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I need a motor setup so that it will turn ~1lb of material once every 24 hours

davehobby

Dec 23, 2011
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Dec 23, 2011
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So I have a project in mind, I want to make a "sun and moon" rotating arts n crafts type clock thing. A decorated wheel that revolves once every 24 hours. At first I thought I would just get an electric clock movement, but now I'm worried that a movement won't be strong enough to handle the weight of the craft. So then I thought I a low voltage DC motor would work. Now I'm stumped trying to think how you would achieve such a low revolution. All I can think of is either a very low current going into it or some kind of circuit that pulses it to turn an extremely small amount every hour/minute. Is there an easy way for me to accomplish something?

I'm not averse to learning what I need to learn to get this thing done, although my knowledge of electronics is pretty limited at the moment. I'd be really grateful it if someone who knows about this stuff could point my in the right direction either to find a motor that fits my profile or a quick rundown of what I'll need to learn to make one that does.
 

jackorocko

Apr 4, 2010
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Apr 4, 2010
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If you use a large ratio, you can use gears to seemingly slow down a motor spinning at a much faster rate. I am not sure how I would go about doing the electronics, but if you can find a quartz clock schematic you might be on track.

Maybe someone else knows of a quartz clock movement.
 

donkey

Feb 26, 2011
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Feb 26, 2011
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I am thinking gear ratio will be what saves you here. Low voltage motors usually don't have enough torque to move anything substantial, some do however.
The idea is find a motor that you think will work, find its revolutions per day then gear it down so that number becomes 1 revolution.
the uglier alternative is a stepper motor but it will not turn smoothly, it will turn in interval of 15 degrees in movement(or other variant depending how many positions you have in the motor)
 

daddles

Jun 10, 2011
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Jun 10, 2011
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jackorocko is on the right track. There are gazillions of AC-powered synchronous gearmotors. You should be able to find something close to what you want.
 

BobK

Jan 5, 2010
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It the wheel is balanced it should not take any significant torque to rotate it. I think a hefty clock movement would do the trick since they are able to move a hand, which is anything but balanced.

Bob
 
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