# treadmill motor on press drill



## canadianhorsepower (Mar 28, 2018)

This is one of the best mod ever to replace any ac motor
on press drill, Taig lathe or any mill. Easy cheap and works like a charm. 
enjoy
the description is pretty clear :thumbup::thumbup:


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 28, 2018)

enjoy these new pics


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 28, 2018)

enjoy these pictures


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## el gringo (Mar 28, 2018)

I replaced the original drive on my South Bend 9"fifteen years ago with a treadmill motor and it is still going strong ... nice range and plenty of torque in all speeds. I think I paid $25 US for it at a Salvation Army or Goodwill store.


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## bmac2 (Mar 28, 2018)

Hi Luc great mod. Treadmill motors have great low end torque and almost scary top speeds. 
Just had a quick look on Kijiji and there are 4 older but supposedly working in my area under $20.00 (2 free) if you come and get them. 
I guess setup and delivery are included in the price but when you get sick of hanging clothes on it youre on your own to get it up from the basement Rof}. 
One tip I read about picking one up on the cheap was to take along a good cordless screwdriver/drill and a cordless impact wrench. *knuppel2*


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 29, 2018)

this is a video of the final product 
enjoy

https://www.facebook.com/luc.gyre/v...f_t=video_processed&notif_id=1522318935586995


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 29, 2018)

A few people told me it was wrong to use 
RED as increase 
GREEN as decrease.
My opinion to this is like a traffic light.
GREEN is safe
RED is dangerous 
SO increasing speed could be dangerous to you and the equipment.

as for the PAUSE button
it is a {soft slow and a soft increase to the latest RPM use}

the Panic button will stop the motor power instantly
IE{if your material wants to jam on you the motor is OFF instantly
compare to a pause it will slow down evenly


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## Wizard69 (Mar 29, 2018)

canadianhorsepower said:


> A few people told me it was wrong to use


People will say things that are perfectly true where they are but may be wrong in your location.   The standards for industrial controls vary widely country to country as does enforcement.  There is effort afoot to standardize pushbutton coloring but uptake seems to be slow.  


> RED as increase


Red is pretty much reserved for E-Stops these days.   It use to also be the stop button for motor on/off circuits.   Generally you don't want to use RED for anything other than E-Stops these says.  


> GREEN as decrease.
> 
> My opinion to this is like a traffic light.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately traffic controls are another standard one that is surprisingly well adopted world wide.  


> SO increasing speed could be dangerous to you and the equipment.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Generally you want an E-Stop to kill power, often by a Master Control Relay, so that the machine can be powered down if an electronics failure is the cause of the panic. 

An interesting aside just last night i had a mold machine go down at work.   One stuck switch on the keypad put the controller into an odd state where some things worked and some didn't leaving an extruder running.  Having an E-Stop prevented a huge mess from forming.  This was nothing more than old age but it highlights how even professional done controls can end up not responding to the user.  Thus the need for an E-Stop circuit that is independent of the controller.  

@@@@@@@@@@@@
In any event a great post with excellent pictures.  Id be very interested to hear how this drive does at very low speeds, say 40-60 RPM on the spindle.  Think running large hole saws into steel where you want to keep SFM down 

It is good to see another move into the variable speed camp.  Once you have the ability you never look back.


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 29, 2018)

Hi Ill be more than Happy to post a video with 40 RPM and a hole saw. Thanks for the comment.
video to come


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 30, 2018)

Wizard69 said:


> @@@@@@@@@@@@
> In any event a great post with excellent pictures.  Id be very interested to hear how this drive does at very low speeds, say 40-60 RPM on the spindle.  Think running large hole saws into steel where you want to keep SFM down
> 
> It is good to see another move into the variable speed camp.  Once you have the ability you never look back.



here is the video

https://www.facebook.com/luc.gyre/videos/10211818626396832/


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 30, 2018)

slow RPM in aluminium.
no shattering very steady


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 30, 2018)

[QUOTE
@@@@@@@@@@@@
In any event a great post with excellent pictures.  Id be very interested to hear how this drive does at very low speeds, say 40-60 RPM on the spindle.  Think running large hole saws into steel where you want to keep SFM down 

It is good to see another move into the variable speed camp.  Once you have the ability you never look back.[/QUOTE]

I did one with 1/4 alu perfect
here is another one enjoy
https://www.facebook.com/luc.gyre/videos/10211818626396832/


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## Wizard69 (Mar 30, 2018)

Thanks for the pics/videos!    

I have a drill press that needs rebuilding ( bad spindle run out) and will consider a variable speed solution when the time comes.   Time is the big issue though, to many house maintenance projects in flight at the moment.


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 30, 2018)

Wizard69 said:


> Thanks for the pics/videos!
> I have a drill press that needs rebuilding ( bad spindle run out) and will consider a variable speed solution when the time comes.  t.



you are welcome:thumbup:
I don't know you're electronic background,
need any help................simply drop a line 

Luc


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## abby (Mar 31, 2018)

I did my conversion three or four years ago . My wife had stopped using the treadmill in favour of the Wii  , which , being connected to the TV , is in  more salubrious suroundings than my workshop.
I decided to reclaim my work space by dismantling and scrapping the now redundant gym kit.
The DC motor after a little teasing with a hacksaw fitted on the back of my BCA jig borer like it was meant to be there, 




the guts of the speed control I managed to fit into the case of scrap welding inverter I had been given ,




The speed of the treadmill was operated by a sliding pot which I replaced with a similar value rotary unit to replace the one on the inverter case,




The set-up has been in use daily , sometimes for several hours with no problems , and the amount of power available from such a compact motor is amazing (to me).
The only thing I would change in retrospect is the soft start on the motor , the potentiometer has to be turned to zero before selecting speeds.
Dan.


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## canadianhorsepower (Mar 31, 2018)

abby said:


> .
> The only thing I would change in retrospect is the soft start on the motor , the potentiometer has to be turned to zero before selecting speeds.
> Dan.



you can solve that issue

```
the potentiometer has to be turned to zero before selecting speeds.
```

by simply cut the power to the motor 
{ one on/off switch on the motor only} 
. It will act as a "pause'" but
the soft start will be a little faster then the one I design.

that would be the same set up I'm using on my Taig Lathe.
If you want to go one step further {Idid} use a DPDT switch 
and the will give you CW and CCW rotation pretty neet set up
for tapping


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## Wizard69 (Mar 31, 2018)

canadianhorsepower said:


> you are welcome:thumbup:
> 
> I don't know you're electronic background,
> 
> ...




Actually i work automation at work and do well with the controls.  Figuring out how to do a new drill press spindle is a bit more of a challenge.


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## nautilus29 (Apr 1, 2018)

Thanks for the post!  I've been considering doing this to my taig lathe, but I wasn't sure if the treadmill motor would handle it.

Could you post the specs on that treadmill motor?


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## canadianhorsepower (Apr 1, 2018)

nautilus29 said:


> Could you post the specs on that treadmill motor?



this is the motor plate. 
My Taig already had that mode done to it LOVE it


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## nautilus29 (Apr 1, 2018)

canadianhorsepower said:


> this is the motor plate.
> My Taig already had that mode done to it LOVE it



Did you keep the original pulleys on your taig or make new ones?  I notice the rpm is significantly higher than the motor that comes with the lathe.


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## canadianhorsepower (Apr 1, 2018)

nautilus29 said:


> Did you keep the original pulleys on your taig or make new ones?  I notice the rpm is significantly higher than the motor that comes with the lathe.



Hi
Nope I made two small serpentine belt pulley.
pictures attache.


```
I notice the rpm is significantly higher than the motor that comes with the lathe.
```

this kind of e-relevant cause you control the speed.

as you can see it goes CW and CCW useful for threading


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## canadianhorsepower (Apr 2, 2018)

why a treadmill set up 

most treadmill motor are at least 1.5 hp compare to a 1/3 originally. 

they can reach 5000 rpm almost twice what you need.

All circuit have comparator circuit
EX if you set your RPM to 2500 and you are really loading your set up the comparator will increase your PWM to stay at 2500 all by itself giving you ultimate torque
 and even RPM there for a more regular finish


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## canadianhorsepower (Apr 3, 2018)

Surprisingly no good or bad comment
and the post have been move away


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