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Planer Upgrade Project

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:20 pm
by gpmark
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This is a work in progress - updates are color coded:
Edited 7/27
Edited 7/29
No color - see bottom of post for first installment on the upgrade. This is 70% of the upgrade of the motor setup, with pictures to follow. PLEASE DO NO NOT START ANY UPGRADE ON BASED ON THIS INFORMATION YET. FEEDBACK WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

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Goals:
1. Upgrade the feed motor speed control with better performance at all speeds using PMW, better motor protection, the ability to set high and low speeds, add reverse to better remove jams without changing adjustments, and add electrical protection for the controller.
2. Upgrade the motor to get better reserve power, the ability to easily get replacement parts, and add in thermal protection directly on the motor.
3. Additionally I want to calibrate the speed control so that I know exactly what the feed rate is.
4. Parts and design will accommodate conversion to 220V should I ever have to replace the main motor.

To do this, the modifications will center around
1. Removing the old controller from the control box while retaining the speed control in this box.
2. Adding a 3 way switch for reverse control in the old box.
3. Adding a circuit breaker after the switch.
4. Adding a separate controller box ($30) underneath the feed motor containing a Minarik XL3025 controller (cost - $25 plus shipping), a surge protector, add 2 pole circuit breaker (bypass single pole fuse in Minarik controller - more safety and allows 220v operation), and perhaps a fan for cooling.
5. Upgrading the feed motor to a Bodine 32A3BEPM DC gear motor (cost $100 including shipping). This is an obsolete but easily found motor that is robust and easy to repair. It has an extra power and torque so that it is unlikely to overheat unlike the stock motor. The screw pattern is the same as stock, but it will require a new gear, enlarging the housing opening a bit, and the addition of a new gear.

Quick update:
1) Even though the motor is rated at 1/12 hp it is way more powerful with the Minarik controller than the stock setup at lower speeds. I set the lower speed at where the motor was just turning over and I cannot stall it by hand like I could the stock setup.
2) The original controller was acting a bit flaky so I purchased one from a local outfit (freedom*resources) on Ebay. Nice guy and I got a good deal since it's a buy it now with make an offer. I won't say how much I get it for, but you can get it much less than the $45 advertised.


PART 1 - MOTOR UPGRADE

Comparison of the Bodine and Shopsmith gearmotors
The Bodine motor is a 1/12 hp motor vs. the Shopsmith’s 1/20 hp. They both use the same bolt pattern, but the Bodine’s shaft is longer and thicker. This necessitates changing the spur gear, adding a stiffening/spacer plate, and changing to longer screws to attach the motor. The Bodine motor also has better quality materials and machining, much larger and easier to replace brushes, and heavier wiring. The one negative to the Bodine motor is that it sticks out further than the Shopsmith motor. Note that a newer version of the Bodine motor is available for roughly $330, which is interesting since you get more hp and a better motor than the more expensive Shopsmith motor; replacement parts are also available.



Upgrade Parts
1) Bodine 32A3BEPM-Z2 Gear Motor ($59 used from Ebay). I understand that this motor is now obsolete and there is a replacement for this motor 33A3BEPM-Z2 with permanently lubricated gearbox. There are several motors in this line so make sure you get the right one!) The key parameters from this motor are that it is more robust and better built than the original motor, the hole pattern is the same. However, the shaft is longer and wider than the original. The only negative is that the motor sticks out further than the original. Note that the brushes and bearings were in good shape so they weren’t replaced. See below for pictures and a comparison of the motors, and modifications needed to do the upgrade.
2) TS2022 Spur Gear from Martin. ($19.73 from Motion Industries) This is a steel spur gear that replaces the original spur gear and fits the larger motor shaft and locking design.
3) Cantherm F20A Thermostat ($6.56 from Digikey). This thermostat adds thermal protection to the motor. It opens at 70 degrees Centigrade, and is resettable. Should the controller fail or the ambient temperature is very high the thermostat protects the motor from overheating and potentially burning the windings or cracking the permanent magnet.
4) 3 Pin Circular connector P Series 5 Pin Electric Circular Connector AC 500V ($4.03 from Ebay). This connector is listed both here and on the controller part list since half goes on the motor power cable and half goes on the controller.
5) Mobil SHC 600 Gear Oil ($17.16 from USE-Enco.com). Since the motor was used, it was thoroughly cleaned and the oil replaced. Note the original oil was Chevron 220.
6) Enco Multipurpose Lithium Grease ($6.03 from USE-Enco.com). There is now a mix of aluminum and steel gears – this lubrication helps prevent wear and damage.
7) ?? screws x ??
8) Odds and ends – electrical part cleaner and part solvent since this is a used motor, silicone sealant, sheet of 1/8” aluminum to make the spacer, black paint for the spacer and touch up, heat shrink, and eye connector.

Here are the steps to do the motor upgrade (assuming a used motor):
1) Disassemble the upgrade motor by removing the two long bolts. Check that there is no burning of the windings and that the magnet is not damaged. Also check that the brushes are in good shape and replace them if needed
2) Blow out any residual brush dust. Check that the bearings are good and replace if necessary.
3) Open the oil plugs and clean out the gearbox with solvent. Replace the plugs. Note that you might need to change where the fill plug is located so that it is on top of the motor. Otherwise is will leak. Do not refill until later.
4) Clean the motor cap and the attached brushes with electrical cleaner. In the next steps the thermostat will be installed and it’s much easier with a clean cap. Take the screw to the grounding wire out and move the wire out of the way. Use a socket wrench to remove the plate holding the brushes. Remove the hot lead by screwing out and gently take the eye connector off the hot wire (black wire).
5) Connect the power lead to one lead of the thermostat by solder and cover with heatshrink, and put an eye connector on the other lead of the thermostat; an alternative is to put a bullet connector on the hot lead. The eye connector on the thermostat is then screwed into the brush contact.
6) Now, reassemble the plate into the motor by putting the thermostat under one of the screws that holds the plate in place and putting the other screw in. In my case I replaced the screw with a slotted screw with a narrow head so that it would fit the temperature sensor. The leads should be measured ahead of time so that things fit neatly with the thermostat under the plate screw, the brushes can seat properly, and the stator can turn without hitting anything.
7) Install the motor cap on the body of the motor. Be careful to either retract the brushes as the two go together. The brushes can be removed first and replaced later as an alternative. Line the two up so that the through bolt can go in easily. Then put the gearbox on the other end and put in the through bolts. Note that the orientation of the gearhead must match up with the original feed motor mounting plate and the bolt with the oil hole is on the top.
8) Remove the feed gear cover and remove the bolts holding the original motor in place.
9) Enlarge the hole in the original gear cover to fit the upgrade feed motor; it won’t take much. Cut a spacer out of the 1/8” aluminum sheet and put holes for the screws and motor shaft using the original gear cover as a template. Paint things up to make it look nice.
10) Use 1/8” longer bolts to attach the feed motor to the motor cover with the spacer sandwiched between the two.
11) Install the new spear gear on the feed motor shaft. It will take some fiddling to get the depth on the shaft set so that it is centered on the two outside gears mounted on the rollers.
12) This is a good time, if you haven’t already, to check to see that feed rollers and their brass bearings are in good shape and replace them if needed. I took this opportunity to replace the original roller gear nuts with some quality SS nylocs. Check to make sure that the rollers and attached gears as well as the motor all turn freely with no binding.
13) Put a layer of grease on all gears.
14) Use Silicon to seal around the planer head after making sure that everything is clean and the sealer will work properly. This will make sure that dust and shavings will not come in and foul the gears. The Silicon can easily be removed if needed to work on the planer head. Make sure it’s dry before proceeding.
15) Assemble the gear cover with the feed motor to the planer.
16) Fill the gearbox with new gear oil.

You are now ready to connect the controller, test operation, and calibrate th

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:56 am
by SDSSmith
I am looking forward to following this project. I am curious about reversing the feed motor in light of the anti-kickback feature of the planers. You might create a new jam reversing out of an old jam.

Kickback thoughts

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:05 am
by gpmark
The reversing idea is not a high priority and will be the last item on testbed check. It's a simple value vs. cost/difficulty decision.

My thinking is to put in a 3-way switch with normal op, braking, and reverse functions. Normal is obvious, braking would remove power to both motors and switch in resistor to brake the feed motor, and reverse would set a slow speed reverse to the feed motor via a fixed resistor. What could get tricky is if braking is needed on the main motor. If it is, then I will probably abandon the idea. The only option here would be to feed 12v dc into the main motor until it stops (dc on an induction motor effectively sets it to 0 rpm, but you can't continue feeding dc after the motor stops).

My thinking is that a low speed would not cause the kickback feature to lock up. Again, if it does I will likely abandon the idea. The option here would be to feed 12v into a coil to lift the fingers magnetically.

So what's the advantage? When planing a bunch of boards it seems like there is one outlier that gives a problem. I would much prefer to continue planing and handle problem cases separately.

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:26 pm
by SDSSmith
gpmark wrote:Starting a new thread for my planer upgrade. Good news is that I've started the upgrade!

Goals:
1. Upgrade the feed motor speed control with better performance at all speeds using PMW, better motor protection, the ability to set high and low speeds, add reverse to better remove jams without changing adjustments, and add electrical protection for the controller.
2. Upgrade the motor to get better reserve power, the ability to easily get replacement parts, and add in thermal protection directly on the motor.
3. Additionally I want to calibrate the speed control so that I know exactly what the feed rate is.

To do this, the modifications will center around
1. Removing the old controller from the control box while retaining the speed control in this box.
2. Adding a 3 way switch for reverse control in the old box.
3. Adding a circuit breaker after the switch.
4. Adding a separate controller box ($30) underneath the feed motor containing a Minarik XL3025 controller (cost - $25 plus shipping), a surge protector, and perhaps a fan for cooling.
5. Upgrading the feed motor to a Bodine 32A3BEPM DC gear motor (cost $100 including shipping). This is an obsolete but easily found motor that is robust and easy to repair. It has an extra power and torque so that it is unlikely to overheat unlike the stock motor. The screw pattern is the same as stock, but it will require a new gear, enlarging the housing opening a bit, and the addition of a new gear.

I have all the parts and have started breadboarding the configuration. So far so good with only a few tests left before putting things in the new box and modifying the old box and closing it up.

Pictures to follow as soon as everything is in the box.
WOW, I just checked replacement part prices. The current prices for the Shopsmith feed motor and feed rate speed control are $472.37 and $362.24, respectively, plus shipping! You could buy a new quality lunch box planers for that kind of money and have plenty of money left over for lumber.

It would be great if you can develop a viable and more reliable alternative to the current speed control and feed motor. If successful you might be able to interest SS in your design.

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:19 pm
by JPG
Rob is not alone by being interested in this effort. I would be replacing a hand crank!;) Not sure I would want to 'DC' brake the ss motor though!:eek:

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:17 pm
by damagi
gpmark wrote:Quick update:
1) Even though the motor is rated at 1/12 hp it is way more powerful with the Minarik controller than the stock setup at lower speeds. I set the lower speed at where the motor was just turning over and I cannot stall it by hand like I could the stock setup.
2) The original controller was acting a bit flaky so I purchased one from a local outfit (freedom*resources) on Ebay. Nice guy and I got a good deal since it's a buy it now with make an offer. I won't say how much I get it for, but you can get it much less than the $45 advertised.
Please let me know (PM or email) the contact info for that outfit. I would be happy to buy from them outside of ebay, especially if it will save us both money. I have a planer with a working feed motor, but would be happy to upgrade.

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:44 pm
by gpmark
I asked the guy if he would prefer direct or ebay knowing that both parties could save money. He actually prefers ebay as being less hassle for him and the price would be the same either way.