Kinetic Energy Project Plan

Concept: Wind-up Projector

Surya and I are working together for our first project in Energy. We both met and brainstormed a few ideas, most of which involved a hand crank that powered a well-designed light effect.

We particularly had a lot of interest in old analog cameras that had to be cranked in order to capture images. We wanted to do the opposite: how can we send an image with low energy? For now, we want to focus on text with light in order to establish using light for communication. This feels achievable in the next two weeks.

Based on our class’s reading of Stuart McMillen’s wonderful illustrated essay about Buckminster Fuller, Surya and I want to communicate how many energy servants it takes to power our mundane lives. Exerting power and producing light by spinning the crank will instill a better appreciation of the energy we use and how we should re-consider how much we’re generating in excess.

If we have more time, we would love to build further and layer more components into our project. Perhaps we’ll add sound that’s loaded onto a microcontroller? Perhaps we can master designing for the laser cutter so some beautiful images can be broadcasted in any place with blank space. We discussed adding lasers as a fun spectacle and maybe they can find a place in our projector box.

First, we will establish the basics of harnessing kinetic energy.

Component List

Concept Inspiration

Update: New Motor, Now Light!

Originally, I had bought a 12V DC Motor with 10 RPM to serve as the main generator for our hand crank project. Turning the motor manually generates electrical output.

However, 10 RPM means 10 rotations per minute to generate 12 Volts. That’s a lot of power to generate in too few rotations, which means trying to turn the motor by hand proved to be too complex for me to handle.

Luckily, I returned the “too powerful” motor and acquired a 12V DC motor with 50 RPM as well as a handwheel for better grip. Success below!

Note: I had to add a resistor because my motor gave too much power to the LED bulbs.