New Motor for Tire Hammer?

[Wesley Chambers]

Just scored this old hospital treadmill, this is her heart:


Will it be acceptable for a hammer of some sort? I am void of any motor/hp/rpm knowledge of any kind. I was thinking it would be neat to have the ability to turn the power/rpm of a hammer up or down with the control panel from the treadmill though it might not even be necessary.

4000 RPM
3 Hp
Brushless DC motor
Thoughts of any kind? what can/could I do with is wonderful new toy!

[Swamptroll]

It would make a hell of a belt grinder motor

Just scored this old hospital treadmill, this is her heart:


Will it be acceptable for a hammer of some sort? I am void of any motor/hp/rpm knowledge of any kind. I was thinking it would be neat to have the ability to turn the power/rpm of a hammer up or down with the control panel from the treadmill though it might not even be necessary.

4000 RPM
3 Hp
Brushless DC motor
Thoughts of any kind? what can/could I do with is wonderful new toy!

[Wesley Chambers]

And it may yet become one heh, my main questions are what are the pros/cons of it being DC, will 3hp for a hammer be a waste when a 1 or 2 will work, will it hurt anything to tone down the rpm, I know what brushes ? this is all out of my realm, reading up on brushless dc motors on wiki at the moment.

[CurlyGeorge]

Wesley, I had problems with my first motor running the hammer too fast. If memory serves, it was somewhere around 2800 rpm, and 1 hp. I switched to a 1/2hp at 1650 rpm and the hammer stopped rocking and vibrating so bad. I haven't counted the beats per minute, lately, but it pounds plenty fast enough, and hard enough for me and seems to concentrate the power down thru the hammer instead of rocking and rolling. But, like Swamptroll said, it would be a dandy grinder. :D

[dkunkler]

I agree, It would make a good belt grinder. It's TENV (total enclosed non-ventilated), that will keep out the dust and grit. It's designed for treadmill use with a wide range of speed and torque for long periods of time and plenty of horsepower is a plus.

[Mainely,Bob]

With it being a DC motor and controller as you crank the speed down you also crank the HP back so at the lower RPMs you`ll probably find that you are not over powering whatever you put it on.That flywheel on the output shaft will help the power at very low RPMs too.

You may also want to look at either reworking or replacing the controller.The controllers I use to power my DC motors allow me to adjust the speed that the motor ramps up and down and also reverse the rotation and control when or if the electronic brake comes on.All nice things to have and to be able to control individually.
Most controllers will work on any similar motor up to the max rating of the controller so you may have a 5 HP or better rated controller as most companies just use a single high HP limit controller as a base unit and then modify from there.If you find other motors you can wire them all to run off a common controller and connectors.You can just move the controller around as you need it then.I put a large magnet on the back of my controller box so I can stick it wherever I need it on the machine.

If you can discover how to program the buttons on your control you may be able to set each button for a particular type of work or job.Just like setting the stations on the radio in your car.
I`d do a search on the company who made the controller or the entire treadmill.You may get lucky and be able to get all the info you need to set the programs right online.If not then most companies have a toll free number you can call for tech assistance.

Nice find!Good luck with it.
I think once you become friends with it you`ll really like all the things you can do together.

[Wesley Chambers]

Thanks for the info Bob, I just spent the last hour fighting everything off of its frame, had to weigh around 200lb with the other motor,elevator legs & gearboxes, secondary supports and frame work. Not too bad to manage but I almost lost a toe yesterday and didnt want to tempt fate twice, shoes or no!