New toy perhaps?

[Wagon173]

Hey guys. So it's not really an engine question, but this is the only forum I really check with any regularity so I'm throwing it out there anyway.

So my mom was going to drop off this treadmill that she doesn't use anymore. Sweet as she may be, she missed that lesson growing up apparently about securing loads before transporting them haha. She gets here this morning and there is a half crazy looking heap of plastic and metal in the back of her boyfriends truck. She said that it flew out of the back going down the windy coastal highway that we have here. Anyway they were going to just take it to the dump now since it was trashed. I'm not a wiz when it comes to electronics, but I knew there was still some pretty neat parts and do-dads in there so I kept it anyway. So far I know it has a decent belt/pully system and a decent strait gear and motor seperate for the elevation. I'm not sure what the incline's rated power is but it's a 110 motor. The main drive motor is a 2.5 hp 0-95 VDC. The thing was built right here in the states about 20 years ago so it's pretty solid. The display panel is out though so I havent been able to see if the motors work yet or not. So has anybody ever built something out of one of these things? If so what? Is there any special tools or parts I may need to order?

 

[chucketn]

You can re-purpose the treadmill motor and controller to power anything run by a motor and make it variable speed. I have a treadmill motor and controller powering my X2 mill and one running a wire wheel arbor.
Chuck

 

[canadianhorsepower]

[QUOTE
The main drive motor is a 2.5 hp 0-95 VDC. The thing was built right here in the states about 20 years ago so it's pretty solid. . So has anybody ever built something out of one of these things? If so what? Is there any special tools or parts I may need to order?[/QUOTE]

I'm using this on my taig lathe on my drill press, and will soon on my
bigger mill.
Nothing on earth can beet that set up.
now be careful those motor spin at 5000 rpm

 

[Wizard69]

Hey guys. So it's not really an engine question, but this is the only forum I really check with any regularity so I'm throwing it out there anyway.

So my mom was going to drop off this treadmill that she doesn't use anymore. Sweet as she may be, she missed that lesson growing up apparently about securing loads before transporting them haha. She gets here this morning and there is a half crazy looking heap of plastic and metal in the back of her boyfriends truck. She said that it flew out of the back going down the windy coastal highway that we have here.

That crash will be your biggest problem as it could have potentially damaged the motor. It could do that by bending a shaft or breaking off one of the internal magnets. A bit of inspection is in order before attempting to use the motor.

Anyway they were going to just take it to the dump now since it was trashed. I'm not a wiz when it comes to electronics, but I knew there was still some pretty neat parts and do-dads in there so I kept it anyway.

Good idea! Even if the motor is toast it is likely some of the electronics may be useful. Again though a careful inspection is in order, if the boards received a significant impact during the crash I wouldn't use them.

So far I know it has a decent belt/pully system and a decent strait gear and motor seperate for the elevation. I'm not sure what the incline's rated power is but it's a 110 motor. The main drive motor is a 2.5 hp 0-95 VDC. The thing was built right here in the states about 20 years ago so it's pretty solid. The display panel is out though so I havent been able to see if the motors work yet or not. So has anybody ever built something out of one of these things? If so what? Is there any special tools or parts I may need to order?

As has already been mentioned the motors are commonly reused by us creative types. Beyond that variable speed on machine tools is extremely useful and frankly something to be preferred if you can have it. Even something as mundane as a disk/belt sander can become more useful with variable speed. Variable speed is so useful these days that I often recommend that people buy old three phase machines and purchase a variable frequency drive. {Do realize in this case you most likely have a DC motor}

Implementation is a little more involved that just plugging in a AC motor. For one do not rely upon the DC drive to shut the motor on and off, always employ a separate switching device to power off both the drive and the motor. For many tools this can be a simple motor rated toggle switch but do watch your switch ratings carefully. The point is to provide a way to disconnect power should the drive or external circuitry fail in some manner. More involved installations could lead to fancy controls including E-Stop circuits and the like, but in most home shops with small equipment this would be over kill.

The other gotcha is where do you put the controller board. A sound electrical cabinet should be used. The good thing here is that even home centers have suitable enclosures that will house most of the control boards used in these treadmills Just make sure cooling will be good enough.

Deciding which of your machines to put the motor on might be the hardest decision to make. These motors do seem to be a really good fit for lathes though. As someone else mentioned watch you maximum RPM which could easily exceed the RPM limit on many chucks much less spindle bearings. I'd determine the motors maximum RPM and then apply a belt reduction that makes the machine safe for the chucks you are likely to use. That is if the motor maxes out RPM you don't over speed the lathe spindle.

 

[Wagon173]

Well after some careful scientific analyzing. Mainly the consumption of Papst and staring at the parts for a couple of hours while listening to Hank Williams. I think that since my mill is gutless and the dc motor that is on it is relatively the same size as the treadmill motor but half the power, I'll try using it for that. The motor will come off the mill and get mounted on a little lift I have up into the attic and I'll mount the treadmill display on it to control it. Finally the elevation motor, since I can run it perfect without the treadmills display, will be mounted on my dog house. Sounds crazy but my wife made me make her a dog house with a folding roof so she could get inside and clean it out. No more rope and pully for her. The next time she gives me grief about building some crazy contraption, I'm going to point at the dog house Thanks for your help guys. I'm sure I'll have more questions to post as the projects progress and mounting/wiring these things safely comes into play.

 

[Mosey]

Well after some careful scientific analyzing. Mainly the consumption of Papst and staring at the parts for a couple of hours while listening to Hank Williams. I think that since my mill is gutless and the dc motor that is on it is relatively the same size as the treadmill motor but half the power, I'll try using it for that. The motor will come off the mill and get mounted on a little lift I have up into the attic and I'll mount the treadmill display on it to control it. Finally the elevation motor, since I can run it perfect without the treadmills display, will be mounted on my dog house. Sounds crazy but my wife made me make her a dog house with a folding roof so she could get inside and clean it out. No more rope and pully for her. The next time she gives me grief about building some crazy contraption, I'm going to point at the dog house Thanks for your help guys. I'm sure I'll have more questions to post as the projects progress and mounting/wiring these things safely comes into play.

Seems to me like an awful lot of Pabst is involved. How does it work in the doghouse?

 

[Wagon173]

I'll post pictures tomorrow hopefully. But basically the elevation gear is just a regular gear on a strait bar with teeth. I don't know the specs for sure but it has a lot of torque. I figure I can mount the engine with the gear to the dog house itself and the strait gear with the roof and when you flip the switch the roof will open up like the hatch on a submarine or something of the sort. Pardon all of the novice machinist jargon lmao. I know what I mean what I say, "Strait Gear."