- 1). Mount the socket on a fixed post and position the gear around the fixed post. The socket can be bonded on a machine screw or bolt, attached to a wooden dowel or friction fit inside a plastic dowel. Simply slip the gear over the mounting post.
- 2
A flashlight mirror is a reasonable choice for a good, light reflector for a rotating beam assembly.flashlight image by Maciej Mamro from Fotolia.com
Mount the truncated reflector vertically, attached to the large diameter gear, pointing towards the axis of the gear. The finished assembly should have the bulb socket at the vertical center of the reflector and the open side of the reflector should be facing the bulb. The reflector can be screwed into an angle bracket, bolted into a bent piece of sheet metal or even screwed into a wooden block. - 3
A small DC motor with an appropriate drive speed will make an attractive rotating beam.motor.jpg image by Aussiebloke from Fotolia.com
Mount the DC motor so that its gear interlocks with the reflector-mounted gear. Some DC motors have built-in tapped holes for mounting or use an appropriate motor mounting bracket. - 4
Even a small flashlight bulb can be visible for long distances at night.light bulb image by Edsweb from Fotolia.com
Insert a bulb in the socket on the mounting post assembled in Step 1. - 5). Connect the wires from the bulb socket and the DC motor to the terminals on the power supply.
- 6). If a more focused beam is needed, mount a lens to the gear, opposite the reflector. If a colored beam is wanted, a gelatin filter can also be mounted opposite the reflector. The mount can be plastic, sheet metal, wood and the lens can be mounted with a retaining ring, mounting clips or adhesive.
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