Everyone’s a Success in Class! Tips for Making a Clip Motor (A Hands-On Approach Using Corrugated Plastic)

Have you ever heard of a clip motor? It’s a super simple motor made from a dry cell battery, enameled wire, and some paper clips. You’ve probably seen one in a science class experiment or a school project. When you send a current through the coil, it starts to spin—it’s like “scientific magic”! But there’s a catch: while a clip motor looks easy to make, it’s often surprisingly hard to get it to work.

Following the standard instructions, many people end up with a motor that they worked hard on, only to find it doesn’t do a thing. One of the main points where people get stuck is in winding the coil correctly. Why is that? If the coil isn’t a clean circle or if the two ends aren’t perfectly aligned, it won’t interact properly with the magnet, and it just won’t spin. Some people might even give up, thinking, “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.”

But don’t give up yet! This time, I’m going to introduce a special method that solves all those common clip motor problems at once. You can use an everyday material—corrugated plastic—to make a motor that anyone can get to spin easily and reliably! This game-changing method was taught to me by Mr. Eiji Komori. Are you ready to experience the wonders of science with your own hands?

Understanding How a Clip Motor Works!

A clip motor is a practical application of the principle of electromagnetic induction, converting electrical energy into kinetic energy.

• Current and Magnetic Field Generation: When electric current from the dry cell battery flows through the coil made of enameled wire, a magnetic field is generated around the coil.
• Interaction with the Magnet: This newly created magnetic field of the coil and the magnetic field of the nearby permanent magnet exert a force on each other. This force is what makes the coil rotate.
• Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule: The direction of the current, the direction of the magnetic field, and the direction of the resulting force have a specific relationship, known as “Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule.” The force created by the current in the coil and the magnet’s field pushes the coil, causing it to spin.

The Key to Success is Winding the Coil! Why is the Standard Method So Difficult?

Up until now, clip motor coils were often made by wrapping the enameled wire directly around a dry cell battery. However, with this method, more than half of people fail. The truth is, many adults find it quite challenging too. The main reasons are as follows:

• The Ends of the Axle Aren’t Straight: If the two ends extending from the coil aren’t perfectly straight, the motor won’t spin smoothly. Even a slight bend can throw off the balance and prevent it from rotating properly.
• It’s Hard to Make a Uniformly Circular Coil: To create a consistent magnetic field, the coil needs to be a perfect circle. Making a uniform circle by hand is surprisingly difficult.

Our Savior: Corrugated Plastic!

That’s where corrugated plastic comes in! By using corrugated plastic as a guide, you can solve these problems all at once.

Benefits of Using Corrugated Plastic

Using corrugated plastic has numerous advantages:

• Easy to Shape the Coil: With the plastic as a guide, anyone can easily create a perfectly circular coil.
• More Economical: It helps you use the enameled wire more efficiently, saving on material costs.
• Easier to Align the Axle: By using the thickness of the corrugated plastic, it becomes much simpler to ensure the two ends of the axle are perfectly straight.

For this project, we’ll use about 45 cm of enameled wire with a diameter of 0.5 mm. This thickness is ideal for making a sturdy motor.

Okay, let’s get started on the actual build!

We’ll be using about 45 cm of enameled wire with a diameter of 0.5 mm. This thickness is perfect for building a sturdy motor that works reliably.

Let’s start with how to wind the coil!

First, cut the corrugated plastic like this:

Now for the actual building process. I’ve put together a video that explains how to do it.

The length should be 2.5 cm, and the width should be cut so that you can see three holes from the side. First, pass the wire through the middle hole, pulling about 5 cm of the end through.

Okay, now follow the diagram to thread the wire. When you’re done, gently pull on the wire to tighten the shape, and then trim off any extra wire.

Regarding the wire, use sandpaper to completely strip the enamel from one end. On the other end, strip only the top half. Make sure to strip the wire all the way down to the base.

The grey areas in the diagram show the stripped parts. Bend the paper clips like this:

Attach the bent clips to the dry cell battery as shown.

Finally, attach the magnet to the battery, and you’re all set! Place the coil on top like this:

Give it a little push to get it started, and it will begin to spin!

We hope you found this guide helpful! Please give it a try at home.

What Happens If You Strip All the Enamel from the Wire?

Let’s look at what happens when you strip all the enamel from both sides of the wire.

1. When the coil’s angle and the magnetic field are perfectly aligned (at 0°), the current flowing through the coil and the magnetic field from the magnet interact, creating a force. This force makes the coil start to spin counterclockwise. (Note: The corrugated plastic clip motor uses more wraps, but this diagram simplifies it to just one loop for clarity.)
   
   
2. When it rotates to 90°, the force no longer pushes it to rotate. Instead, it acts on both sides of the coil, pushing them outward and not contributing to the rotation.
   
3. When it rotates to 180°, without a commutator, the direction of the force reverses, trying to spin the motor clockwise. This opposite force causes the motor to stall, so it stops spinning.

So, What Happens When You Create a Commutator?

 

This is where the magic happens. We create a simple commutator by only stripping the bottom half of the enamel on one side of the wire (the yellow part in the diagram).

1. At 0°, the current flows through the unstripped bottom part of the wire that is touching the clip.
   
2. Even when it rotates to 90°, the bottom part of the wire is still touching the clip, so current continues to flow.
   
3. When the coil rotates to 180°, the insulated (enameled) part is now on the bottom, so no current can flow. The current is cut off, but the coil’s momentum carries it past this point, continuing its counterclockwise rotation until it reaches 0° again, and the cycle repeats!
   

So, how did you like it? A clip motor is a simple device that uses the power of current and magnets, but getting it to work successfully all comes down to how you wind the coil. By using corrugated plastic, you can easily create a well-formed coil, dramatically increasing your chances of success.

Now you have a better understanding of the science behind it, so why not give it a try and enjoy building something with your own hands!