Towards A Printed Generator

[@lubbock2704]

If one were to seal this from the environment as you suggested, the resulting enclosed container may then have its air removed, leaving a vacuum. this would virtually remove any resistance on the disk from drag. For something so light with such little inertia that little amount of drag could drastically affect the efficiency.

[@anneinfurna8528]

Pulling a vacuum could pull in the sides -- you would have to glue in some acrylic standoff dowels in strategic spots to counter that effect.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes I would think it would

[@lubbock2704]

@@anneinfurna8528 True, wouldn't want the project to be crushed due to lack of structural integrity

[@darrellpidgeon6440]

Very fascinating! The flat profile alone opens up several possibilities. That foil tape is useful for so many things. I've used the tape before to test a homemade capacitor. I used the lid of a CD case, applying equal pieces of foil on both sides. It worked better than I thought it would. You're right about one thing; humidity is the main downfall of any electrostatic system.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

you are right that tape is just too useful for words

[@bushhack]

This idea offers someone in a bushcrafting situation a way to start fire in addition to powering small tools from slowly charged batteries. In the woods sap can be used in a variety of ways: sealant and waterproofing are of highest interest to me. Stacking these is certainly a key to power improvement. Other improvements may come from petal counts and lengths. When I’m ready I’ll need to play with this myself. If my results are worthy I’ll post them.

[@nicholashall3479]

I've been enjoying your videos for years and never commented. You sir are national treasure! My children are finally old enough to start enjoying your videos as well (ages 7 & 9). Your ability to make complex subjects accessible to ordinary folks is wonderful, and your enthusiasm is so contagious that even uneducated folks like me can't help but head down to the basement to tinker (I loved both of your bioplastics books). Do you have a Patreon account where we can help support the production of these wonderful videos?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

hiya mate - thank you for taking the time to say that - I am afraid I don't have a pattern account. -I use the youtube membership scheme instead - thanks for asking it is well appreciated - cheers

[@hissst69]

Robert. I am positively rivetted. I cannot wait for more on this series, I will build this along with you, looking forward to the layout and design instructional video. And looking forward to another one of yours with your ink ! I may also look at doing a smaller version with more disks out of CDs as I have stacks of useless cds !

[@j.rumbleseed]

That is great technology. A flywheel UPS lead to the breakthrough of the flywheel drive that Porsche took and revolutionized as the GT3 Hybid. Basically, a Dirod. When the car brakes, it charges the flywheel, and when the driver hits the button, it sends it back to the motors. 97%+ break energy recovery!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

that's interesting - cheers mate

[@jakattah]

Be interesting to see if your conductive paint over the aluminum would improve it!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes it would nice animate - cheers

[@joohop]

Thank You Robert Energy Is Round About Man That He Does Not Know Of STATIC ELECTRICITY IS EVERYWHERE Bless Up

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure mate

[@stevetobias4890]

When you think about it, this is pretty cool. As you said, no magnets or coils and apart from the axle and the carbon brushes, nothing is touching. This could be driven by a fan on a large pulley and a small pulley in place of the handle. Of course once it has been sealed.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure mate - there are a couple of thoughts that have sine occurred to me as this was an interesting and unusual effect

[@stevetobias4890]

@@ThinkingandTinkering looking forward to the next video, will be something special to sit down and watch for my birthday 😂

[@andrewharbit7449]

Most intriguing, what is the relation to petal size and inducted charge? If you were to use more petals the number of times the brushes make contact would be more frequent, the area of induced charge onto the petals would be less correct, however the increase in contact frequency may increase the power.

[@DeliciousDeBlair]

You can also buy some copper tape if you like, I bought some to use as a gasket on my engine, and I have a whole lot left over.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yep copper would be fine if you have load - Ali is cheaper - lol - look at me - thinking about costs lol

[@benthere8051]

Well done, Robert. Instead of your fabricated rivet, I would've drilled several small (030") holes and then put a dab of your conductive ink on both sides. That would make a plated-thru hole like in a PC board. The voltage is so high and the current is so low that the resistance of the ink is inconsequential. As a matter of fact, I think you could silk-screen all the conductors for everything using your ink.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

true mate - but I was thinking of folks who didn't have the ink

[@tagsoftware]

I love it, Robert. My compliments. If the unit needs to be sealed, could something like an aquarium be used as a container, to then pull a vacuum to reduce internal friction?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure mate

[@ryanlebeck259]

Just remember that a vacuum might change how it performs in other ways; with no magnets or coils it is basically an RF receiver, so it might need some fluid medium to traffic the charge with.

[@melellington4892]

I would love to see that static generator running off a wind turbine. In other words, a windmill without the usual magnets and coils of wire.

[@VCNickels]

I was thinking the same thing actually. I've been looking at Van Life and one of the issues there is power. Most people have a few solar panels, an inverter, and someway to charge the house batteries off the alternator when they're rig is moving. Of course the problem with solar is, it's solar. It's fine but it has a significant flaw at night and it's hard to get a good charge in the winter with out basically using your rig as a gas/diesel genny. Something like this that's small but potentially relatively constant and provides more options for placement then typical solar panels could be a good secondary power source for Van Life builds.

[@alandavis2706]

Wow. Printing it with a laser printer is really intriguing. Would the ferrous material in laser toner have the right conductive properties?

[@olivierroy1301]

Have you ever wondered about an insulating ink? It would allow stacking coils of conductive ink. I have a penn plotter and I see how I could literally print coils with it. It would be a weird part to design and also tricky to print, with pauses to switch the ink pen.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

a polyurethane varnish would work wouldn't it?

[@olivierroy1301]

@@ThinkingandTinkering ah probably, it would be quick.

[@thornhedge9639]

You're worth your weight in Platinum Robert! Great presentation and really cool build... Perhaps I misunderstood: Didn't you say it worked as a motor or a generator? Will it do both at once? Motor on one side production on the other?

[@Nick_Tag]

All motors are generators run in reverse and vice versa, it’s just a question of how symmetric the efficiency of electrical power to mechanical work or vice versa. This device feels like it would run very symmetrically (and it is beautiful by the way Rob!)

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

that's what I read mate - I have yet to try it tbh - even so I suspect not - I would think it would have to have another device attached to the same axle

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@anneinfurna8528]

I was wondering if you were to say coat a piece of metal cut out to that teardrop shape, and coat it with carborundum powder on the bottom surface, and attach it to one of those vibratory tools , could you vibrate out a shallow pocket in the acrylic, and do all the sectors, and then when done all around, coat that acrylic with the conductive ink like you are screen printing, and leave it only in the pockets? possible result, mechanical attachment to the disc, and its depth predicated by the depth of the vibratory pockets?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I guess you could but it is a lot of trouble to go to - if you watched the testing video the mechanical adhesion of the ink is really quite good to the acrylic

[@craigglewis]

Hello Robert, Did you make a video of making the plans for this project? I'm looking at trying CD's for the disks. This way I can try several designs and layers.

[@strongforce8466]

Awesome can't wait to see the follow up on this series ! Stacking them sounds good ...if using a light and thin material could potentially stack hundreds in "Not such a big space" lol with a decent efficiency.., really wonder how such device would compare to a industrial grade generator in terms of efficiency (mechanical power converted into electrical) this could be the FWG generator, sell the kit and make $$ on it + ink :), also rather than thinking in terms of total power output maybe it's best to think in terms of "whats the minimum amount require to charge a battery bank" (12,24,48+) so then we don't necessary need the peak power in amps, just thinking out loud here.. :D

[@BoB4jjjjs]

Very interesting, I would love to see a few plates, enough to give around 12v just to see how well it worked. Would a printed one also work as a small motor, maybe not. But print a generator is a wonderful idea.

[@stevenfaber3896]

Very cool! Perhaps you could place it on the Stationary Bike to see what kind of levels you could get from it, in hopes to place it as a generator on actual bikes, for EBike charging? As an add-on range extender?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

interesting idea mate

[@tobischubert8563]

Hello Robert, You are very inspiring to me and i am so glad i found you on KZbin.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate and thank you for taking the time to say so

[@jasonwitt8619]

Yes and if you added magnets to it, the unit would scream power. Right up my isle on this build. Would be nice to see what stacking them would produce.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes - I would like to see that too

[@htmagic]

RMS, and a bigger diameter wheel would give more power too. Somehow this struck me similar to the Methernitha free energy machine.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

spot on mate - and yes I guess it is similar

[@justinlockwood3944]

Robert Murray-Smith u

[@JK-zl7vv]

What would happen if you put one magnet on each side if the plastic outside sections, so when the spinning discs pass the magnetic field it will cause a change of direction in the molecular structure of the aluminium pedals, which should cause a higher output of electrical charge, but it should not create eddie currents against the effort of the rotating shaft, since each pedal is individualized.

[@easy_s3351]

Very interesting stuff once again mate. I'm looking at this and what pops into my mind is combining this idea with that of a Tesla turbine......I see in the comments that Leo C and some others had the same idea. Since rpm's play a big role in getting a bigger output and the Tesla turbine gets up to some pretty high rpm's, especially when hitting the sweet spot, that might work quite nicely. I've been working on a tesla turbine with magnets on the edges of the disks and a coil around it as a turbine for an ORC-generator (so you don't need to combine a turbine with a separate generator to generate electricity) but this could be a good alternative. It would be good to hear your thoughts on that.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I do like the idea of linking this with a Tesla turbine

[@Graham_Wideman]

Robert: Your idea to throw in some desiccant and seal the edges seems key to having this perform better. Will you be trying that?

[@bertnma]

Zero cogging wind turbine springs to mind. Maybe use gearing to increase the RPM of the generator.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

gearing would be good mate

[@ryanlebeck259]

That is fantastic. Could you use your transparent solar panel mixture to make an "invisible" one for tickles and kicks?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I really don't know mate - but worth a try I would say

[@BillDeWitt]

I would love to see this go somewhere. I wonder if the front and back plates can be combined when stacking by printing on opposite sides.

[@sunindragupta9236]

Hi Rob, there are three plates, the circular one rotates. Are the stationary plates touching the moving plate in any way or is all via induction.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I think it's it's all via induction mate the plates don't touch except where indicated

[@ceejayc6502]

Fascinating. I wonder about the torque for this. If it is as low as i suspect, you could add a gear and get a lot more RPM out of it. I didn't see if you had a bearing in the center. I assume you did so the torque would be very low,.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I did have a bearing mate and yes the torque was exceptionally low

[@ryanlaporte906]

How would you stack those for more voltage? Where do the neutrals go?

[@Nico-vh1qp]

Wonder how well a waterwheel would do attached to this. Being sealed could be good portable power or for remote areas. Thanks for your videos!....very inspiring keeps the noodle working 😁

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Good question mate - I like the thinking

[@kennedy67951]

A very Informative Video Robert. What about using Sheets of Printing Paper Treated with a Polymer that would harden up forming a Ridged Sheet so you then could Stack a Ream or Two together and have the Power output you desire? Just asking Robert. You could also design and use a Flat Copper Coil placed on each Collector then using a Simple JOULE THIFE Circuit Generate more Power storing it all in a Supper Capacitor. Is this a Possibility? Thanks for the upload Robert. As all way's, you sharing your Knowledge is Appreciated at least by me anyway.

[@nostooge]

Could be fun to drive it as a motor and compare the speed for various power inputs with the power generated at various speeds to calculate overall efficiency. Given the paltry power generated at ~100 rpm (~10^-6W), a 100% efficient motor would spin at 10^8 rpm with just 1W input! ;-)

[@Nick_Tag]

Would be very interested to know what selection of inks are available and what is their cost per litre or millilitre, and how many millilitres of ink do you think would be needed on each plate?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

look it up mate - it's on the shop along with coverage

[@David_Mash]

Could this be brushless if you had the disc closer together

[@hiddenchambers2922]

So BRILLIANT!! TY FOR SHARING!!

[@MetalGearMk3]

Would using a different metal/conductor improve the output of electricity? How could this design be improved in terms of power output?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I suggested a couple mate - have a hank and let me know how you think it could be improved

[@goodboiadvsp3297]

I'd really like to see this implemented on a larger, more efficient scale. I think like others I'm also wondering if it has any potential as a kind of DC step motor?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I dunno mate - that's an interesting idea for sure

[@Scott_C]

I hate the idea of using electricity to generate electricity. Way too many people start with those ideas and it quickly becomes physics defying. But... With an added flywheel and a simple low friction bearing a simple low power motor might be able to make at least an equal voltage out-put.

[@lubbock2704]

You know Robert, a relatively easy way to make a small multi-disk Dirod generator maybe to paint ink onto the stacked disks of an old hard drive. Just an Idea. If you do not wish to look into this, I will :D

[@tebbi67]

He needs a Highspeed camera and a angle grinder (as the drive) with highly upms. I think the plates cant get the electric load it will fire itself. Someone should spend him a highspeed camera!!! Thx for the video.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

that would be worth trying for sure mate

[@jamescunliffe9872]

The casing itself could be energy storage in a battery or capacitor?:)

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I would think so mate

[@flytrapjohn]

As usual, wonderful stuff. Thank you.

[@DMonZ1988]

fantastic as always Rob! the possibility of printing these things cheaply, quickly and easily, perhaps on old CDs again but also industrially, is incredibly exciting. one challenge i'd love to hear your thoughts on is how you'd go about prolonging the lifespan of the paint and brushes, especially at high RPM, as my first thought is to put a stack of these into a tesla turbine somehow. i feel stupid asking, but the large surface area of inductors and collectors is important right, as its the surfaces passing eachother that creates the inductance? the neutralising bar could be a small point near the axle though, as long as the contact arc is the same so the timings align?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

spot on mate - surface area does matter in repeat of out put - if you think of a bonetti machine then there would be no contact but it would need a starting charge - but that wouldn't really be an issue

[@ryanlebeck259]

Curious; if you ran several of these in parallel would it step up voltage and/or current, and would you need capacitors/rectifiers between the units?

[@Scott_C]

I think it produces AC so yes you'd have to account for that.

[@federicok1735]

Hi Robert! Since it is atmosferic electrostatic device and we have 100v each meter above sea, I was thinking so may be put the device on rooftop gaining more altitude may be could help to produce more voltage?

[@CUBETechie]

What if you make this as a sandwich? Square slices and the rotation disc in between? And this several times ? The only thing that might be different Is connecting them. In parallel and serial?

[@colleenforrest7936]

This might make it worth investing in a tee shirt printing machine. I wonder if you could power the motor with a Kelvin water drop generator?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I am willing to bet you could

[@jamest.5001]

I was thinking the same thing! Paralled they could make useable lower,

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I would think for sure mate

[@McRootbeer]

Can't wait to see where this goes :-). Would thicker aluminium plates improve output? Now to run it as a motor.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I don't know mate - to be host there are a couple of possible sources for this effect and it wy be that it is just triboelectric between the acrylic and carbon brush - the effect was certainly interesting but a little more investigation is needed I think before we go off on one

[@RoadRageLive]

Robert, you are awesome.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

wow - cheers mate

[@ET2uscg]

So if you created some high voltage caps out of aluminium foil and plastic and ran a wire up a tree you could run the generator and do some real work with it. I didnt think of printing the generator, I could do it with a silkscreen. This is getting interesting. Thanks

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I would think so mate

[@andrewharbit7449]

Run an Arial and ground use the spinning disk to act as you switches for atmospheric energy collection after all each petal is a capacitor

[@conductiveinkalternative918]

Is it raining? Love the build.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - yes it is and cheers mate

[@markhodgson2348]

Great Rob now work on the lydon jar its the other part of the project, looking forward to where you take this, i also find this subject very interesting

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@jonnyswalk_7]

Clever stuff Robert thank you 😊 👍

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@BrianBoyer]

I may have missed a vital video that renders my question moot but I'll ask anyway. Can a dual-extrusion printer, using one conductive filament, provide a similar result?

[@MetalGearMk3]

Yea it should work from what I understand.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I would think so mate

[@geodeaholicm4889]

a generator with NO coils & NO magnets is purty amazing.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I mean I know the output is low - but I was amazed too

[@geodeaholicm4889]

@@ThinkingandTinkering here's an idea to try; take 2 pieces of wire, attach 1 side of each to a hv point of the dirod, next take 2 spark gaps, each set to a width of a sheet of notebook paper; attach a spark gap to 1 side of each wire off the dirac. attach a 500 V capacitor to the other end of each spark gap. spin up the dirac and.check the voltage between the 2 capacitors, assuming i'm no more confused then usual, it ought to be around 300 volts at least for a moment.

[@philnewcomers9170]

very similar to the Wimshurst machine absolutly fascinating ! you said you made a wimshurst machine what no is that on. ty

[@alanclarke4646]

Have you triwe running it as a motor yet?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

no not yet - I wanted to share this

[@CUBETechie]

9:20 please show this stacked form it would interesting. Please please 🙏🙏🙏🥺 Maybe with copper foil ?

[@leoc4901]

COULDYOU INCORPERATE THIS TO THE TESLA TURBINE?

[@malcomflibbleghast8140]

just thinking that too

[@gravitaslost]

@@malcomflibbleghast8140Lol, me too!

[@mwm2929]

20k RPM aught to make some serious sparks with a Tesla turbine! ⚠️

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I would think so

[@leoc4901]

Malcom Flibbleghast I still can’t figure out why,if he has the capability of making capacitors and batteries, then why not use the things he makes in real time.

[@jamesdaley3223]

This looks like an idea that could be combined with a Tesla turbine sort of propulsion

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I would think so mate

[@SaucemanSauceman]

What are you charging for your ink?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it's on the shop mate

[@fallknight5405]

Could you pop a drill chuck to it with a certain RPM an do that volt an amp test again

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure

[@sarchlalaith8836]

Could this be combined with the tesla turbine to use airflow to generate? Because it's a high efficiency low torque system....

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I would think it would

[@johndoe-bq1xt]

Please forgive my stupidity by asking this question, but, Why would I build this generator when I can make a streamlined multi Wimshurst Machine Generator ? I know its simple and cheap, but, it produces low voltage and current. I love the Wimshurst Machine you built.

[@garywillis5790]

Another fantastic video, thanks!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@soufianebellahbib3837]

intéressant😍..merci. a suivre!..More for this generator..you can put it in plans or bateau ship🤔😆😉

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

plans video is done mate

[@douglaschell1132]

what if some of the petel are copper plate

[@anneinfurna8528]

"Perhaps some Gold leaf -- it is after all the best conductor around, and it is quite reasonable to get and do." and talk about the bling!!!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yeah go for it

[@moses5407]

How to run this was a motor?

[@55Ramius]

Very interesting video. Watching for more... : )

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@justind.hugley4504]

A modern day wizard great video

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - cheers mate

[@icebluscorpion]

Hey Rob, this would be great for a PCBway sponsorship right?

[@anneinfurna8528]

Howsabout some Gold Leaf sectors? Nice and Blingy - -and My o My does it Conduct!!!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

now that's an awesome idea - go for it

[@Kiyarose3999]

A flywheel would make it spin for ages, or perhaps seal the edges and make a vacuum. I don’t know, I seem to talk rubbish on here, oh well, I’ll get back to growing the Pinapples on me East London window seal.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - they are good suggestions mate - cheers

[@chrisstevens2]

This was a riveting video!

[@phillbon3457]

You Are Awesome! Wish you was my neighbour

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - cheers mate

[@zeropointfuel]

No magnets, it doesn't suffer from Lenz law.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

no mate it doesn't nice point - cheers

[@john2759]

Thanks 🙏

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

You’re welcome 😊

[@designerzen]

A printed generator is one incredible thing, but can the printed generator also function as a printed motor?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

dunno - but I am going to try

[@colouroboros9993]

very fascinating indeed!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure mate

[@DeliciousDeBlair]

Please keep in mind that your cost is relative to such issues as the cost of material, which can be pretty pricey, depending on your requirements... ~( 'w')/

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I always keep costs in mind mate

[@hafsteinnhafsteinsson958]

Very interesting to say the least

[@Rpgamer50]

Fascinating

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I thought so too mate - cheers

[@andytrewin]

Hi Robert - was it raining outside?

[@malcomflibbleghast8140]

thats rattling was the Fairy Queen...coming for his soul.....

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes mate

[@ShilohSedlak]

Would you be interested in building me one of these motors?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I am sorry mate but no - you are a member though and there are full easy to follow details on the members area

[@experimentalprogramming1758]

Awesome!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@vivdlyvague6627]

Rob can we be expecting a video on your thoughts on the Tesla battery day?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I'll give it a think about mate

[@DiyEcoProjects]

OOo thats interesting, thank you

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I thought so too mate - cheers

[@earlyriser438]

Nice

[@DMWatchesYoutube]

Nice

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@Buzzhumma]

I think you are only a few thoughts away from discovering how to build a UFO ! 👍🏻

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol

[@MikeSmith-cl4ix]

I was thinking the same thing, the problem with lifter technology is that the power supply is too heavy. If you had disc-shaped capacitors on each side would it charge them up to high voltage?

[@ClownWhisper]

In the United States that aluminum tape is horribly expensive although you might be saying it's extraordinarily cheap relatively speaking? For example that role that you held up it was a pretty large wide roll would probably be $40 here a standard size roll like that of blue painters tape you know the wide painters tape say 2 in wide, is on the order of $17

[@ClownWhisper]

I'm not telling you this out of complaining I'm just spreading around useless information lol

[@stevenw4549]

Interesting.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes - I thought so too - cheers mate

[@seanwalley7075]

Haha, "riveting" lol 😁

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol

[@clickbaitnumberone1403]

great again

[@ranksns408]

By the way My name is Raghavendran you call me ragavan

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate