Magnetic energy conductors

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

I once saw a guy who was able to power a lit Millennium Falcon model by attaching the power to the ship's hull via magnets. The energy flowed through the plastic into the corresponding connectors attached to the interior of the hull.

Could anyone tell me what this sort of thing is called, and where to find something like this that's practical for model lighting? Thanks in advance.

[Ant]

That would be some kind of inductive loop - same way that wireless chargers work on phones or toothbrushes. The magnets probably just held the loop in place on the model.

You basically feed an AC signal into a coil of wire, which generates a moving magnetic field. If you place another coil of wire nearby, the moving magnetic field will cause this loop to produce energy without being electrically connected to the first.

It's not a particularly efficient means of transfer (need to put in much ore than you get out), but it does work over an air gap!


Ant

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

Thanks. That's not really what I had seen, but it's a start.

[Rocketeer]

If I were going to do that, I'd inset little steel plates flush with the hull surface, with wires soldered to the back of them.

[widget]

Like the 2 piece magnetic charge cords for cell phones. A little dongle fits flush in the charge port and the cord attaches magnetically to it. Saves wear and tear on the port.
People say it works, both charging and data transfer.

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

What I want to do is have a model with a rather flat underside be magnetically attached to a base, so that the power will transfer through the plastic without contacting metal points. A switch can turn it on and off, and the model can still be removable from its base. I think user Ultron was telling me about that.

[Ant]

The only way you will do it through plastic is via induction.

[Zubie]

The only way you will do it through plastic is via induction.

Agree in that plastic is inherently non-conductive. You could make the shell of the ship out of steel which is conductive and magnetic. There is a niche of hobbyists who like using cans as their base material. Even then you need a circuit path so the skin can't be the sole circuit conductor. Your car is a classic example. Any electronic device can be powered from a positive power line, but the ground is any metal point in contact with the metal chassis as the battery ground is connected there as well. Also paints will interfere with contact points in non-induction connections.

I could see using a rnagnet to hold a small connector that would otherwise fall out.

[swhite228]

What I want to do is have a model with a rather flat underside be magnetically attached to a base, so that the power will transfer through the plastic without contacting metal points. A switch can turn it on and off, and the model can still be removable from its base. I think user Ultron was telling me about that.

You can do it by giving the model a point of contact that can carry the current into the model.
If you use a straight pin to go through the models plastic you can use it to route the power from outside to inside. For the base run your wires as you would normally except place pads that would touch the pin heads as the model sits on the base, when the model is sitting on the base power flows up the base to the pads, then into the model through the straight pins.

Bonus points for adding a super capacitor to the model so the lights will still operate when you remove the model from the base!

The other thing to remember is that super magnets/ rare earth magnets will conduct electricity so if you place an iron washer with the wires soldered to them behind the magnets, then epoxy the 2 together the magnets would hold the model to the base while allowing you to use magnets in the model to carry the the current to your lights.
DO NOT SOLDER TO RARE EARTH MAGNETS!!!! This is really a bad thing because it causes them to loose their magnetic field.