I sometimes get thoughts on better way on doing things.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: But I want to prove to myself first that it is greater.

I have an idea for a new type of wind generator. I dont know if it will work or not. What's a great way to test this?

I need a material that is strong, light, and windproof. Is carbon fiber the best? Is there anything cheaper?

I sometimes get thoughts on better way on doing things.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: But I want to prove to myself first that it is greater.

I have an idea for a new type of wind generator. I dont know if it will work or not. What's a great way to test this?

I need a material that is strong, light, and windproof. Is carbon fiber the best? Is there anything cheaper?

Are you the jackoff that once phoned me, when I worked for GE Energy and told me the great idea of putting windmills along the highway to generate power from air pushed to the side of the road by cars?

I sometimes get thoughts on better way on doing things.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: But I want to prove to myself first that it is greater.

I have an idea for a new type of wind generator. I dont know if it will work or not. What's a great way to test this?

I need a material that is strong, light, and windproof. Is carbon fiber the best? Is there anything cheaper?

There are no shortcuts, if that's what you're hoping for. First, spend a few years studying mechanics and structural engineering and THEN just build the thing.

Or, you can just go for broke and try building it anyway - just be prepared for lots of very expensive falures if you decide to go that route. It's very difficult to outsmart the professionals at that game. ;) (They have a tremendous head start by already knowing what's available and what's likely to work or fail.)

build tiny models. Test them. Or better yet, pull a Tesla and test the thing in your head. If it works, draw it, prove it mathematically sound and convince someone to fund you.

I get alot of ideas for things...generally I will try to "build" them in my mind, then I make rough sketches of parts I would need. I usually can tell if something is feasible by then, or just a pipe dream.

In your situation the only possibillity might be to get somesort of rich developer interested in your ideas.
That probably means you have to hand over the idea though.
It seems obvious, however, that your chances will be slim of finding such a person.

In your situation the only possibillity might be to get somesort of rich developer interested in your ideas.
That probably means you have to hand over the idea though.
It seems obvious, however, that your chances will be slim of finding such a person.

Yeah, but I really don't want to be giving out ideas for free. (yes paranoid)

I can build it in my head but I really don't know the full effects of this new type of wind catcher. I did make a mini model of a previous model using paper and a small piece of wood and held it lightly by the fan. It didn't do what I thought it would but it would still create energy.

I thought about it some more and now I am improvising on my last idea.

Are you the jackoff that once phoned me, when I worked for GE Energy and told me the great idea of putting windmills along the highway to generate power from air pushed to the side of the road by cars?

That wasn't me, but I have thought about it. lol:D

Not the actual calling part but the idea.

I sometimes get thoughts on better way on doing things.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: But I want to prove to myself first that it is greater.

I have an idea for a new type of wind generator. I dont know if it will work or not. What's a great way to test this?

I need a material that is strong, light, and windproof. Is carbon fiber the best? Is there anything cheaper?

make a 3D model in Catia V5 ehhhemtorrentsearchehhem

than choose which parts are to be made of what...just choose plastic and order this online...stereolithography to be exact.

http://www.redeyerpm.com/OvernightBuild.aspx

They will Print your 3D model by parts using powder which will than be fused together to create your model and than this will be sent to you.
They offer overnight service. or use regular service: http://www.stratasys.com/

Have fun!

make a 3D model in Catia V5 ehhhemtorrentsearchehhem

than choose which parts are to be made of what...just choose plastic and order this online...stereolithography to be exact.

http://www.redeyerpm.com/OvernightBuild.aspx

They will Print your 3D model by parts using powder which will than be fused together to create your model and than this will be sent to you.
They offer overnight service. or use regular service: http://www.stratasys.com/

Have fun!

Awesome.

Now is there a similar site for metal as well?

Awesome.

Now is there a similar site for metal as well?

sure they do it

http://www.quickparts.com/encyclopedia/overview.asp

I hope you have a 2k budget.

Lego.

sure they do it

http://www.quickparts.com/encyclopedia/overview.asp

I hope you have a 2k budget.

Good point.

Plastic is a good choice.

Thanks man.

There are no shortcuts, if that's what you're hoping for. First, spend a few years studying mechanics and structural engineering and THEN just build the thing.

Or, you can just go for broke and try building it anyway - just be prepared for lots of very expensive falures if you decide to go that route. It's very difficult to outsmart the professionals at that game. ;) (They have a tremendous head start by already knowing what's available and what's likely to work or fail.)
Good point.

My ideas are pretty simple ,except a little math is needed, but the thoughts and concepts behind the idea are simple. Someone might have even already tested this technique and is proved it to be ineffective or inefficient against the current Market.

I think it's the "what if?"? that gets me every time.

Just the thought of making some breakthrough in science makes me feel good. As long as I have this thought I will be messing around with the "What ifs?".

But it's also a bad thing because if I don't fulfill at least one "What if?" successfully within my life time. I will feel like I have failed us for not allowing us to take another step.

Are you the jackoff that once phoned me, when I worked for GE Energy and told me the great idea of putting windmills along the highway to generate power from air pushed to the side of the road by cars?

That's a fantastic idea!

lmao

That's a fantastic idea!

next time engaged in a conversation with a FEMALE you should mention this idea you have dark...she may think you are brilliant! lol

Just out of curiosity I checked You-tube and found my original design(My previous idea. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLa_NY5U1nk&mode=related&search=)) already built:( I couldn't get it to work using a peice of paper a stick and tape. The fan would blow too hard and deform the figure. So I thought what the hell why isn't this working? lol And came up with another idea totally different that works by the somewhat the same process.

Another example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qadus22iZGM

Damn. This is going to be tough to beat.

The Darrieus wind turbine is a type of wind turbine used to generate electricity from the energy carried in the wind. The turbine consists of a number of aerofoils vertically mounted on a rotating shaft or framework. This design of wind turbine was patented by Georges Jean Marie Darrieus, a French aeronautical engineer, in 1931.

Unlike the more common type of generator which uses a propeller, the Darrieus generator rotates around the vertical axis rather than the horizontal one, and is thus referred to as a vertical-axis wind turbine or VAWT. Conventional propeller-based systems are known as a horizontal-axis wind turbine, or HAWT, although typically only when referring to VAWTs. The vertical arrangement has several advantages, notably the generator can be placed at the ground for easy servicing, and the main supporting tower can be much lighter as much of the force on the tower is transmitted to the bottom.

The Darrieus type is theoretically just as efficient as the propeller type if wind speed is constant, but in practice this efficiency is rarely realised due to the physical stresses and limitations imposed by a practical design and wind speed variation. There are also major problems to protect Darreus turbine in extreme wind speeds and make is self-starting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrieus_wind_turbine

The Darrieus wind turbine is a type of wind turbine used to generate electricity from the energy carried in the wind. The turbine consists of a number of aerofoils vertically mounted on a rotating shaft or framework. This design of wind turbine was patented by Georges Jean Marie Darrieus, a French aeronautical engineer, in 1931.

Unlike the more common type of generator which uses a propeller, the Darrieus generator rotates around the vertical axis rather than the horizontal one, and is thus referred to as a vertical-axis wind turbine or VAWT. Conventional propeller-based systems are known as a horizontal-axis wind turbine, or HAWT, although typically only when referring to VAWTs. The vertical arrangement has several advantages, notably the generator can be placed at the ground for easy servicing, and the main supporting tower can be much lighter as much of the force on the tower is transmitted to the bottom.

The Darrieus type is theoretically just as efficient as the propeller type if wind speed is constant, but in practice this efficiency is rarely realised due to the physical stresses and limitations imposed by a practical design and wind speed variation. There are also major problems to protect Darreus turbine in extreme wind speeds and make is self-starting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrieus_wind_turbine

Cool thanks for the info.

I have another design. I think it will be better but I haven't tested it or do I have the money to build the wind generator. :shrug:

makezine.com/blog - huge database of things and how to create them, also techniques to make whatever you want. (Carbon Fiber and Fiberglass are both in there) hope that helps future endeavors.

Write some letters to small businesses and start-ups.

Carbon fiber is expensive, but mechanically the best option.

Glass fiber is slightly weaker, but very cost-effective. Which is why many of the large multi-MW generators are made from this stuff. Actually it should be possible to design a turbine blade from 70xx series aluminum, but you might want to check if it's really possible.

Also, as a sidenote, you want to be really careful when designing something out of composites. There are many unexpected properties that can arise from certain laminate configurations.

Agreed, I work with the stuff routinely at my university, glass fabric can go wrong in lots of different ways when you mold it. First of all, if you're using fabric, it's delicate as hell, and you can ruin a good piece by just snagging it with a hang-nail. Then, you need to find a way to mold complex shapes with it while making it as smooth as you need, usually this involves a computer-routed mold made of foam. You'd need to not only have a design for this but some way of having that design made into foam, either by building a CNC cutting device or having someone who has such a device do your dirty work for you and ship you the finished molds. Oh, and the epoxy can be expensive and messy as hell, ugh...

It's messy, but it's kinda fun in the end. We make composite parts for small competition aircraft, and it's pretty cool to build stuff this way, albeit messy and expensive.

yeah I gotta say carbon fiber is the way to go, my lab partners manufactured the shape using carbon fiber and it holds strong and light.

Well, we've got two sayings in our shop...

"Just needs more carbon!"

and...

"The carbon god is a false god!"

So many people get a hard-on for carbon fiber and forget that the stuff is really only good for one use... tension reinforcement. Making a part out of pure carbon fiber ONLY works correctly if you've aligned the fibers correctly. We see planes at competitions made entierly out of carbon fiber and they don't weigh any less than our plane. In fact, ours end up lighter, and we'll build with traditional wood methods, but we use carbon fiber and kevlar in strategic locations that let us cut back on how much wood we need, and thus save tons of weight on our plane designs.

Unfortunately, we've got the purist wood people, the guys who get off on carbon fiber, and the ones who like to mix it on our team, so we get into lots of little spats like this :-P

LOTS AND LOTS of neuron pathways, and a little luck?