Treadmill to usable shop parts:

[Outlawmws]

I got a treadmill to use as parts. The PO said "The belt squeaks when it's running" so gave it away.

I wanted it for the motors, as this one also has the lift motor, as well as the main treadmill motor, and I'm hoping that can be used, possibly as a lift motor for a DP table.

There are other parts that can be converted to shop use as well and that's after scrapping the steel frame itself.

So here is the 'raw material": A fairly typical Treadmill 12 years old or so.

After taking covers off, the motors;

The lift motor is a basic gear reduction screw drive. I've yet to got inside it to see if the drive nut can be easily replaced, the screw MAY be an industry standard... roughly ¾ X 6 TPI, but seems more rounded than typical Acme thread. It is a straight 12V AC/DC reversible motor.

And the goodies: the treadmill motor itself. This is a good one as it has dual rating 2.5HP @ 130 V AC (or DC); and 1.5 HP @ 90 V. It's also a good motor to use as it had a VERY easy to reuse mount. Some have complex mounting arrangements and are a pain. This one will be easy!

The card nearest it is a MC 60 (Motor Controller) and used Pulse width Modulation (PCM) to control the speed of the motor. The other card is primarily for controlling the lift motor, and may or may not be needed. For the Main motor it isn't. and the lift motor can be controlled with a brute force three position switch, but I want to see what features the control card has before scraping it.

You will note I'm not paying ANY attention to the main control panel. its completely redundant to shop use and even the speed counters are programmed in MPH so useless...


Close-ups’ of the Motor and controllers.

More to come!

 

[Outlawmws]

And after it was all disassembled and I reconnected the basic wiring.

From the power cord module you will see the black wire makes a U turn, and that is to route it through a circuit breaker. From the CB it becomes blue, and tags the lift motor controller, then from there goes through the set of blue wires on the motor. Those are for a Thermal Protection switch so if it does get too hot it will shut off the motor at the MC60 control card.


That could be bypassed and ignored, but them you lose the Thermal protection so I'll leave it in place.

Once the blue line hits the MC60 it runs the thing and ultimately provides the main power to the motor. this is via the now black wire and through a heavy choke, (no that think is not a transformer. I think that drops the voltage a bit to 90 V to make the motor last longer. Hopefully an electron pusher will check in and verify/clarify)

On the MC60 controller note the three smaller Red/Black/White wires coiled up. This originally went to the main control board that I have already scrapped. This will be connected to a 5K ohm potentiometer (Pot) with the white wire to the center post of the pot, and the Red (Hi) and black (low) and will be used to adjust the speed of the motor. If the pot is "backwards" to rotation of the pot vs. perceived speed, just reverse the red and black.


All that is really needed to make it work however, is the motor and MC60 controller, with a pot added. You can bypass the rest and simply wire a plug directly to the MC60, and the motor to the MC60 outputs, and go!

Startup can be a bit tricky, typically the pot has to e in the “fast” position to start the motor. This is hard on whatever the motor is connected to, so adding a normally open momentary switch and then you can start at the last set speed.

BTW an easy way to spin the motor flywheel/fan off is to starting at full speed in reverse! (stand clear of the flywheel however!)


Some other parts also have potential shop use; The board that supports the belt is just under 45” X 28”, and I’m thinking a 44” box top? There was a plastic cover on the bottom as well, and it could be used to cover the top!

The rollers can be reused, as out feed rollers or supports, for cutoff saws. Add in one of those tall Mobile home “jack stands” and a support rod and something to holes the roller ends and you have it!

There was also a gas shock (heavy lift/resistance) with about an 8-9” stroke that could be used for something.

Lastly (not shown) the belt itself could be cut up maybe for drawer liners or the like.

But all in all, the real gold is the main motor and it’s MC60 control card!

 

[signcrafter]

Thanks for posting. There is one sitting in my grandma's basement she has been wanting junked for some time. She has mentioned me setting it on the curb for years ever since my grandpa got sick and passed almost 10 years ago now. It's just sat. I told her someday I will tear it apart, "so I can take it out of the basement easier!" and get rid of it for her. It has the lift motor also. Think it's about 20 years old now but everything still works. Might be time to tear into it and take some pics and throw the good parts in a rubbermaid tub for now.

 

[Danglerb]

I love junk. The way I plan to survive it is to limit myself to X number of containers of junk (thinking 6 to 8 large plastic storage bins) and some shelf space for sheet metal etc.

OTOH many times taking something apart is the fun, and its not too hard to throw the whole kit and caboodle in the trash. Except for all the screws and interesting looking bits.

 

[signcrafter]

I love junk. The way I plan to survive it is to limit myself to X number of containers of junk (thinking 6 to 8 large plastic storage bins) and some shelf space for sheet metal etc.

OTOH many times taking something apart is the fun, and its not too hard to throw the whole kit and caboodle in the trash. Except for all the screws and interesting looking bits.

I'm the same way. Except I don't put any limits! I try to keep things as organized as possible. I don't have a lot of room but I do have lots of stuff cramed in the garage and basement but it's still usable so I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder yet. Couple more years and that might change unless I get a garage addition somehow! The key to junk is keeping things organized and stored neatly so it doesn't take over the garage and so you can find it when needed.

 

[jabberwoki]

Those controler boards for the motor are around $80 so look after it!!

 

[djjsr]

Looks like good components for a variable speed drillpress.

 

[Toolgarage]

Threadmill belt can be used for toolbox liner

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Wouldn't a treadmill make one hell of a stationary belt sander! lol

 

[The Frisco Kid]

Wouldn't a treadmill make one hell of a stationary belt sander! lol

POTD!

 

[srmofo]

I used a board from a tread mill on the bottom of my sheet goods storage rack. It makes sliding a full sheet of 3/4 in easy. You can barely see the black in the bottom.

Ive got another one that is waiting to be put to use as my out feed table for my table saw.

Saved pretty much everything you did, except mine have had cheap crappy lift motors, but they also had an optical sensor with wheel that measured the speed. Not sure how to put that to use yet, but I saved it anyway.
I love treadmills

 

[Outlawmws]

Looks like good components for a variable speed drillpress.

That is in progress on my Rockwell DP (Unless I go with a 4 speed 1 HP motor I have) to get it past the measly 4 speeds it has now. This one may go on a small Atlas H mill I have, and another I have will likely go on my Clausing V mill with a controller that allows me to set a speed, and it will maintain it under load...

 

[Outlawmws]

I love junk. The way I plan to survive it is to limit myself to X number of containers of junk (thinking 6 to 8 large plastic storage bins) and some shelf space for sheet metal etc.

OTOH many times taking something apart is the fun, and its not too hard to throw the whole kit and caboodle in the trash. Except for all the screws and interesting looking bits.

I'm the same way. Except I don't put any limits! I try to keep things as organized as possible. I don't have a lot of room but I do have lots of stuff cramed in the garage and basement but it's still usable so I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder yet. Couple more years and that might change unless I get a garage addition somehow! The key to junk is keeping things organized and stored neatly so it doesn't take over the garage and so you can find it when needed.

You can learn a lot by taking something apart and just seeing how they put it together; you can either learn something new, or something about how not to do something... (I could not believe the **** welds inside this thing where it didn't show...)

I thought i might get a programmable device capable of feeding a readout (tach I was hoping) out of the main user control board but that device is a "One-time Programmable, Read-only Memory" part, so useless...