Turntable

Thread Starter

widucl

Joined Dec 14, 2013
5
What would be a good motor to use on a turntable similar to a potters wheel but I will use it to turn small logs for chain saw work. What horsepower and what motors can I use a speed control on as I will want to turn the logs very slowly like maybe as low as 60 rpm or slower? Or should I use different pulleys for rpm selection.

Thank you, Duane Clark
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
Given the weight and low speeds required I would go with a high reduction gearbox system and a DC motor.

100 - 250 watt 90 - 180 VDC PM type motor driving a 30:1 or thereabouts worm gear reduction gear box would do just fine.

For speed control I would go with a variac and simple rectifier bridge to supply the motor with a variable DC voltage.

Easy to set up and all components are off the shelf items.
 

THE_RB

Joined Feb 11, 2008
5,438
Treadmill (exercise machine) motors are popular for low speed tasks, they are designed for it and can be bought used on ebay etc.

If you get a whole treadmill you will also get some gears and belts that you might be able to adapt.
 

Thread Starter

widucl

Joined Dec 14, 2013
5
tcmtech, I am not an electrical engineer or even an electrician but I like the info you gave me. Where can these components be purchased? I will take this info to a local motor guy and see if he can set me up with some of the items you mentioned. I have actually built the device with the frame, turntable, driveshaft and pulley. It just needs to be powered.
THE_RB, Wow, there is a ton of that treadmill stuff on ebay. I will be sifting through all the motors and control units.
I already tried to adapt a 1/3 hp motor and a pot to my machine but the motor smoked and was underpowered.
I definitely want a lot more power, how does 1 hp sound?

Thanks, both of you for the info.

Duane Clark
 

Thread Starter

widucl

Joined Dec 14, 2013
5
Would that be a speed control built into the motor itself or in the treadmill outside of the motor?
Ebay has treadmill control units aside from the motor, rather pricey, sometimes as much money as the motor and those boards would be greek to me, They also probably do much than simple speed control like I need.
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
The main board has speed control. Just pull the guts and motors from the treadmill and mount them to the new device. You can select a speed with the up-down arrows on the treadmill user interface. All is done for you if you don't mind carrying around the control panel of the treadmill.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
All the stuff I mentioned can be found online.

What you would be looking for is a C-face 90 or 180 volt DC motor and a C-face 90 degree gearbox.

After that its just a matter of matching your Face numbers 48xx or 56xx or whatever on the motor and gearbox. Matching numbers bolt right on to each other.

If you were to go with a variac transformer driving a rectifier powered from a 120 VAC circuit the motor would be seeing an average of 120 VDC with a bit of ripple. A 180 VDC motor would run a bit slow and a 90 VDC motor would run a bit fast.

If you so your research right you should be able to piece a motor and gearbox set together for fairly cheap. The power supply after that will depend on what voltage and size of motor you have.

With gear reduction a 1/3 hp (~250 watt) motor at 60 RPM will easily produce 30 Ft/lb of torque which if balanced reasonably well on a turntable would be able to spin several hundred pounds of dead weight without difficulty.
 

Metalmann

Joined Dec 8, 2012
703
"What would be a good motor to use on a turntable similar to a potters wheel but I will use it to turn small logs for chain saw work?"


Was wondering what axis these will be turned on.....vertical, (Like a potters wheel); or horizontal, (Like a conventional wood lathe)?

Like their suggestions, sounds like a DC motor/controller, would be best.:confused:

High HP, low RPMs.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
High HP, low RPMs.
Depends on what you are thinking is high HP. ;)

1/3 HP 3 HP 30 HP?

FYI My brother and I put together a multi drum ball mill for making charcoal powder for his fireworks he makes.

All it has is a 1/6 HP 1140 RPM motor coupled to a 90 degree 20:1 worm drive gearbox and it spins up to four ~30 pound drums of lead balls and charcoal at ~ 60 RPM without problems often running near nonstop for days at a time without overheating.
 

Metalmann

Joined Dec 8, 2012
703
"Depends on what you are thinking is high HP.":D



Yeah, and that all depends on the type of wood, the wood condition, the type of teeth on the sawchain, how deep each pass is, how rigid the set-up is, etc......


Damnit, I need pictures!!:eek::cool:
 
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