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motors.. Off the deep end


seriouslylosingit

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I figure if I am going to prepare for next season, I may as well try to build some motorized display components.

I have been looking at patterns for a ferris wheel and merry go round. Any suggestions on what type/brand of motor to use?

I shouldn't have difficulty with the building portion, but animating is a whole "nother" animal...

Thanks as always

Roberta

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But what to do with it once its built...hmmm. It would look awfully silly just sitting still...And where to store it?

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Your 2 most popular motors to use for stuff like this is a BBQ Rotiserrie motor or windshield wiper motors. Rotiserrie motors work well to say make a cutout wave their arm, for other applications Id look into the wiper motors, they are higher torque and you have the option to run 5v or 12v depending on the speed and application your looking for

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The Winfield Collection has a motor kit for either a ferris wheel or carousel.  It's for use with their plans, so don't know how it would work on a different set of plans.  http://www.thewinfieldcollection.com/product/Ferris_Wheel_Motor_Kit/Motorized_Parts_KIts

Expensive

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Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the knowledge that can be found on these forums. I couldn't conduct all of this craziness without you!!

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I have used the Winfield motors few years back and had terrible results with them.  Each one had the internal gears stip out.  Once a prop gets hung up a bit, the motor will fail.  I use wiper motors for most all of my display work and have great success.  I use computer PS for them and run them at various voltages to get the speed desired.  +1 for the Windfield plans though.  Printed on heavy paper and they have great detail.  I built the carousel 2 seasons ago and has been running strong!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed0nvu4U2IY

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Thinking about an 8 foot diameter ferris wheel also. I use ww motors in some halloween props. Are they beefy enough for something that large?

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Monstergut specs:

$24.95

Rated torque: 53 in lb

Stall torque: 177 in-lb

Low Speed: 35rpm 12vdc

Low Speed: 15rpm 5vdc

 

Windfield specs:

$69.99

Rated torque: 40 in lb

Speed: 12rpm 12vdc

 

Seems to me the monsterguts is actually beefier than the windfield.  Also, you can go as low as 3.6 volts on the monsterguts motor to slow it even more.

 

The only drawback is size.  Monsterguts motor looks bigger. 

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Thinking about an 8 foot diameter ferris wheel also. I use ww motors in some halloween props. Are they beefy enough for something that large?

What is your plan? Wood? Pvc?

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PVC

Unless you plan on putting really heavy stuff in the baskets then the wiper motor will be more then enough, they are very strong motors for their size

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Thinkin of adding some props this year also . Whether it's ww motor or the monsterguts, is it just adding a pulley to motor shaft and using belt drive ? Are they common shaft size to find pulley for or is it a different type of drive system?

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Keep in mind that LOR controllers are not designed to handle the load of a motor.   If you want to control a motor with LOR, use a relay.

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Keep in mind that LOR controllers are not designed to handle the load of a motor.   If you want to control a motor with LOR, use a relay.

I use the LOR Dio32 with 8 relay board to control motors, video projector power, etc.

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