Electronics - Aquaponics - Motor woes

I found out what was wrong with my motor.

I'll start that again.

I've been having trouble with my motor.

I opened it up and found what the problem is.

Too many parts inside just rattling around doing nothing.

I'm trying to explain to them that everyone has to pull their weight, otherwise nothing gets done.

So far they are ignoring me.



It's hard to fix something when you have no idea what it looked like before it was broken. Firstly, the bit of metal on the end of the yellow wire has to fit through a hole that's half the size of the bit of metal. But it did just fall out through that hole.

Clearly someone's being funny.

There are two bent bits or copper that look like they make contact with the shaft, but I cant see how they could without wearing out, But then, they are actually worn, or at least they look worn. but if there are magnets on the outside that don't have power going to them, and a rotating shaft with copper coils that gets it's power through these copper bits, why not just build the thing inside out, with the coils on the outside, stationary bit, and the fixed magnets on the inside. That way you would avoid the need to put power through a rotating shaft.

I must be missing something 



120 Things in 20 years - Electronic and Aquaponic motor woes, and much of the world, are confusing.




4 comments:

  1. See brushless motor. Stationary coils make control more complicated than hook a battery across the terminals.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Jabro.

    I'll study some more.

    Wikipedia tells me the inside out version is good for high power low speed only. I guess that's why they use it for wind generators. I figured the wind stuff I read would mean the motors would be made the same.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your motor here, I am thinking that it's broken. **grin**

    The black things on the copper strips are your brushes. They rub on the blackish part on the motor shaft. I'd guess the wire was attached to the far side of both copper strips.

    The d & b below are the brushes, the O is the motor shaft.

    |
    |
    _|_
    | |
    | |
    | |
    b O d

    Although, I am guessing that the copper bits clip into the plastic housing and poing down(deeper into the motor is down, right?) into the motor. Guessing that by the way the brushes are cupped to match the armature (I think thats what the blackish bit on the motor shaft is called).

    Maybe just put it all in a cardboard box and shake it until it works again?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, OK Mike, I'll give that a go :)

    You've never steered me wrong before.

    I'll heat up my soldering iron and throw that into the box for good measure.

    If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing permanently :)

    And I'll add a cardboard box to my shopping list.

    My electronics shopping list is looking like this....

    More of everything I've toasted, and a schottky diode for reverse battery protection.

    Speaking of you helping me*, I've started a demand feeder version 2.0 thread here .. http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=14584&start=150 any input/derisive laughter/dirty limericks would be welcome.

    This one looks like it might work at least as well as my piece of string around the motor shaft to log feeding events. Maybe even better.




    * :)

    ReplyDelete