ELECTROMAGNET BUILD INSTRUCTIONS
Review ALL instructions before building
4 SECTIONS
> SAFETY
> PARTS
> BUILD
> TEST
A note about starting and completing a project.
Any project can be completed with these 3 T’s:
- TOOLS (Use the right tool for that particular job)
- TECHNIQUE (Use the best technique for the job)
- TENACITY (Be determined to complete project)
Projects both big and small, will have a difficulty rating for each of the T’s, using a range of 1 to 5 stars. We will cover more on this later.
IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP:
Always wear safety glasses when building your electromagnet and when working on any electric project.
You only have two eyes, always protect them from danger!
IN CASE YOU MISSED THE STEM INFO PAGE:
1. Safety first
Learn to work safely when building your electromagnet and other electrical projects.
2. Parts required
Learn the parts you will need to build and test your electromagnet and where to find them.
3. building It
Learn to build an electromagnet from a UCLA Electrical Engineering graduate & STEM educator.
4. Testing It
Learn how to test your electromagnet and learn why testing your completed projects is a big deal.
1. safety
Always think safety first when working on any project.
Always wear eye protection when building your electromagnet; you never know when an accident may happen. For example, when twisting your magnet wire around the iron core, you don’t want the loose end of it coming around and hitting you in the eye. Ouch!
Be aware, this is not a toy you’re building. It uses a battery, and a battery contains “electrical energy” that can be dangerous.
NOTE: Never connect the magnet wires (or other wire) permanently to the battery terminals. This is dangerous.
Use caution when testing your electromagnet. Use your finger tips to hold the ends of the magnet wire to the battery terminals briefly for testing. When you use a fresh new battery, you will probable feel the heat being generated at your fingertips within a few seconds. Let go of the battery and let the magnet wire ends fall away from the battery terminals to avoid burning your fingers.
This information will be repeated in the ‘Testing It’ section.
Please press play below for a little more information on safety.
2. parts
* You will only need ONE (1) part from each of the four (4) sections below.
2. One WIRE
3. One IRON CORE
4. One TEST PART
Where can you find some of these parts? Think creatively and use your imagination to solve this challenge.
You can ask a parent, guardian, or teacher for the parts you will need to build your electromagnet. Be thankful.
Visit an electronics store and kindly ask, “Any chance you have donation parts for a worthy cause?”. Ask nicely.
Electricians have these parts and would probably like to donate to help with your “electric” educational project.
1. Battery
You will need a battery, as this is the power source (‘ELECTRIC CHARGE’) for the electromagnet.
Any AAA, AA, C or D battery will work. Use a new battery for best results. However, be careful!
CAUTION: WHEN USING A NEW BATTERY, YOUR FINGER TIPS WILL FEEL A LOT OF HEAT WHERE YOU PINCH THE WIRE TO BATTERY TERMINALS.
THEREFORE, BE PREPARED TO ONLY HOLD THE WIRE ENDS TO THE BATTERY TERMINALS BRIEFLY AT FIRST.
These batteries are rated at 1.5 Volts (1.5V) and have a positive (+) and a negative (-) side, or terminal.
To “turn on” your electromagnet, the battery must make contact with the wire, making a “closed circuit”. Details about this follow below in step 4, How To Test.
As a good reminder, here are two important nature phenomena (physics) about ‘ELECTRIC CHARGE’:
Remember, ‘ELECTRIC CHARGE’ moving in a wire creates a ‘MAGNETIC FIELD’ around the wire.
And, it works the other way around, meaning…
A ‘MAGNETIC FIELD’ moving near a wire creates a flow of ‘ELECTRIC CHARGE’ in the wire.
Another name for this flowing ‘ELECTRIC CHARGE’ is called ‘ELECTRICITY’.
2. WIRE (CONDUCTOR)
Both Connecting Wire and Magnet Wire are good choices.
A metal wire is a type of “CONDUCTOR”, and can be made from metals like Copper or Aluminum. See photo of colorful wires.
You will need a length of insulated wire to “conduct” electricity.
Connecting Wire may be made of either one solid wire or of many wires we call stranded. The colorful wires in the picture are stranded.
Magnet Wire is solid, as shown in the picture (size: 24 MAG). It has an insulative reddish varnish that must be removed from the ends, to expose the copper underneath, prior to testing.
Two items to consider: WIRE SIZE and WIRE LENGTH.
The WIRE SIZE should be in the range of 18 to 24 American Wire Gauge (AWG). As the number gets smaller, the wire gets thicker (18 wire is “thicker” than 24 wire).
The WIRE LENGTH should be between 1 to 3 feet long, at minimum; it’s ok to use a little more. Actually, it will make your electromagnet even stronger.
Generally, your electromagnet will be stronger if you use more wrappings and a thicker wire.
In summary, either “connect wire” or “magnet wire” is a type of “conductor wire”, that will work in making an electromagnet.
Here are pictures of different types of wire cutters. Many have specific sized holes for stripping the wire of the insulation. These can strip wire in the range of wire sized 10 up to 22, AWG.
3. Iron Core
The IRON CORE is the metal part you will wrap your conducting wire around to create your electromagnet.
Wrapping your conducting wire around an IRON CORE increases the strength of the electromagnet.
As shown in the pictures, various types of items can be used as your IRON CORE.
Strictly speaking, your IRON CORE needs to be made of a material that can be magnetized.
Materials that can be magnetized, which are also the ones that are strongly attracted to a magnet, are called ferromagnetic.
The specific IRON CORE we use for our in-person build workshops is a “Machine Screw, Round Head Combo, #8-32 x 1-1/2 inch, made by Everbilt.”
A benefit of using a machine screw with magnet wire (24 AWG), is that the wire stays in place and will not slip off the screw, because the wire “sits” in the threads.
For other electric projects, such as the “electric telegraph”, a common 3 inch construction nail is ideal, as they are both cheap and readily available.
In the telegraph project, the wire stays in place because the top of the nail holds it at the top, and the bottom of the nail is inserted into a foam chassis, thus keeping the wire from coming off the nail and unwinding.
You can experiment with various IRON CORES to see if using one or another makes a noticeable difference.
More wire wraps around the ‘IRON CORE’ = a stronger ‘MAGNETIC FIELD’!
4. Test Parts
You will need at minimum a small metal piece to test your electromagnet.
Paperclips may be one of the most readily available test parts.
However, with a little effort, you can find different items that can work in place of a paperclip.
You can use small washers or nuts.
Look around and find small metal parts that can be magnetized.
We call these parts we use for testing, the “Test Parts”.
3. build
Note: Below are build instructions for both the parts we provide students during our in-person workshops and general build instructions that work when using similar parts.
1. Measure out and cut off a length of Connecting Wire.
Length can vary depending on the Wire and Iron Core type.
Remember, you may use either Magnet Wire or Connect Wire to build your electromagnet.
You should try to acquire at least 3 feet of wire to work with, but a foot of wire will also work. You can experiment with length.
If you missed it above, under Electra’s video is information on how to find the parts you need for this project.
When using Magnet Wire (24 AWG), as we do use in our Electromagnet Project Kit, we recommend using 2 feet 8 inches (32 inches) of wire to make your electromagnet.
We pair the wire with a 1.5 inch long screw. After wrapping the screw, about 5 inches of “free” wire remains on each side of the screw.
2. Wrapping the connecting wire around the Iron Core.
In this example, we use Magnet Wire (24 AWG), along with the a “Machine Screw, Round Head Combo, #8-32 x 1-1/2 inch, made by Everbilt, as our Iron Core.”
We Start by leaving 5 inches of the conducting wire “free”; this is the wire length that will NOT be wrapped around the Iron Core. These ends will be used to connect to the battery terminals.
Then, begin to wrap the wire around the iron core from one side to the other. As you wrap the wire around the iron core, keep the wraps next to each. Note: They do not need to be “perfectly wrapped” for your electromagnet to work.
After wrapping, you should also have 5 inches remaining “free” on the other end. See picture below.
A benefit of using a machine screw with magnet wire (24 AWG), is that the wire stays in place and does not slip off the screw, because it “sits” in the threads.
If you use a common 3 inch construction nail, on average, you’ll get about 15 wraps per inch.
When you are finished wrapping your Iron Core with your conductor wire, you are ready to prepare the wire for testing.
3. Prepare Wire Ends to make contact with Battery Terminals.
You will need to remove about 1/2 inch (~0.5 inch) of the insulative material from the ends of the conductor wire to make an electrical connection possible. The two common types of insulative material will vary based on the type of wire; see details below.
Removing the insulative material will allow the battery’s energy, i.e., its “electric charge” or “electricity”, to move through the conductor wire, which will then create the magnetic field, or magnetism. We will cover how to prepare Magnet Wire and Connect Wire.
We begin with Magnet Wire. See picture.
Magnet wire has a reddish colored outer varnish that will need to be removed. This is its insulative/protective coating.
Remove about 1/2 inch (~0.5 inch) from each end of the wire using one of the two methods described below.
1. You can scrape off the insulative coating using a small piece of sandpaper (about 120 grit sandpaper works well).
2. You can use a razor blade, where you will drag the blade across the wire, scrapping off the varnish.
Hold the wire so the end points away from you, and begin to “drag” the razor blade away from you, against the wire. Angle the blade so when you scrape it along the wire, you are “dragging” it across the wire. Do not angle the blade into the wire (this is not dragging), as that will cut into the wire.
Also, a small piece of sandpaper (most grits) will work in removing the red varnish from the magnet wire.
See the video below to learn how to prepare the wire end, by scraping the red insulating varnish off the wire using a razor.
We continue now with Preparing the Connect Wire to make contact with the battery terminals. See video below.
Connect wire has a nylon insulative material that will need to be removed from the ends to expose the copper wire underneath, this exposed area of the wire will make contact with the battery terminals. See video.
Remove one inch (1 in.) of the reddish insulative varnish from each end of the wire using one of the two methods described below.
You can use a wire stripper tool. Or, if you are very careful, you can use a razor blade.
Some wire strippers may have many different hole sizes, for stripping different sized wires. In case you missed it, you can see some wire stripper examples above, in section 2. Parts and 2. wire (conductors).
When using a razor blade, firmly push the blade of the razor in the protective coating and rotate the blade around the wire in a forward direction, as much as possible (almost a full circle) then backward, full circle as possible. Then pull on the cut piece, to expose the metal wire.
Expose the copper (or aluminum) wire, this is the area that needs to make contact with the battery. Do this to both ends of the wire.
4. test
Time to "power up" your electromagnet and test it!
You will need to make a connection between the wire ends and the battery terminals. First, a few words of caution.
Remember safety when using a new battery to power your electromagnet. As you use your fingertips to hold the wire ends to the battery terminals, your fingertips may feel a hot sensation, as electric charge flows from the battery through the wire, back to the battery.
You may want to put a piece of tape on your fingertips to insulate against the heat generated by a new battery.
Be prepared to disconnect the battery and wires to turn off your electromagnet.
This will create an OPEN CIRCUIT and WILL NOT allow electric charge to flow in the wire. See picture below for an Open Circuit.
In contrast, a CLOSED CIRCUIT WILL allow for electric charge to flow in the wire. See picture below for a Closed Circuit.
Begin testing now by making a Closed Circuit.
To make a closed circuit, use your fingertips to hold one wire end to the positive (+) terminal of the battery and the other wire end to the negative (-) side of the battery.
You have now “Completed the Circuit”, proceed immediately to test and check for your invisible force, magnetism.
Touch one end of the Iron Core to a paper clip or other small metal test part.
You should be able to attract the paper clip and lift it into the air.
Congratulations! You have created an invisible force…magnetism.
Try to lift as much as you can with your electromagnet.
You may experiment and check for performance differences by testing with various items: Wire Sizes/Lengths, Iron Cores & Batteries.
GREAT...YOU'RE ALOMST DONE
2 More steps to complete the electromagnet build challenge:
POST IT: send us an email with your build pic and a short bio. click the pOST IT button below to continue.
SHARE IT: After your build pic is verified, you will receive an email with an invite to share it on Discord.
Builder Testimonials
Be one of the first to have your testimonial posted here! Please email us a testimonial today.
Email us for questions
Electromagnet Build Challenge 2024 Copyright 2024