This is a MOC by James van Coppenhagen

This MOC does rely on some third party components that can be dangerous if handled incorrectly, and we aren’t just taking about the electricity running through the copper wires. The larger magnets shown in this video can do some serious harm. However, I think it is an amazing concept that you can use a few LEGO technic parts in tandem with magnets and copper wire to generate electricity. I’m personally amazed how simple it is (provided that it is done safely), just spinning magnets between two coils of copper wire.

Hopefully nobody reading this will ever need an improvised generator, although with different situations going on around the world, this MOC can teach a vital skill. Paired with a phone, power bank, or Single Board Computer, even a few minutes of cranking may be enough to get an emergency call out or do something important.

Although James has other smaller and somewhat safer generator designs, you may not even need to make one to tinker with generating electricity; You can generate electricity in small amounts in much safer conditions with standard LEGO motors by cranking an axel connected to their output. This can then power other connected motors or LEDs. Although excessively cranking the motor can damage it, a nice steady turn at a reasonable speed can be useful for MOCs. You can build a motor into a BIONICLE creation’s back with a crank attacked, and run the other end of the wire to another motor or LEDs. This way you don’t need to include a battery pack to accommodate a simple motor function or light up eyes, just turn the crank on the motor. The practicality is debatable compared to just turning a gear directly on a play feature, but its a cool novelty at the very least.

You can see more of James van Coppenhagen’s work here on youtube, where he has other mechanical creations, often using LEGO Technic as the underlying structure for electronics.

I should also thank Oracid for his generator/actuator demonstration above. Oracid does some very interesting LEGO Mindstorms mobility platforms and other mechanical concepts.