by guest contributor Dr. West
With the world running out of energy and our atmosphere quickly filling up with smoke, efforts must be made to reduce our consumption. This is one of them. Behold the electricity generating tape measure that can power your watch, and thus save the world.
The concept is simple. Yank the rope, and you get power. Being spring loaded as tape measures are, it will rewind the rope for your lazy ass so life is still easy. How do you make one you ask? Proceed with your eyes and pictures will tell you a story.
Start with one tape measure and one 4 wire stepper motor.
Open the tape measure and remove any 16 foot long strips of annoying sharp metal and replace with soft nylon rope.
Drill holes and gather hardware for fastening and spacing.
The extra washers are to position the motor at the right height.
I had to attach the mounting plate by itself first due to the tight space between it and the motor.
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Now this is the tricky part. Somehow you have to glue the motors gear to the centre of the tape measure spool. Since hot glue doesn’t like metal, I first crazy glued a thin strip of plastic to the gear and then smothered it in hot glue and pressed the two halves together.
Then I think I made this:
The result is a fantastically awesome electric generating station. Simply tape it to your leg and enjoy.
The generator in action: