Author Topic: How to mount blades to my Ametek (Read 4648 times)

valterra · « **on:** February 06, 2007, 05:34:16 AM »

Calling all DC Motor Genny guys!

Maybe this is the world's stupidest question. How to you actually mount

the blades onto your Ametek motor? AND! What technique did you use to

mount it to a rotating mount, so it can turn into the wind? When

responding, please bear in mind that I don't know how to weld, and have

been previously unsuccessfull cutting wood in a straight line. I can get

help on the woodcutting though!!

My two Ametek Motors - Help please! :-)

40V

The 40V's shaft has a hole in the center. It does not have a "chuck hole"

or anything to mount a pulley disc with on the side of the shaft. It DOES

have a groove. The hardware-store guy and I figured out that the threading

is size 10/24. So I bought a few different length 10/24 screws. I figured

I'd mount the blades onto a disc, and then put that screw into the middle.

It if turned clockwise, it'd tighten itself, meaning it wouldn't just come

apart on me.

Then I thought - MAN, that's a lot of weight on such a little screw. I

don't want to break it off in the hole or - worse yet - strip out the

threads inside the shaft.

So I figured I'd mount the blades onto a trangle-shaped piece of wood. In

the center of the wood, I drilled a hole the same size of the diameter of

the shaft. My thought was that the wood (a little less than 1" thick)

could be securely fastened to the disc. The hole would allow it to slip

over the shaft, and that a little adhesive would help take some weight off

the screw. Boy I hope that made sense.

Is there a better way to do this? I can upload pictures if you want.

V
V has a hole in the center of the shaft with no threading. The shaft

also sticks out the rear end of the motor. This one DOES have a "chuck

hole" or whatever you'd call it.

Thanks in advance for all the help!

luckeydog · « **Reply #1 on:** February 05, 2007, 11:23:08 PM »

you need to use an arbor.

the hollow shaft you have can be a problem when using an arbor though.

the set screws that an arbor uses will cause the shaft to collapse and then the arbor will be off center. and cause a wobble.

with a small set of blades this is not such a big deal. but there will be added vibrations. which is not desirable.

I have a Ametek motor with this threaded hollow shaft and ran into problems with it. the wobble that is. i thought my blades were off balance. and the problem ended up being the hollow shaft.

you could use the threaded shaft but you must make sure that your blades turn in the correct direction so that it dose not unscrew its self.

a website that has a lot of info on this subject is http://www.tlgwindpower.com

here is some photos notice the slits in the shaft.

if yours is like this you must either fill the shaft to make it solid or try using the threads you already have with out the arbor.

luckeydog · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2007, 11:35:05 PM »

OK it did not like the spaces in the photo extension lets try it again.

willib · « **Reply #3 on:** February 05, 2007, 11:58:24 PM »

are those slits to expand the dia of the shaft , when you screw a bolt in there? or what? ive never seen that

luckeydog · « **Reply #4 on:** February 06, 2007, 12:29:36 AM »

The slits do not extend into the threads. I bought this motor off eBay the way you see it. I am not sure why it has the slits.

commanda · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2007, 12:33:04 AM »

The thing you need is called an arbor. Have a look around this site.

http://www.tlgwindpower.com/parts.htm

Amanda

richhagen · « **Reply #6 on:** February 06, 2007, 02:44:22 AM »

I made a mount from a 2 inch by 2 inch by 1.5 inch block of aluminum by drilling it on a drill press, putting a slot across it on a table saw, and tapping it like this:

The disks would have been better if made out of aluminum, and the balancing was a bit more work I suppose, but it works. Rich

valterra · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2007, 06:51:49 AM »

Okay, I had a look at the arbors (and also their motor mounts), and still have questions. One of my motors does have a small hole where I guess the "set screw" could actually go into.

The other one has no such hole. It's that what that hole is for? Otherwise, I'd think you'd just be slipping around on the metal, slowly grinding a ring into the shaft. In fact, my 40V already has a ring/groove in it!

Norm · « **Reply #8 on:** February 06, 2007, 07:53:04 AM »

How about some pics? ...I also have a couple of

ideas that may help.

So waiting for your reply cause it's too cold here

to do anything outside !

( :>) Norm.

Norm · « **Reply #9 on:** February 06, 2007, 08:17:12 AM »

Rich: What size are those blades? I've had an

idea of using something like that on my Ametec

as a coupler...to the blade arbor, which has it's

own bearings.

A cross-section of hard maple from a bowling

pin instead of the aluminum might work ?

( Oh, oh everyone making a mad dash to the

local bowling alley?)

( :>) Norm.

valterra · « **Reply #10 on:** February 06, 2007, 08:44:55 AM »

Here ya go - the one with the hole in the side does not have a threaded spindle. The one without the hole DOES have a thread spindle.

gotwind2 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 06, 2007, 11:59:54 AM »

User name 'Roul' on eBay makes some great stainless steel arbours for Ametek motors.

They are really well machined, just send him a message, they sell for about $14 as I recall, I use one on my Ametek setup.

He is based in the U.S somewhere.

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZroul

Ben

valterra · « **Reply #12 on:** February 06, 2007, 12:41:42 PM »

but would the arbour work with the two shafts pictured in my post above? The 40v has that groove cut in it and no hole on the side.

or do these arbours actually screw on tight enough to "drive" the motor under load? You know, without slipping around and just wearing a groove in the metal.

kurt · « **Reply #13 on:** February 06, 2007, 01:57:15 PM »

watch those picture sizes guys.....

gotwind2 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 06, 2007, 01:58:05 PM »

Certainly would work on the longer shaft.

The arbors internal ID is an 'interference' fit i.e tight on the shaft.

It has 2 grub screws on opposing sides - I have trouble removing the arbor from the motor - the fit is so good

Norm · « **Reply #15 on:** February 06, 2007, 03:25:20 PM »

My thinking is... no motor like this should ever have a

prop hanging on it, makes sense to me to have

something that had a big hunk of steel on it

originally....A blade arbor from a riding

lawnmower deck. There is a really good blade

clutch that you bolt your blades onto. 2 sealed

bearings....grease fittings and a pulley. You put

a pulley on your Ametek and bolt the pulley to

the blade arbor pulley a couple of pieces of

rubber hose for spacers ....that's about it.

You shouldn't have to worry about the prop

coming off that stubby little armature shaft,

if it isn't hooked on to it in the first

place.

There are so many riding mowers in the junkyard,

it seems a shame not to put them to good use.

( :>) Norm.

luckeydog · « **Reply #16 on:** February 06, 2007, 04:09:53 PM »

I have been flying blades on a direct drive with an ametek motor for over 3 years now. with blades from 36 inches up too 6' 2" and i never had any problems with arbors coming loose. just make sure it is a good quality arbor. it should be tight enough around the shaft that when you pull it off it makes a faint pop sound.

make sure the set screws in the arbor dig into the shaft. and you will be fine.

welcome to wind power ... WARNING IT IS ADDICTIVE.

RP · « **Reply #17 on:** February 06, 2007, 04:58:26 PM »

Another option is to go to a farm and tractor supply store and purchase a chain sprocket for a 5/8" shaft. This will give you a nice metal disk to attach your blades to.

Countryboy · « **Reply #18 on:** February 06, 2007, 06:29:33 PM »

The groove on the shaft in the upper picture was machined there. See how square the sides of the groove are? A snap ring was probably installed there for the original application.

If the set screw wore a groove in the shaft, the groove would be rounded, and it would be rough and gaulded.

The dimple in the shaft in the lower picture is for a set screw.

Set screws usually have a sharp point on the end, or else they have a depression in the center, and a thin edge which grips the metal. Look at something that had a set screw in it - the end of the set screw left a mark on the shaft, where the set screw dug in.

If you have a very hard shaft, (harder than the set screw) the set screw can't bite into the shaft. Friction is the only thing holding the arbor onto the shaft. It's not uncommon to spin an arbor on a shaft if friction is the only thing holding it - that is, if you get much torque on it.

With a set screw that digs into the shaft, you have not only friction to hold the arbor in place, but you also have mechanical interference. The shear strength of the dimple on the end of the set screw is a large magnitude more strength than friction forces.

Unless 5 year old kids routinely beat you arm wrestling, you have enough strength to tighten a set screw adequately. Tighten the set screw until the allen wrench starts to flex - that set screw isn't going anywhere.

A drop of Loctite on the set screw doesn't hurt anything.

The easiest solution to getting a set screw to grip a round shaft is to take a grinder and grind a flat spot on the shaft. Run the set screw down onto the flat spot - since the flat is lower than the rest of the shaft diameter, the set screw will have to back out before the arbor will spin on the shaft.

richhagen · « **Reply #19 on:** February 07, 2007, 04:29:14 PM »

Those are 36" blades. I think that for low wind, 48 inch would be better though. As these 36" ones won't start up very early. Rich

valterra · « **Reply #20 on:** February 07, 2007, 07:24:01 PM »

Okay, I've got an arbor on the way from TLG. Thanks for the reference. Now, without welding skills, I've been trying to think of the best way to mount this thing using parts on hand, or easily available.

Here's what I've come up with:

Motor Mill

Here's the theory, so you'll understand what you're looking at. The blades and motor are there for reference. Also the diamond for the tail plate.

Some parts are drawn separated, to make more sense in the drawing.

The brown parts are made of wood.

Directly under the motor is a plank wide enough to mount the motor using

large U-Brackets or a muffler mount or some such nonsense.

That plank is screwed directly into the larger rectangle piece of wood,

which will be a 4x4 (6x6?) Think Mailbox Post.

Using a "doorknob hole" drill bit, I'll bore a hole into the bottom of that 4x4 chunk, and insert a section of pipe (colored black in the drawing).

The entire assembly will fit on top of a smaller-diameter pipe (colored grey) to allow horizontal rotation in the wind. I don't know if I can use a bearing easily here? I figured I'd use a plastic bushing (cap) or pump some grease in there, or both, to allow the big pipe to rotate around on the little pipe.

The tail's horizontal wood will be a large wooden dowel (think of the rod that you hang your clothes on in the closet), to which I'll attach the tail plate.

The tail assembly will be inserted into the 4x4 chunk via a hole, also

bored with a "doorknob hole" drill bit. Of course, there'll be screws a'plenty to hold everything in place.

If all of that makes sense - does it look okay to you? Any (easy) suggestions?

How long should the tail be? and how big should the plate be? Of course,

I know I have to balance it, too.

News:

Author Topic: How to mount blades to my Ametek (Read 4648 times)