Mill Motors

[pbrosnan]

I am interested in a geared motor & coupler (AC or DC) for direct drive, definately not pulleys.
I have the unusual 12mm Shaft/4mm keyway that has been previously mentioned. Watching with interest.

So am I, I prefer to keep it simple as I don't have the time or tools to mess around with pulleys. You earlier pic looked very promising. Just to clarify, the motor package you're suggesting would be a geared AC motor with enough torque for the job plus a suitable straight coupling (like a spider I guess) for around the $300 mark? I my case I'd probably start the mill going and then add the grain slowly until it was grabbing it properly then empty the rest into the hopper and let it go. This is what I do now except the mill is running as fast as the motor I linked to earlier will go.

cheers

Patrick.

 

[WarmBeer]

Hi John,

I run one of these http://secure.oatleyelectronics.com//produ...55423b51a509ac6 from Oatley as they didn't have the geared motors at the time. I run it flat out otherwise it chokes on the grain but once it's going the grain gets sucked in no problem at all. I hooked it up to a 24V power supply I bought on eBay. I've been using it for a couple of years and the crush is very good, no grain flying around the room.
Oh an the mill is driven directly via a very cheap spider coupling.

What about if you were to drive the mill via a bicycle gear (a large diameter, high gear) and use a chain to connect to the Oatley motor? I know you would no longer be direct drive, but would this solve the torque issue? If the diameter of the upper (i.e. bicycle) gear is 4x larger than the driving gear on the motor, would you end up with 4x the torque, and a corresponding 1/4 the speed?

Edit coz brain cant spellink

 

[pbrosnan]

What about if you were to drive the mill via a bicycle gear (a large diameter, high gear) and use a chain to connect to the Oatley motor? I no you would no longer be direct drive, but would this solve the torque issue? If the diameter of the upper (i.e. bicycle) gear is 4x larger than the driving gear on the motor, would you end up with 4x the torque, and a corresponding 1/4 the speed?

Yes I did think about that but I was initially hoping to use an Oatley geared motor so I didn't go down the sprocket route. Besides linking chain and getting it all running smoothly seemed a lot harder than using some sort of direct coupling. There was a thread around showing how AndrewQLD (I think) had used an Oatley geared motor and a spider coupling to motorise his mill. That's where I started from.

 

[motiondynamics]

Yes I did think about that but I was initially hoping to use an Oatley geared motor so I didn't go down the sprocket route. Besides linking chain and getting it all running smoothly seemed a lot harder than using some sort of direct coupling. There was a thread around showing how AndrewQLD (I think) had used an Oatley geared motor and a spider coupling to motorise his mill. That's where I started from.

That motor is actually made to go directly to a larger sprocket

The coupler I'm looking at is a flexible spider type looking something like this :

Except with small holes in the ends for drilling out the mill shaft size. It's a quick connect type, you just but the motor up to the mill (making sure neither the motor or the mill can move apart) and flick the power and away it goes (in theory)

 

[pbrosnan]

That motor is actually made to go directly to a larger sprocket

The coupler I'm looking at is a flexible spider type looking something like this :

Except with small holes in the ends for drilling out the mill shaft size. It's a quick connect type, you just but the motor up to the mill (making sure neither the motor or the mill can move apart) and flick the power and away it goes (in theory)

Yep that's pretty much the setup I have. I did buy a much strong coupler made by Lovelock (I think). My mill and motor are both fixed to the mill stand so I don't really care about quick connect capabilities. What you're showing there looks pretty good.

 

[motiondynamics]

Why not just use the standard 12v DC motor, and offer a small range of cheap, readily available belts and pullie's so we can choose whatever ratio for mill speed we need...

I just may do that. At least it'll be cheap.
Just need to see what the go is with the pulleys and cost.

 

[motiondynamics]

Yep that's pretty much the setup I have. I did buy a much strong coupler made by Lovelock (I think). My mill and motor are both fixed to the mill stand so I don't really care about quick connect capabilities. What you're showing there looks pretty good.

Hi Pbrosnan,

How do you find the setup with rocks in the grain?

 

[QldKev]

Yes I did think about that but I was initially hoping to use an Oatley geared motor so I didn't go down the sprocket route. Besides linking chain and getting it all running smoothly seemed a lot harder than using some sort of direct coupling. There was a thread around showing how AndrewQLD (I think) had used an Oatley geared motor and a spider coupling to motorise his mill. That's where I started from.

Also AndrewQld is running the 250w motor on just 12v and it works 100%. He can even start it with the hopper full. Not sure if this would be ok on the larger mills, but for a monster mill I've used it many times and based my mill setup on his (although at the moment I'm only running a 18v drill)


QldKev

 

[fraser_john]

That motor is actually made to go directly to a larger sprocket

The coupler I'm looking at is a flexible spider type looking something like this :

Except with small holes in the ends for drilling out the mill shaft size. It's a quick connect type, you just but the motor up to the mill (making sure neither the motor or the mill can move apart) and flick the power and away it goes (in theory)

I use a spider coupling on my setup, uses a motor and gearbox out of an old paper shredder.

 

[pbrosnan]

Hi Pbrosnan,

How do you find the setup with rocks in the grain?

I haven't found any rocks in the grain.

 

[pbrosnan]

Oh and coupling was made by Lovejoy http://www.lovejoy-inc.com/

 

[motiondynamics]

Yeh good quality couplings for sure, but the trick is going to be to provide something suitable for everyone at a low low price. That means I have to accommodate different shaft sizes, different speeds, different torque in the one package with one low price. So thats what I'm attempting to do.
If I add $50 for an awesome coupling thats going to blow the budget way out <_<

Anyway, I know exactly how I;m going to do it (just like I knew the last 3 times). Its just a matter now of finding all the parts cheaply enough.

 

[pbrosnan]

Actually I'm not using the Lovejoy as I need to get a key way cut in the mill shaft. The Lovejoy is so much heavy that the cheap aluminium spider I'm using that it develops torque of its own and slips despite having a grub screw tightened down. Just another of my great but unfinished ideas. Anyway look forward to hearing about what you have on offer.

 

[RobW]

I use a spider coupling from Naismiths in Heidelberg Rd, Fairfield (Vic).
It cost around $40 and they will mix and match to fit different shaft sizes.

Here's some pics of the coupler & my geared motor and mill before assembly

 

[motiondynamics]

Actually I'm not using the Lovejoy as I need to get a key way cut in the mill shaft. The Lovejoy is so much heavy that the cheap aluminium spider I'm using that it develops torque of its own and slips despite having a grub screw tightened down. Just another of my great but unfinished ideas. Anyway look forward to hearing about what you have on offer.

Just drill a leader hole in the shaft that the grub screw will sit in.

 

[pbrosnan]

Just drill a leader hole in the shaft that the grub screw will sit in.

Yeah, when I get a powerful enough bench drill, those shafts are bloody hard and as yet the cheap Jaycar coupler hasn't broken although it's looking pretty rough.

 

[fraser_john]

I use a spider coupling from Naismiths in Heidelberg Rd, Fairfield (Vic).
It cost around $40 and they will mix and match to fit different shaft sizes.

Here's some pics of the coupler & my geared motor and mill before assembly

View attachment 38275

View attachment 38277

View attachment 38278

Jeez we get ripped off here in Australia. When in the USA I got mine from mcmaster.com, for less than $10

http://www.mcmaster.com/#spider-couplings/=78gacx

I have tried to get them to ship here in the past and they will not

 

[komodo]

http://www.priceusa.com.au/ and bulk buy?

 

[fraser_john]

http://www.priceusa.com.au/ and bulk buy?

Excellent find Komodo! Opens up for buying boat loads of stuff from McMaster which I found to be the cheapest and best range of stainless stuff whilst living in the USA.

Bookmarked!

 

[Sprungmonkey]

quick question I am looking at getting a monster mill - I want to power with a moter at some point but until then am happy to mill by hand.
As the crank handles only come in 3/8 inch from monster mill is there a problem upgrading a 3/8 inch shaft with a motor later? Or would you suggest buying a monster mill with 1/2 inch shaft now now and adapting a crank handle to fit this until i upgrade to a motor?

Cheers
Sprung.