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Putting the Bowman Magnetic Motor Together

Manufacturing the Base, Vertical Support, and Rotors

See auxiliary tips: Cutting out pieces

See How to find the magnet radius on your rotors

Situating the Rotors Horizontally

Mann says the alignment of the rotors horizontally is important so as to get the right overlap of magnets.  The magnets are not to be "face to face" when they come into horizontal position, but are to be offset by a little less than half the width of the magnet, looking from the front.  There may be some leeway in this aspect.

This illustration is misleading, as there is no horizontal gap.
Magnets actually overlap a little less than 1/2 the width of the magnet.

* * * * *

The overlap shown in the above animation by Eric Vogels is what Mann says is the correct overlap.

Orientation of the Actuator The orientation of the actuator in relation to horizontal should be about 35º (some leeway), and in relation to the main rotor tangent 90º.  In the illustration at the right (see enlarged view) Mann said the preferred position is somewhere between 1B and 2B, but closer to 1B, and at 90º to tangent of the main rotor. Mann thinks the actuator magnet could be bigger than the magnets in the rotor, but he used the same size of magnet.   He says there is quite a bit of lee-way in the placement of the actuator. (I presume this means in the plane of alignment with the main rotor, 90º to tangent of the main rotor.) The south pole is closest to the rotor.  The length of the magnet is parallel to the shaft of the rotor.

Note: Illustration is not of Mann's rotor or magnet.  The actuator magnets are rectangular, not cylindrical; and they run parallel to the shaft

Timing

One of the keys to the motor's operation is a proper timing protocol whereby (1) the magnets are arranged correctly within each rotor front to back (parallel with shaft); and (2) the rotors are aligned correctly in relation to each other, front to back (parallel with the shaft); and (3) the actuator is aligned in relation to the main rotor.  Perfect alignment is not required for function, but near approximation of perfection gives better results than a sloppy approximation.

Because of the way attraction works compared to repulsion (explained above), the attracting rotor will be situated a little further away than the the repelling rotor.  Mann said in his case, the attracting rotor was about 60/1000 away from the main rotor, while the repelling rotor was about 20/1000 away from the main rotor.  Bowman purportedly got his to within 5/1000.

A. Characterizing the Magnets for Uniform Distribution

The first thing Mann does before assembling the rotors is to run a rough gauss test on each magnet and then group them according to their strength.

He concurred with the following protocol. (Other methods can accomplish the same objective.)  A gauss meter could be used instead.

1. Fix one magnet stationary -- the reference magnet.
2. Fix a small inert spacer over the magnet, e.g. 2 mm.  Exact distance is not crucial, except that all magnets be measured with the same distance.
3. Devise a means of fastening a scale (weight) to a magnet to determine the force required to separate it from the reference magnet.
4. Record the reading for each magnet.
5. Order the magnets from strongest to weakest.
6. Group the magnets in two sets of four, and one set of eight, of relatively close magnetism.

Mann purchased 29 magnets and used 16.

B. Zero Out the Main Rotor in Relation to the Actuator

Note: a different magnet is used in the actuator position for the balancing of the rotor.  A more narrow magnet, with poles at the end is preferable.  A rotor magnet could be used.

1. Fix the actuator (substitute) magnet in place as close to the main rotor as possible.
2. One by one, move the magnets until they pass by the actuator without any resistance -- the N/S attraction/repulsion balancing each other out.
3. When done, the rotor should spin freely as though no magnets were present.

Note: Mann says "sometimes you will just need to turn a magnet 1/4 turn before it will match fields."

C. Put Actuator Magnet in Place and Mark Position.

1. Replace the temporary actuator with the actual actuator magnet, and position it very [(e.g. 2 mm) need exact specs] close to the rotor.
2. Orientation: The south pole is closest to the rotor.  The length of the magnet is parallel to the shaft of the rotor.
3. Position the actuator magnet on its x,y horizontal axis so that the rotor turns freely as though no actuator were present.
4. Mark the position of the actuator to within 1/1000 and then remove it.
5. Mark the position of the main rotor to within 1/1000 in case it needs to be taken off and then put back on (not part of calibration, but take-down and set-up).

D. Calibrate Repelling Rotor

Calibrate each of the repel rotor magnets in relation to the main rotor so they yield the same torque reading on the torque wrench.  Calibration is done by moving the repelling rotor magnets forward or backward, parallel to the shaft.

1. Remove the attract rotor, so only the repel and main rotors are in place.
2. Make sure the rotors are set on their gears so that the magnets are are exactly horizontally aligned when they come into juxtaposition on the horizontal plane that bisects the center of the rotors.
3. Position the first repel rotor magnet so it is evenly set on the rotor, with the same amount of overhang on the front and back of the rotor. (not essential, just practical and aesthetic)
4. Move the rotor out of position radially and then measure the torque required to bring that magnet past the point of repulsion.
5. Repeat three or four times to get a best average reading.
6. Using that reading as a standard, now adjust the remaining three magnets so they give the same reading on the torque meter.
7. Move the entire repel rotor along the plane of the shaft so it is as close as you can get it without the magnets actually touching.
8. Check again the torque reading, and record this number so you can repeat it for the attract rotor.
9. Mark the position of the main and repel rotors to within 1/1000ths, so when the repel rotor is removed to calibrate the attract rotor, it can be put back in place to within 1/1000ths of an inch.
10. Remove the repel rotor.

E. Calibrate Attract Rotor

Calibrate each of the attract rotor magnets in relation to the main rotor so they yield the same torque reading as was given for the repel rotor above.

1. Only the repel rotor in in place, with the main rotor.  (Repel rotor is removed.)
2. Make sure the rotors are set on their gears so that the magnets are are exactly horizontally aligned when they come into juxtaposition on the horizontal plane that bisects the center of the rotors.
3. Repeat the steps given for the repel rotor calibration, except set each magnet to equal the standard derived from the repel calibration.
4. You may wish to position magnets so they are nominally centered on the rotor, rather than hanging more to one side or the other. (not essential, just practical for balance and aesthetics).
5. Mark the position of the main rotor and attract rotors to within 1/1000ths, so they can be removed and put back on without having to recalibrate.

F. Put all rotors in place: system should be balanced (zero)

After putting all three rotors in place as calibrated and marked, the rotors should now spin freely as if no magnets were in place.  The only resistance should be that of the gears (or belt) and bearings.  This is the milestone, which if reached, leaves just one step to realize the desired result: self-movement with addition of actuator.

G. Replace Actuator: Viola

Put the actuator into place as calibrated in step C.

The motor should begin spinning.

Where Next

• Instructions > Bill of Materials

Page composed by Sterling D. Allan, Dec. 14, 2003
Last updated November 06, 2004

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