The Windmill Project

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    Creating centre point
    In order to create a perfect pylon, I needed to create a top plate exactly centred over the base plate.
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    Propeller Blades
    The propeller blades were cut from a 44 gallon drum. Ironically, my choice of the number and size of blades exactly equalled the circumference of the drum.
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    Propeller Disk
    The propeller disk was carefully cut from a steel plate. Each arm was then bent and the blades attached using the gig in the previous slide.
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    Propeller Blades
    Because the hole placements varied slightly, each blade was asociated with an arm of the propeller disk.
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    Power transfer
    The power transfer unit was a challenge. The +ve and -ve lines had to be transferred through the rotating head to the battery box.
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    Battery Box
    The battery box at the base of the pylon was built using a 15 litre pail.
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    Propeller Boss
    The propeller boss was turned out of a solid block of treated pine.
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    Trial Head
    The trial head was made of wood in the exact dimensions of the final (steel) head.
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    Trial Run
    The trial head was mounted to assess the revs under vaying wind conditions, and resulting tourque.
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    Tail Vane
    The trial head was also used to determine the size of tail vane required to ensure the head was always turned into the wind.
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    Head Casing
    The head casing was built out of mild steel using wooden billets to ensure the plates remained perfectly square during welding. This technique was used successfully for all the structural items.
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    Alternator
    The alternator had a built in regulator. It was secured in the head using isolator mountings. The metal casing was not used as "ground" for fear that rain might short circuit the system.
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    Wiring
    The initial wiring was relatively simple. The switch provided power to the field coils, which is required in order to generate power.
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    The tail unit
    The tail unit (as opposed to the tail vane) allows for a tail break and a tail brake. The former allows the tail vane to swing around, effectively "feathering" the prop.
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    The Nacelle
    The nacelle was constructed using wooden ribs.
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Friends decided they wanted a windmill on the front lawn.

They were looking for a traditional farm "water pump" mill.  They didn't need to pump water, so I decided to try to build 1/2 scale device (ie. around 3m high) that generated sufficient electricity using a car alternator to light up the mill.  This has led to a whole heap of issues around regulators, actuators, tail breaks, and RPM govenors ... to say nothing of the design itself. 
The pictures tell the story of the on-going build.