James Martinez

Carina Masters
Beau McAndrew
Andre Ng
STEM Engineering 2°
September 12, 2018

Reverse Engineering Project

-Information Document-

Purpose: The purpose of this project was both to help introduce us into the type of resources and
information we will need to provide for our final project, and to understand how systems and
subsystems work in machines.

Hypothesis: The motor of our fan is built using copper coils and electricity, which allows it to
spin.

Disassembly(Pictures, Sketches, and Notes):

Functional Analysis (How parts work together):
List of Components:
● Screws
○ 5mm screw (1)
○ 7mm screws (8)
○ 9mm screws (3)
○ 12mm screw (1)
○ 10mm screws (2)
● Springs
○ 7mm cone springs (4)
○ 10mm spring (1)
● Plastics
○ 138mm plastic handle pieces (2)
○ 33mm plastic battery cap (1)
○ 29mm plastic trigger (1)
○ 22mm plastic tip (1)
○ 93mm motor housing (1)
○ 16.5mm plastic switch (1)
○ 65mm fan vent (1)
○ 24mm fan (1)
● Motor
○ 57.5mm metal rod (1)
○ 20mm magnets (2)
○ 31.5mm motor capsule (1)
○ 5mm commutator contact (1)
○ 3mm armature coil terminal (1)
○ 15mm retaining band, or former (1)
○ 18mm copper coil (1)
○ 23mm plastic cap with brushes (1)
● Various Metals
○ 71mm fan cover (1)
○ 26mm battery connectors (2)
 ● Wires
○ 61mm positive wire (1)
○ 81mm negative wire (1)
○ 45mm negative wire (1)
○ 15mm connector (1)
Electricity flows from the batteries, through the wires, to the motor, which, using
changing magnetic polarity, causes the metal rod within the motor to spin. The fan attached to
the metal rod proceeds to spin; however, the switch blocks the electrical current from completing
its circuit. This prohibits the fan from spinning until the switch is pressed down. In order to
complete the circuit the the electricity flows through the tin plates at the bottom of the battery
housing. The plastic acts as a shell, keeping the electrical components in place, whilst
maintaining the structural stability of the product.

Structural Analysis (How the parts connect):

The screws hold the plastic parts together to form the casing of the toy. The motor of the
toy is powered by a circuit. The cone springs and battery connectors draw energy from four AA
batteries. The springs and connectors alternate touching the positive and negative sides of the
batteries. One end of the red positive wire was soldered onto a spring and the other end was
soldered on to one of the motor leads. The blue 81mm negative wire is soldered to a spring and
one end of the 15mm connector. The second blue wire 61mm is soldered to the other end of the
connector and to the second lead of the motor. The connector is the switch that opens and closes
the circuits. When the circuit is closed power or current flows through powering the motor to
spin the fan. The connector is made from two pieces of metal are not in direct contact.e They In
parallel held together by plastic casing on the tip of one end. When the plastic trigger is pushed it
pushes against the plastic switch which pushes on one3 of the pieces of metal from the connector
onto the other piece of metal completely the circuit.

Material Analysis (materials and properties):

The plastic pieces are made from high-density polyethylene, also known as polyethylene
thermoplastic. High-density polyethylene is used in many toys because it is durable, malleable,
and resistant. It is also nontoxic, which makes it valuable in food packaging as well as in toys
for young children. It is considered to be one of the safest plastics, due to its unreactivity.
The electric motor is made with a rotor coil, armature, commutator, permanent magnets,
brushes, and a former. The rotor coil is made with copper because copper is an extremely good
conductor of electricity. When electricity flows through the coils, it forms an electromagnet.
These coils are wound around the armature, which is made of aluminum. Aluminum is
paramagnetic, meaning that it is slightly magnetic, but does not retain a permanent magnetism.
The commutator is used to reverse the direction of the electric current each time the coil moves
through the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. This is made of copper. The permanent
magnets are most likely made of nickel or iron, as they tend to be cheaper than alloys made from
rare-earth metals. Iron and nickel are some of the most common metals used to create
ferromagnetic materials, which are materials that maintain a permanent magnetic field. The
brushes are made of graphite and copper, as carbon does not wear down as quickly as copper or
steal, as it is highly heat resistant. These brushes help to transfer electrical currents to the
commutator. The former is made of steel, due to steel’s durability, and holds the permanent
magnets in place.
The wiring is made of copper and aluminum, as they are good conductors and are
inexpensive. The wires are soldered onto the leads and springs using copper and tin due to their
low melting point and malleability. The wire insulation is most likely made of polyvinyl
chloride, as it is one of the least expensive and most commonly used thermoplastic for wire
insulation.
The screws are most likely made of an aluminum alloy as it is inexpensive and durable.

Manufacturing Analysis (How product was made):

This product was clearly designed in two parts starting with one of the larger orange
pieces, which contains many different holes/slots for the other pieces and screws to fit into. The
first picture down below is this original piece during the first stages of production with nothing
attached. The second is this same piece with the battery casing, motor and switch slotted into
place.

Before the rest of the main construction could continue, the subsystem that involves the
motor, fan and fan cover must be assembled, starting with the blue piece pictured below. The
motor is then slotted into the piece and the fan is put on the other side. Next, the fan housing is
put over the fan and screwed into place, completing this system.
 The next step of the manufacturing process must have involved attaching the fan system
to the rest of the electronic components (battery, battery housing, and switch). This system was
then slotted into the original orange handle and covered by the other side of the orange handle.
Finally, the two pieces were screwed together to secure the product.

https://www.universetoday.com/85002/permanent-magnet/
https://copperalliance.org.uk/knowledge-base/education/education-resources/electric-motors/
http://eprints.nmlindia.org/2704/1/34-38.PDF
Brain, Marshall. “How Electric Motors Work.” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 1 Apr. 2000,
electronics.howstuffworks.com/motor2.htm.

Images
https://www.jbctools.com/blog/soldering-the-dos-and-donts/
http://www.miniscience.com/kits/CarBoat/index.html