How to Make a Simple Solenoid Engine? ---

Assalamualaikum and Hyep! What's up, guys? Today I want to share with you my ICT Multimedia Project. I made this project when I was in secondary school and presented using Microsoft Movie Maker. I call it a Simple Solenoid Engine. I choose this topic because I think anyone can be an Engineer and I have lots of paperclips at that time 😅. At first, it is tough to make, but I did it after lots of failures and I realize that it is very easy to make and of course it is fun. Actually, this project was inspired by this video and many more. It's awesome, but no tutorial on how to make it at that time, so I made one. Not so perfect, smallest, and cool like the previous video but I hope it helps. Let's begin.

What is a solenoid engine?

The solenoid is a loop of coil wire that's goes around like a cylinder and produces an electromagnetic field when carrying an electric current. It will act as a temporary magnet (not a permanent magnet). Explained in the image below.

Blue arrow = direction of magnetic field (North to South)"
"Plus to Minus sign = current flow through a conductor

• The electromagnetic field is produced when electricity flows through a conductor
• An engine is a machine with moving parts that converts power into motion (kinetic/mechanical energy)
• Solenoid Engine uses coil wire in place of the cylinder. It will produce a strong electromagnetic field inside the cylinder and pulls the small magnet (act as a piston) into the cylinder.

What do we need to make a simple solenoid engine?

• Tools

  • Glue gun & Hot glue stick
  • Scissor
  • Ruler
  • Needle-Nose Plier
  • Pen/pencil/anything to mark

• Materials

  • Small paper clips (No. 0025)
  • Large paper clips (PC 050)
  • Copper wire
  • Laminating sheet/big straw/hard thin plastic
  • Small round neodymium magnet
  • (6v battery) OR (4x1.5v battery + battery holder)
  • Strong glue
  • Hollow board sheet
  • Sandpaper

How does it work?

Before we make it, let's understand how our solenoid engine works so that we can think of some ideas to make it better (e.g. switch on/off design).

This is how our final product looks like.

Okay, so this is how it works.

1. When the small round magnet (piston) at the bottom, the circuit is closed (switch on), current flows and the solenoid will produce an electromagnetic field inside and outside the cylinder.
2. The small round magnet (piston) will be attracted to the electromagnet (it will go up).
3. When the magnet goes up, the circuit will open (switch off). The solenoid loses its electromagnet because no current flow and the piston will fall down due to the attraction of gravity.
4. The process (1, 2 & 3) will repeat continuously when connected to the power supply (eg. dry cell). The movement of the piston (kinetic energy) will produce rotation (mechanical energy).

What factors affect the (strength of the magnetic field), s?

1. The number of turns (of wire). ↑turns, ↑s
2. Soft iron core placed into the solenoid will increase s
3. The magnitude of the current flows. ↑current, ↑s
4. The diameter of the wire. ↑Diameter, ↑s

So, Let's Make It

I hope you can follow this tutorial and please ignore the "I ❤️ PaperClips" part.. Haha.. Also, don't forget to like this video if it helps.. Thank You.. 😊

References

1. Memory Booster (Physics Book - Form 5, Chapter 3)
2. Fokus U SPM Fizik