Lord Geordie Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 Guys I have been given the task of repairing a Christmas decoration! It’s a rotating tree that plays music and the lights flash. It’s rotated by a small 3v or so motor which is geared through a worm drive system. It’s currently turning so fast it almost thrown the decorations off the damn tree! It’s more spin dryer than calming tree! Can I simply for a PWM controller between the power feed and the motor? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltings Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 23 minutes ago, Lord Geordie said: Guys I have been given the task of repairing a Christmas decoration! It’s a rotating tree that plays music and the lights flash. It’s rotated by a small 3v or so motor which is geared through a worm drive system. It’s currently turning so fast it almost thrown the decorations off the damn tree! It’s more spin dryer than calming tree! Can I simply for a PWM controller between the power feed and the motor? thanks try this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3V-35V-12V-24V-PWM-DC-5A-Motor-Speed-Controller-Adjustable-Switch-LED-Fan-Dimmer/312535660228?epid=755474423&hash=item48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigroomboy Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 If it's a simple DC motor then the speed is controlled by the voltage. So give it less volts and it will go slower. Either by providing less voltage or introducing a resistor to cause a voltage drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2019 2 hours ago, bigroomboy said: If it's a simple DC motor then the speed is controlled by the voltage. So give it less volts and it will go slower. Either by providing less voltage or introducing a resistor to cause a voltage drop. Can’t lower the voltage at source as it also powers a PCB which controls LED, and music. I believe the only way is to tap into the motor feed post PCB. I had thought about a resistor but that will also affect torque. Hence the PWM controller idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2019 3 hours ago, Saltings said: try this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3V-35V-12V-24V-PWM-DC-5A-Motor-Speed-Controller-Adjustable-Switch-LED-Fan-Dimmer/312535660228?epid=755474423&hash=item48 Thanks, found one for under £1.12 so took a punt on that. Never heard anything like this motor. I greased the gears in the small gearbox but the racket it makes is so loud it drowns out the music. The motor is far too fast for the intended purpose. I have a few other slow geared motors, but they will not retrofit due to their layout. The only option is to slow the existing motor down. Should be interesting playing with the speed controller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted December 4, 2019 Report Share Posted December 4, 2019 12 hours ago, Lord Geordie said: Thanks, found one for under £1.12 so took a punt on that. Never heard anything like this motor. I greased the gears in the small gearbox but the racket it makes is so loud it drowns out the music. The motor is far too fast for the intended purpose. I have a few other slow geared motors, but they will not retrofit due to their layout. The only option is to slow the existing motor down. Should be interesting playing with the speed controller. The PWM controllers normally work well - I've used several different types in my case annealing machines. However with your little 3v motor you may find that there's not really enough load to modulate properly. If minimum speed is still too fast you might try putting something like a car stop light in series with the motor to give it something to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2019 Cheers! Will see what I can do with the variable voltage switch thingy! If all else fails I will see if I can retrofit another motor and gearbox somehow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltings Posted December 6, 2019 Report Share Posted December 6, 2019 keep us posted on progress 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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