exertion

Generators

Page history last edited by Noah Vawter 1 wk ago

Electrical Generators

For Exertion Instruments, the best motors to use as generators are stepper motors, or synchronous motors. DC motors need to turn too fast.

The company with one of the best reputations for making stepper motors is Lin Engineering. Unfortunately, they tend to be expensive, but fortunately, you can get them surplus. My favorite source so far for surplus steppers is Alltronics. So far, I have been concentrating on steppers using the NEMA 17 frame. Alltronics sells them for about $6-9$. This is a terrific value.

In all cases, the best generator motors are the ones with the smallest internal impedance. Especially, if it is below 2 Ohms. Also, low inductance is useful. It is believed that motors with higher torque are also capabile of putting out more power as generators.

String-Bowed

Stick-Bowed

Slider

"Bobble" Pendulum Generator

Joystick-Style Generator

This is a 2-Dimensional Generator Design which is based on an analog joystick, such as this one below. Where the joystick uses two potentiometers, mounted along the X and Y axes to sense position, the Joystick Generator will utilize a generator motor on each axis to produce electrical power for synthesizing music.

Two Dimensional Gantry Style Electrical Generator

The device below is an X-Y table for drawing with magnetic filings. It, like many other gantry robots, utilizes stepper motors for its positioning. Therefore, it can be backdriven to generate electricity for musical instruments. This structure is especially interesting because it allows players to make electricity-generating gestures in multiple dimensions. When cleverly coupled to the synthesizer, this should inspire new types of gestures and timbres.