Build yours at home · Build 003
Make something spin
What we're doing
Run a real motor from a battery. Swap its wires to reverse it, add batteries to speed it up, then put a wheel on it.
About 15 minutes.
Goes with these lessons
Get these parts
New to breadboards? See Getting set up- 2×AA and 4×AA battery holders with switches (electronics shop or online)
- The kit's motor and fan blade (Elegoo kit)
- Breadboard (Elegoo kit)
- A plastic bottle cap (household)
- Jumper wires (Elegoo kit), only if the motor has metal tabs instead of wires
Fill each holder with the matching number of AA batteries (household).
Keep it safe
Battery power only, never household power. Use AA packs matched to the parts, not a 9V battery. A grown-up connects and disconnects the pack. Stop immediately if any part warms. Never join the pack's two metal ends: the wires can get hot. Coin cells stay with grown-ups, locked away. CPSC warns a swallowed button or coin cell can burn through a child's throat in about two hours; suspected swallowing needs emergency medical care immediately.
Keep hair and loose clothing away from the spinning fan.
Steps
- 1Reverse the fan
Push the fan blade onto the motor. With the 2×AA holder switched off, push its red wire and the motor's red wire into one row. Push the black wires into another row. If the motor has metal tabs instead of wires, a grown-up twists a jumper wire through each tab first.
- 2
Switch on. Watch which way the fan spins. Switch off.
Not working? Check the holder is switched on and every wire is pushed all the way in.
- 3
Swap the motor's two wires between the rows. Switch on: it spins the other way.
- 4Make the fan faster
Switch off and change to the 4×AA holder, same rows. Switch on: faster.
- 5From fan to wheel
Switch off. A grown-up pokes a hole in the middle of the bottle cap and pushes it onto the motor instead of the fan. Switch on and hold the motor so the cap spins in the air. Then touch the cap lightly to the table: it pulls your hand along.
- 6
Switch off and take the parts out.
Talk while you build
- What changes when we swap the motor's wires?
- What changes when the wheel touches the table?
Spot it at home
- Toy cars that drive forwards and backwards, car windows going up and down, a drill's forward and reverse switch.
How does a toy car go backwards?
- A fan's speed buttons, a blender's speeds, a toy that slows down when its batteries are old.
Why does a toy slow down when its batteries get old?
- A skateboard push, bike wheels, a toy car on carpet, a car wheel spinning in mud.
Why do wheels spin in mud without the car moving?
More for grown-ups · printed parts
Optional equipment
Prints that make the build easier. None are required. Every build works with tape and clips.
Printables
Holds the motor still so the only thing moving is the shaft.
Not printed yet
Thingiverse
A base plus a small fan, made for a beginner workshop.
Careful: We use a soft paper fan with kids rather than hard printed blades.
Not printed yet
Thingiverse
A stretch build: print the armature and base, wind the coil, and make the motor itself.
Not printed yet
Grown-up references
Electronics for Kids · Øyvind Nydal Dahl Includes a project for building a simple motor.