Thread: Ball Bearing Motor Proposal HELP!

Hello,

So I am wondering how long I can short out a battery until it explodes? I need to know how I can short out a battery for brief periods of time. For the ball bearing motor to work I need to short the battery to heat the ball bearings up. Can the battery attach to something first to prevent battery damage, but if so will it still produce the effect of the electrical shortage? So basically what I am asking is what do I need to protect my battery from self produced electrical shortage?

Yes, what you describe is potentially dangerous. It is definitely not clear how shorting a battery will heat ball bearings. Could you give us a better explanation of why and how you want heat the ball bearings?

Here are some links to explain what I want to build.
I would be most appreciative if someone could explain to me how I would keep the power source, in my case it would be a motorcycle battery, from becoming damaged from the virtual short circuit.

http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/bbmotor.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_bearing_motor
http://www.fdscience.org/uneko/bbmotor.html

I can't see how it works, and I don't recommend using a battery due to the danger involved. The third link describes a battery as a current source, which technically, it's not.

What kind of current do you what to achieve?

the amount of current needed would be around 200 amps possibly even 300. My knowledge of electrical propeties is slim so I am only estimating. I was hopingthis would be a simple project but It has a few complications such as the power source, which needs high current out put but also be of little weight.

To begin with, when you're talking 200 to 300 amps out of a motorcycle battery, you're talking under — probably well under — 5 minutes of use. To limit the current, use a current limiting resistor.

To begin with, when you're talking 200 to 300 amps out of a motorcycle battery, you're talking under — probably well under — 5 minutes of use. To limit the current, use a current limiting resistor.

i only need to use it for a few seconds at a time in the first place. the motor would only be connecred to the battery for short bursts.

Use headlamp bulbs as current limiters. They give a high inrush current till hot, then tend to stabilize the current as other loads vary. If you use small bearings for your trials you'll never need 200A. Headlamp bulbs can give you 6A or more each, so you can use lots in parallel.

so i asked my friend about some equations i found on ball bearing motors and he said the torque generated by this is mininmal. is this true about ball bearing motors and if so how do i increase the torque. my initial plan was to use these motors to propel myself but perhaps not if they do not produce enough torque.

Originally Posted by JorEveUSA

so i asked my friend about some equations i found on ball bearing motors and he said the torque generated by this is mininmal. is this true about ball bearing motors and if so how do i increase the torque. my initial plan was to use these motors to propel myself but perhaps not if they do not produce enough torque.

What I read says that the ball bearing motor needs a push to start rotating which means this type of motor has very little power....