

Time: The time for the whole project is two weeks, and the time is not very adequate for any large projects. In order to stay on track, I need to write out a schedule that would help me finish my project on time.

Idea 1: Lava lamp

My first idea is to make a lava lamp. Lava lamps work with a simple mechanic and its energy transfer is obviously identified. I could consider adding decorations other than oil inside the lamp and put more creativity in the way I can change a classic lava lamp.

Purpose: The purpose of this prototype is to model how electric energy transfers to thermal energy along with how the density difference between oil and water would cause the movements in the lava lamp. Knowledge of energy transformation, density, and particle movement could be learned through the process of making this prototype.

User/audience:

Lava lamps can be intriguing to many different groups, but more specifically, it would be more favored by children or young adults.

Pros: This idea is practicable, the materials that are required should be easy to get, the mechanism of it is simple to understand, and the presentation of this project is pleasing. Another aspect to consider is monetary problems, and this idea does not include anything that is not affordable.

Cons: The creativity that I can show on this idea is very limited since it is hard to change the appearance or the mechanism of a lava lamp. The idea of making lava lamps could have been used too often by students and does not give me too much interest.

Energy transformed: Electrical energy to thermal energy to light energy.

 Ratings (1 out of 5):

Difficulty: 4.5

The time it would take: 4.5

Interest: 3.5

Outside source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bwWekWsIYk

This procedure is quite complicated and requires a lot of different tools that may be hard to obtain or has potential safety hazards. The difficulty level is not incompletable, and the final product is beautiful, showing various energy transformations and energy transfer.

 

Idea 2: Windmill lamp

My idea is to make a windmill that would power a lightbulb. The lightbulb and the windmill would be decorated into a night lamp with cotton around it.

Purpose: The purpose of making this prototype is to successfully model how wind power can be converted into electricity through a windmill. Knowledge of how to make circuits and use motors would be learned through the process of making this.

User/audience:

My final product would be close to a night lamp or a normal lamp; therefore, the audience could be people of all ages. However, the appearance that I am planning to give this prototype would be more intriguing for female users or children.

Pros: This idea, like the previous one, is also practical. Its mechanism can be easily understood and carried out. The cost of the materials in this idea is also affordable. Additionally, unlike a lava lamp, a windmill-powered lamp has a variety of ways that I can change the prototype. For example, I could change the material to make a windmill, I could also add more lightbulbs and make the circuit more complicated.

Cons: Compared to the lava lamp, the procedure of this is a bit too simple. The energy transferred is also not complex which lowered the interest in this idea.

 

Energy transformed: Mechanical energy of wind to electrical energy to light/thermal energy.

Ratings (1 out of 5):

Difficulty: 3.5

The time it would take: 4

Interest: 4

Outside source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXYkjHKakGE

The windmill-powered house in this video has around the same mechanisms as my idea, but the way that the author decorated the prototype is not appealing enough to me. Considering this, I would take parts of this as a reference, but not the appearance of it. I could also try using other materials apart from cardboard, but the challenge level would be larger (for example 3D printing).