That really spins my turbines (dynamic terrain)

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Project Entry by grandmarshal

Update: VAWT Pillar and battery pack housing.

June 17, 2021

Tutoring 10

Skill 10

Idea 10

1 Comment

Progress has moved along steadily over the past month or so. After identifying and receiving the correct motor, I moved onto putting the structure together.

For the ‘pillar’ of the VAWT, I was able to use a *horizontal* wind turbine model – https://www.ebay.com/itm/402921959389?hash=item5dd0052fdd:g:fBgAAOSwk2FgxCCa. This ‘pillar’ is pretty much perfect for the project (see pics).

Now, full disclosure, at this point I definitely asked myself ‘Why am I putting myself through all this pain and hard work if I can just order a ready-made horizontal wind turbine?’. Answer – a horizontal wind turbine just doesn’t ~feel~ right in a sci-fi theme. A vertical wind turbine does. If I’m going to do this, it’s gotta be a VAWT. And so, I soldier on. 🙂

Next, onto where the battery pack will be stored in this whole thing. If you go back to my original sketch up, I envisioned a small structure at the base of the VAWT. This is where I’ll be storing the battery pack. I decided on polystyrene, as that’s what I have on hand and know how to work with. I made quite small cuts to make a housing, then magnetized a ‘lid’ of sorts on the top for easy access while still hiding it. I left a gap in this housing to let the wiring out, which neatly runs into the pillar through a small opening at it’s base (see video).

Next, I’ll be figuring out where to place the motor, and to eventually connect that to the blade mount. Onward!