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How to run BLDC motor from an old printer

Lesterz

Mar 8, 2018
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Mar 8, 2018
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I have the following 8 wire 24v 1.6A 19w BLDC motor from an old printer that I want to use to run a rock tumbler for my young grandson. I have searched the Web with no success on how to wire it. I would like to run it on 12v so I can use an old charger to supply power. I realise this may mean that it will run slower.
I have tried to connect various wires, but nothing moves. I am very new to the dark arts of electronics but am keen to learn.
Can I in fact run this from a 12v supply?
If so, what wires do I connect to what?
Do I need a controller of some sort to make it work?
Thanks in advance.
Lesterz 20180307_180335[2].jpg 20180307_173255[1].jpg
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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That appears to require 24V.

The other connections may require other voltages (e.g. 5V) or may need to be grounded, or may require a signal (I don't know which).

The motor itself appears to have just 3 wires. Those 8 wires connect to a controller that does all the hard work of driving the motor. Oh there are also 2 wires which are probably a position sensor from the motor too.
 

kellys_eye

Jun 25, 2010
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The motor is 'like' a 3-phase motor, the windings are visible as U,V and W.

See this datasheet for all the dirt on how they work and how they are driven:

http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/appnotes/00857a.pdf

They can be driven 'simply' using discrete electronics or controlled accurately as per all the gumph on the PCB attached to it. The board connections seem reasonably minimal so it should be possible to get it going using external signals without too much complication but you won't get it to work on anything less than the 24V it states.

Check Youtube for simple control - I believe these motors have been readily experimented with and information is all over the place.

To use it 'as is' you can try the manufacturers manual for the printer it came from and determine the signals necessary to drive it - I note that the main IC is missing its heatsink too - that's a no-no as it will overheat the minute you try to drive the motor.

If the main IC has an identification code then looking up the data sheet for it often reveals the circuitry used around it and can show how to interface the board too.

Personally I wouldn't bother - find a simple, cheap, DC motor to do the job - something like an old wind screen wiper motor would be ideal.
 

WHONOES

May 20, 2017
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May 20, 2017
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Best guess is that it is a 2 phase stepper motor. These are fairly straightforward to drive with a bit of associated electronics.
 
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