=====FUN PALACE 2018 Steam punk LED=====

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Cogs, a motor and a clever electronic circuit are put together to turn your finger power into light.
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===Activity Details===

**Type** Ticketed (10 per session)

**Duration** 60 minutes

**# Deliveries** 4

===Learning Outcomes===
Participants will construct a manually powered gear-driven generator with a Joule thief circuit. This kit requires no tools, glue or soldering.

===Session Plan===
**3 min** - Show the participants a completed Steam punk LED device , and demonstrate how to use it. Discussion about how the device converts kinetic energy into electrical energy.
**55 min** - Guide the participants in constructing the device. Ensure each LED lights up after attaching the motor to the circuit board and before attaching the Joule thief to the middle plate. 
**2 min** - Allow participants to use their device, troubleshooting if necessary. 

===Facilitator notes===

This device is an energy converter that takes kinetic energy as an input, and produces electrical energy, and subsequently light. 

Using a large gear to drive the small cog attached to the generator increases the rpm to a point where the output voltage is useful. The motor used can act as a generator because it contains permanent magnets set around coils of conductive wire which are attached to the shaft of the motor. When the shaft spins, these coils are moved through a magnetic field and a voltage is induced in the wire, available through the black and red tails on the motor/generator. 

Turning this available energy into something useful is due to the Joule Thief circuit, and in particular the toroid. In simple terms, as energy moves through the wire wrapped around the ferrite toroid, a magnetic field is induced in the toroid, which rapidly collapses as the transistor reaches a threshold voltage and switches on. The collapsing magnetic field induces a spike of higher voltage energy in the secondary toroid wire, which is directed through the LED and causes it to glow if the threshold is reached. As this occurs, the transistor is turned off, and the entire cycle begins again. Because this happens very rapidly (about 200,000 times a second, depending on the specific characteristics of the resistor and transistor), our eyes see a continuous light rather than a flicker.

A useful analogy is to recall how clamping and then releasing a garden hose can cause a trickle of water to gush forth, though only for a moment. The Joule Thief achieves this effect repeatedly, and much faster by using well designed electronic circuitry. For a more detailed explanation (and examples of many variants and applications) - see References below, and find the 'Joule Thief' link in the sidebar.

===Materials Req===

**Each participant should receive 3 packages**

  * 1 x STEAMpunk LED kit
  * 1 x laser cut plywood base pack
  * 1 x screw & nut pack

**These packages will have the following materials**

**Body:**
  * 4 x M3 30mm Philips drive pan head machine screws
  * 1 x M3 12mm Philips drive pan head machine screws
  * 9 x M3 nuts
  * 1 Mabuchi RF 300 EA low rpm DC motor, with 7-10mm bared and tinned tails

**Laser cut from files:** {{ :workshops:2016_deliveries:steampunk_led_body_cutfiles_v2.zip |}}
{{ :workshops:2016_deliveries:steampunk_led_extra_parts_v2.zip |}}
  * 1 each of top, middle and bottom plates (4mm ply)
  * 1 set of 12 spacers (4mm ply) - included in top plate design
  * 1 small wooden gear (6mm ply)
  * 1 large acrylic gear (3mm acrylic)
  * 1 M3 hex nut spanner (4mm ply) - included in middle plate design
  * 2 motor supports (4mm ply) - included in top plate design

**Joule Thief circuit:**
  * 1 red, green or yellow long leg, low power LED
  * 1 NPN transistor (3904 or equivalent)
  * 1 1K resistor
  * 1 toroid (OD: 12mm, ID: 6mm)
  * 17cm Figure 8 (paired) speaker wire (14/0.14 gauge), with 7-10mm bared ends

**laser cut from:** {{ :workshops:2016_deliveries:steampunk_led_circuit_v3.zip |}}
  * 1 printed Joule thief circuit diagram, on 0.6mm polypropylene backing

===Equipment Req===

This activity was designed to require no tools for participants.

for facilitator only:

  * 1 x small needle nose pliers
  * 1 x small side cutters
  * Philips head screwdrivers
  * wire strippers
  * spare parts
  * LED test rig
{{page>workshops:public:steampunk_led#instructions&link}}

===Files===

{{ :workshops:2016_deliveries:steampunk_led:build_a_steampunk_led.docx |}} \\

{{ :workshops:2016_deliveries:steampunk_led:build_a_steampunk_led.pdf |}} \\

{{ :workshops:2016_deliveries:steampunk_led:steampunk_led_facilitator_presentation.zip |}} \\

https://wiki.edgeqld.org.au/doku.php?id=workshops:public:steampunk_led

===Reflections Learnings===

====Gallery====