THS Robotics - DC Motor Projects

This page contains a selection of simple DC motor designs that can be easily constructed anywhere there is a bit of space available and with basic supplies. It is intended to teach concepts of electronics and specifically DC motor principles. The only specific electronics suppiles needed are the magnetic wire for the different coils, and the reed switch used for the "reed switch" DC motor..

Simple "spinning coil" DC Motor

Authored by Chris Palmer at fly.hiwaay.net/~palmer/motor.html The project was originally presented on Beakman's World.

By understanding how a motor works you can learn a lot about magnets, electromagnets and electricity in general. In addition, with simple robots, almost any movement will be accomplished through the use of motors, and let's face it, for most high-school students, if it doesn't move, it is uninteresting. This is a simple project that can easily be completed in an hour, provided all of the materials are readily available.

By understanding how a motor works you can learn a lot about magnets, electromagnets and electricity in general. In this article, you will learn what makes electric motors tick.

Inside an Electric Motor

Let's start by looking at the overall plan of a simple two-pole DC electric motor. A simple motor has six parts, as shown in the diagram below:

Armature or rotor
Commutator
Brushes
Axle
Field magnet
DC power supply