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How to Make a Magnetic Actuator

A magnetic actuator is a coil of wire that goes around an iron bar or magnet that is free to move. When current is applied to the wire in the coil, the inner bar is pulled into the coil. A spring, or gravity, holds the bar in one position and application of a current moves it to another position. Magnetic actuators are used by hobbyists and industrial designers to convert an electrical signal into mechanical movement. For example, a remote controlled airplane might have a magnetic actuator to move the ailerons on the wings.

Things You'll Need

  • Enameled wire
  • Iron bar or bar magnet
  • Spring
  • Drill
  • Painter̵7;s tape
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Instructions

    • 1

      Procure the wire. You can almost always find all the enameled wire you need from old coils, electromagnets, relays or transformers. Make sure the wire has no kinks or scrapes.

    • 2

      Find a plastic cylinder to wind the enameled wire onto. An old ballpoint pen is excellent; you can easily cut the pen to the length you need. Make sure you smooth off any rough edges before you wind the wire onto the cylinder.

    • 3

      Tape one end of the wire to the cylinder and make a couple of windings to hold the wire in place. Attach the cylinder to a low speed drill and use it to wind the wire onto the cylinder. Operate the drill with one hand and guide the wire onto the spool with the other hand. Use more tape to hold the end of the wire in place once you have the wire wound onto the cylinder.

    • 4

      Attach a spring to the core of the cylinder to hold it in place when the coil is not activated. The spring can be a compression spring as the activated coil moves the central core to compress the spring. For some applications, you can use the compression spring from the same ballpoint pen that supplied the cylinder.


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