The Power of Waterwheels

This creation is for a middle/high schooler who wants to design and experiment with waterwheel functions. This tutorial will walk through constructing a waterwheel, and how to use electronics to test it. The construction and implementation of a waterwheel is largely scaled and complex, so this project's purpose is to scale down the process. By reducing the size, the functions can be replicated within a small frame, like on a table.

This project is designed to be created within a $100 budget. Some electronic components and materials can be swapped out to better match the user's learning objective. If you have questions/concerns regarding the components, or the project in general, add a question by clicking the "Ask Question" below.

Tools:

• Coping saw
• Tape measure
• Printer
• Paper

Materials:

• 1/2" Plywood
• 3/4" PVC pipe
• Dowel rod
• Polyurethane coating
• Water
• Glue
• Sandpaper

Electronics:

• Arduino MEGA 2560
• Water pump
• Motor
• Power supply
• Sensor
• LCD
• Wires

(See Materials and Electronics we used in the References section at the end of this page)

Building the frame of the whole project is a great place to start. Take your plywood and if it's larger than 1',6" x 1', cut it into that square. This will be the base of the frame.

To make the templates for the plywood pieces, you will need to print them on six sheets of 8.5x11 paper and then tape them together to form a single 24x36 sheet. You can download the templates from the link above. To print them correctly, make sure you select the “fit to page” option in your printer settings. After printing, align them according to the numbers and letters on the corners. Use clear tape to join the sheets together and make sure there are no gaps or overlaps. You should end up with a large sheet that looks like this.

Before you begin adhering the template to the plywood, you may want to cut them out from the large sheet to make it easier to tile them. Use scissors or a utility knife to cut along the solid lines of each template leaving about ¼” of gap with the cut lines to promote adhesion. Be careful not to cut into the solid lines, as they indicate where the pieces be cut. You should end up with several paper pieces that look like this.

At this point all the templates should be cut out and ready to adhere to the wood material.

Arrange the cutout templates on your stock material in a way that maximizes the use of the available space. You can try different orientations and positions of the templates until you find the most efficient layout.

The next step is to attach the templates to the boards using some kind of adhesive. There are many options for this, such as M3 super 77 spray adhesive, which is a popular choice but very expensive. A cheaper alternative is a regular glue stick from a craft store. This works well as long as you apply the glue evenly and thoroughly, especially along the edges.

After cutting out and gluing the templates onto the board, make sure that almost no stock material is wasted and that the glue is completely dry before moving on to the next step.

To begin processing the parts, you need to use a saw to create curved edges on each template. This will ensure that the templates match the design specifications and have smooth corners. It will also make it easier to maneuver the saw without getting stuck or causing damage.

You can now start to cut out the pieces of the project. A good tip is to cut along the outer lines first and begin from a point that is close to the edge of the material. This way, you can avoid wasting time and material by cutting off the excess parts.

Once you have the exterior of the part cut out, take your saw and remove the blade on one end. Then insert it into the piece and replace the blade .

When complete it should look like the second picture. This configuration will allow you to cut out the interior of the parts. 

Once the parts are cutout. Remove the templates. This will leave a paper residue on some of the parts in the areas that the templates were glued particularly well.

To remedy the fuzzy edges and the leftover paper residue, take a piece of sand paper and go over the part completely. When complete your part should look like this. Now repeat these steps for each part.

The next step is to take the wall cutouts and cut 3 screws along the bottom of each panel. These holes will be used to attach the wall to the base plate.

Simply line the walls up with the precut baseplate and screw each piece together resulting in a strong bond that isn’t watertight yet, shown in the second picture. 

To make the structure watertight simply lay a bead of hot glue in each internal joint. 

Moving on to the waterwheel, Take the dimensions for the pvc pipe and cut them down to the appropriate length and cross section. Now take the wheel and begin filling it. Use the fixture that you cutout from the plans before. It will align and hold the pieces in place while you lay a bead of hot glue.

Once final assembly of each component is complete, the design should look like this. 

Lay out the electronics on a separate board and connect everything according to the wiring schematic.

Use the provided code to read from the electronics, which is written for Arduino IDE.

Make sure to open a new project, define your board, and upload to your microcontroller.

After this, open up the serial monitor to read the data from the electronics.

Now is the fun part. Test your wheel by adding water to the pool, then watch your wheel turn and see the output on your monitor.

Congratulations on your completed Waterwheel Project!

Materials:

“The Online Materials Information Resource,” MatWeb. [Online]. Available: https://www.matweb.com/search/DataSheet.aspx?MatGUID=5445122a168442588e5ab92426c8885d&ckck=1. [Accessed: 04-Mar-2023].

American eastern white pine wood. [Online]. Available: https://www.matweb.com/search/datasheetText.aspx?bassnum=PTSAH. [Accessed: 04-Mar-2023].

“Pine Dimensional Lumber at lowes.com.” [Online]. Available: https://www.lowes.com/pl/Pine--Dimensional-lumber-Framing-lumber-Lumber-composites-Building-supplies/4294402500?refinement=4294815051. [Accessed: 04-Mar-2023].

“Tung Oil,” Menards.com. [Online]. Available: https://www.menards.com/main/paint/interior-paint-stain/wood-conditioners-oils/minwax-reg-interior-tung-oil-wood-finish-1-pt/47500/p-1444440461090-c-13129.htm?tid=5262054516861248715&ipos=7&exp=true. [Accessed: 05-Mar-2023].

Water, H 2 O. [Online]. Available: https://www.matweb.com/search/DataSheet.aspx?MatGUID=64a0e072a9ec430e92ed984c7131b690. [Accessed: 04-Mar-2023].

Electronics:

https://www.elprocus.com/arduino-mega-2560-board/

“DC 3v 5v micro submersible mini water pump for Aquariums Fish Tank Fountain Hydroponics: Shop Now for limited-time deals,” TEMU. [Online]. Available: https://www.temu.com/dc-3v-5v-micro-submersible-mini-water-pump-for-aquariums-fish-tank-fountain-hydroponics [Accessed: 04-Mar-2023].

“DC 3V 5V 6V amphibious water circulation system pump small submersible fountain pond water pump for Aquarium Pool Garden Fish Tank Hydroponics Low Noise,” Amazon.ca: Pet Supplies. [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.ca/Amphibious-Circulation-Submersible-Fountain-Hydroponics/dp/B07T2BK2LF. [Accessed: 04-Mar-2023].

Electricityshock, “What are the advantages and disadvantages of Brushless DC Motor?,” Electricity Shock, 25-Apr-2020. [Online]. Available: https://electricityshock.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-brushless-dc-motor/. [Accessed: 04-Mar-2023].

https://maker.pro/arduino/tutorial/how-to-connect-an-lcd-display-to-your-arduino

https://www.circuitschools.com/measure-ac-current-by-interfacing-acs712-sensor-with-esp32/