Motorized Bead Roller - Will this gear reduction motor work?

[YOHO]

Hi all!

Planning to motorize my bead roller that I use on 16 gauge mild steel. Going the AC 3 phase motor route with gear reduction and VFD control. Ideally looking for a used 3 Phase 1/2HP or larger motor with a gear reduction of around 1:100 and then I plan to further slow it down/do speed control with a VFD.

I've been keeping an eye out for a used gear reduction motor. I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for but I did find several of these motors from a bleacher system. They look a bit "light duty", and I'm curious how strong the gear box is. Not sure if the gear reduction ratio size impacts the strength or not but 1:144 is a large reduction.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about these? Any input? Good fit?

Thanks

 

[YOHO]

According to Marathon:

Intermittent Duty – A motor that never reaches equilibrium temperature, but is permitted to cool down (to ambient temperature) between operations. For example, a crane, hoist or machine tool motor is often rated for 15, 30 or 60 minute duty.

 

[YOHO]

I couldn't find any info on the motor itself. I'm curious too if a VFD would be acceptable to control it.

 

[larry_g]

Just some educated guessing. A 1/2hp motor turning 1725 rpm is about .6 ft/lb of torque. To make math easier call it .5 ft/lb.

.5 x 144 reduction and you have ~70 ft/lb of torque available at the output.

So how much torque does your machine require to turn it? It's going to change with the radius of your dies.. How fast you want the process to work is going to dictate the HP required. You add a VFD into the mix your going to loose HP with some VFD's.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[RTM]

Gear reduction is a great way to increase power. We used a ~100x reduction to move a 16' wide, 75' long conveyor of washed beer bottles with some tiny little motor. Went slow as heck, but that's what we needed.

I passed on a few 30x reducer gear motors a few weekends back

 

[YOHO]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not too sure on how much torque I need. Probably shooting for 5-7rpm, so half the rpm output from 12rpm coming out of the gear reduction.

RTM: Sounds cool

 

[YOHO]

Any input on the quality of these motors and gear reducers? Thanks

 

[txvwnut]

After pricing everything out and figuring the fab time to build my own, I bought ready to go bead roller motor setup.

 

[LXCam]

AC wouldn't be my choice. You're going to want absolute low speed control and your best bet for that would be a DC motor with drive control.

You could put this together for a bit less, but this will give you some idea. As for HP, anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 would be more than enough.

Eastwood Bead Roller Drive System

Give your manual bead roller the option of power.

www.eastwood.com

 

[YOHO]

Thanks for the input.

In response, I need at least 1/2 HP motor.

The AC motor will have speed reduction down to 12-17 rpm through a gear reduction and then further with a VFD.

I see this motor is listed as intermittent and class B insulation. Will I have any trouble with a VFD on this set up? I understand it is not ideal.

Thanks

 

[no704]

Check on Surplus Center . Com

 

[Torque&Recoil]

I can't answer your specific question, but I do own a fairly nice Mittler Bros bead roller. The motor on mine isn't physically very large, and it's always been way more than sufficient. Sorry - it's in a remote location right now and I don't know the hp. That said, I'm pretty sure it's fractional hp and not close to 1/2 hp. What is really important (at least for someone with my level of experience - I am not a professional) is the degree of CONTROL. I hope you are considering doing the VFD controller via a foot pedal. For me, it's a big deal. Good luck with your project !

 

[YOHO]

Thanks for the details on the Mitler. Yep foot control is the plan. Thanks!

 

[Aaron_W]

I've seen conversions using variable speed half inch drills as a motor. I don't know what the hp is on those drills but they are high torque and seem to work well.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Seen one with a sewing machine motor and foot control.

 

[The Cobbler]

FItzees Fabrications on You Tube did a conversion using a 12v DC winch motor & a variable speed controller that seems to work well. might look it up.

 

[rsanter]

This is my bead roller. I’m not near it now but I can get the specs off it for you when I’m home

 

[YOHO]

This is my bead roller. I’m not near it now but I can get the specs off it for you when I’m home

Looks great. Finally working on mine!