Embedded Systems in Egypt: July 2013

Friday, July 12, 2013

PC Fan Wind Turbine - How to turn a PC Fan into a small Wind Turbine

This post is not about Embedded Systems. But it is about a DIY project of mine. Old cheap PC Fan to a small Wind Turbine.

I looked at the some old PC Fans I have and thought that they can be used as Small Wind Turbines.

PC Fan from Banggood

The PC Fan is Brush less DC ( BLDC ) Motor. It can be converted to a generator in 5 Minutes.

The concept is simple. You can skip this part and start directly with the conversion.

The BLDC motor used here has a stator winding and a Permanent Magnet Rotor. The motor is supplied by 12V DC. But the magnetic field rotation is generated by electronics ( Electronic Commutator ) . As the name implies , the electronics components convert DC into AC which makes the magnetic filed in the stator rotate.

The electronic commutation is achieved by a small IC.

To get the induced current from the motor used a generator , you must remove this IC .

This is what I 'll show you how.

All what you'll need is this tool

crocodile clip

First remove sticker on the back of the fan.

Then you 'll find a small piece of plastic lock that holds Fan shaft secured , Don't brake it. Remove it with a crocodile clip .

PC Fan from Banggood

You may like some vidoes from my YouTube Channel AeroArduino

You can see 4 poles of winding connected in series and have only 2 terminals. To get the induced current , connect supply wires to those terminals and let the fan rotate.

With a solder iron , gently remove solder under IC pins and then remove the IC.

Remove this IC.

PC Fan from Banggood

You can see that the winding is connected to the board at three points. One common and tow other terminals.

Remove the supply wires form there place to put them in the points where the tow winding wires are connected to the board.

Now , you have the stator ready to generate current. Now install the fan.

PC Fan from Banggood

Assemble the fan in its place and lock it with the piece of plastic I told you about.

Put back the sticker.

Connect LED terminals to the Supply wires. Don't worry about +ve and -ve terminals , the LED will light if you connect it any way , trust me.

Roll the Fan

This video can give you a step by step quick guide