Making your 400mm Van De Graaff Kit

Take all of the kit parts and remove any protective plastic and ensure that all the parts have holes free from cut plastic.

Ensure all the pieces are clean and dry.

Leave the rollers and the belt in their bags until you need them.

Take the base and front motor mount

Screw them together using an 10mm M3 nut and bolt. Take the two motor side pieces

and screw them onto the base and motor mount with 4 x M3 nut and bolts.

Take the motor and attach to the motor mounting plate with 2 x M3 6mm bolts

Take the Universal Joint. Make sure there are two grub screws in each end of the joint.

Fit the universal joint on to the motor, Align up the grub screw with the flat on the motor shaft.
Loosely tighten the universal joint into place with the grub screw, roughly half way into the shaft.

Take the two brass combs and a top spacer piece of acrylic.

With each of the combs, place the spacer into the centre of the brass Comb and carefully bend up the ends of the comb by 90 degrees.

Take a column side, a comb retainer and one of the combs.

Slide the comb into the slot in the bottom of the column slide. The majority of the comb should be facing away from the “Extreme Kits” engraving on the Column Side and the comb serrated edge should be pointing upwards.
Secure the comb with a comb retainer and an M3 x 10mm nut and bolt.

Slide the column side into place fitting into the tabs on the motor mount and slots in the base.
Secure with 2 x M3 x 10mm nuts and bolts. The “Extreme Kits” engraving on the Column Side should be the right way around when looking at the column side from the motor end.

At the top of the column bolt on a column spacers with an 10mm x M3 nut and bolt.

Repeat for the other side.

Grab the loose end of the universal joint and pull it straight so it aligns with the gapped hole in the column side. Take the Teflon coated roller, and push the long axel through the gapped hole in the column side into the universal joint. Try not to touch the Teflon surface with your fingers as this will limit the output of your Van de Graaff.

Keep pushing until the bearing has seated into into the gapped hole in the column side.
When the axel and bearing is seated. heck that the universal joint and roller is not rubbing on anything and tighten up the grub screws.

Take the nylon roller and push the long axel into the gapped hole at the top of the column side. Try not to touch the Nylon surface with your fingers as this will limit the output of your Van de Graaff.

The Acrylic should grip on the bearing. Ensure that the roller isn’t catching on to the column side.

Take the rubber belt and hook it over the top nylon roller. Try to handle the belt at little as possible as grease from your fingers will affect the operation of your Van De Graaff.

Carefully stretch it until it passes over the lower roller too. Be carefull not to catch the belt on the lower comb.

Ensure the belt is sitting evenly over both rollers with no folds.

Take the other Column Side with the “Extreme Kits” facing outwards.

and place over the bottom comb, then slide onto place pushing first the bottom roller bearing and then the top bearing into place in the gapped holes.

Secure with 4 x M3 x 10mm nuts and bolts.

Cut a 100mm piece of the black wire and strip 30mm of the insulation and wrap this securely around the bottom comb. If you have a soldering iron you can solder this joint, but be careful not to melt the acrylic.

Secure the bottom comb with a comb clip and an 10mm M3 nut and bolt.

Take the M4 earth socket and dismantle it.

Wrap a 10mm stripped end of the wire above around the tag. (Solder if you like) Push the metal socket into the tag

and push the tag into one of the holes in the column side. Re assemble the socket and secure with the nut.

Using the Comb clips, adjust the height of the bottom comb so that it is near but not touching the belt. Ensure belt can travel without catching the comb and remember that there is a join that is slightly thicker than the rest of the belt.

Place the top comb into place with the serrations pointing towards the belt.
Attach a 100mm long piece of wire securely to the top comb. Secure the comb with two comb clips and 2 x M3 x 10mm nuts and bolts.

Strip 15mm of the insulation from this wire and wrap it a number of times around a M6 bolt, Tighten this with an M3 nut.

Adjust the top comb so it is close to, but not touching the belt. Again remember that there is a join that is thicker that the rest of the belt.

Take the motor speed controller.

And bolt on to the side of the motor holder. Stand off the PCB using the 3 acrylic washers, and secure with 3 x M3 x 10mm nuts and bolts.

Strip 10mm from the end of 90mm of the red and black wires and twist them securely on to the tags on the end of the motor. (solder if you wish)

Take these two wires, pass them through the top hole in the acrylic and terminate onto the top two terminals in the motor speed controller.

Take the remains of the red and black wire (or the wires from your battery box) and connect them into the other two terminals.

It is important that these wires go in this way round. RED is Positive and Black Negative.

Carefully Tip the Van De Graaff on its side and apply the 6 feet to the base.

Place the wire and nut/bolt into the VDG dome. Do not remove the plastic ring on the base of the dome as this will expose the edge of the metal that can be very sharp.

Place the dome over the top roller and comb so it settles onto the cut-outs in the column sides.