Conveyor belt motor

[t41w4ne5ef0b]

Ok...so I'm trying to make a conveyor belt system for my team's robot, and I've decided to do the PVC/surgical tubing design. For the motor I was planning to use the motor that has that plastic gearbox attached (i dont know what its called, i'm one of those ppl that pays attention to what it does more than names). It's the one with the slotted plastic as the output from the motor. I was wondering waht size bearing fits inside the black portion (cuz from what I can tell, thats what goes in there) plus what size of PVC will fit over the white wheel cuz im thinking of just shoving it on.

BTW if anybody else has diff ideas as to how to do it PLEASE tell me...our team is VERY short on devoted members (i only see 2 other ppl after school on a regular basis ) and we dont exactly have accessible funds cuz our school club system is retarded and we have to go through a lady to get money out, but tahts for another post

[EricH]

Originally Posted by t41w4ne5ef0b

Ok...so I'm trying to make a conveyor belt system for my team's robot, and I've decided to do the PVC/surgical tubing design. For the motor I was planning to use the motor that has that plastic gearbox attached (i dont know what its called, i'm one of those ppl that pays attention to what it does more than names). It's the one with the slotted plastic as the output from the motor. I was wondering waht size bearing fits inside the black portion (cuz from what I can tell, thats what goes in there) plus what size of PVC will fit over the white wheel cuz im thinking of just shoving it on.

BTW if anybody else has diff ideas as to how to do it PLEASE tell me...our team is VERY short on devoted members (i only see 2 other ppl after school on a regular basis ) ...

You're asking about the Fisher-Price, or FP, motor.

Now, as for rigging it to run a PVC roller, there are a number of different ways. The simplest is to just press-fit a piece of PVC onto the output (the white slotted thing), which is what you're talking about. However, that's going to slip unless it's locked down.

Here's another idea, if you're a little more daring: the inside of the output is an octagon. Take a piece of wood and trim half the thickness of it to an octagonal shape, to fit inside the output. Trim the rest to match the PVC of your preferred diameter, and put a screw through both the PVC and the wood. Add a hose clamp or something to keep the output in place.

As for bearings--my team has used those motors for years, and I don't remember that we've ever run a bearing in there. As a matter of fact, here's a way to do it without bearings: Take both FPs and rig them (through the electronics) to turn together, but in opposite directions. Attach one FP to each side of the PVC, following the method above, or a similar one. I know something similar has been done before, with success.

[t41w4ne5ef0b]

hrm...the wood sounds like a good idea, but seriously it's a good idea
I was wondering about the bearing because of how i wasnt sure how the/an axle was going to be supported if there was one...cuz it looks like its one of those motors where u can have an axle running through it

[EricH]

Originally Posted by t41w4ne5ef0b

hrm...the wood sounds like a good idea, but seriously it's a good idea
I was wondering about the bearing because of how i wasnt sure how the/an axle was going to be supported if there was one...cuz it looks like its one of those motors where u can have an axle running through it

You can run an axle through it, but as I say, my team hasn't put any bearings in that particular spot and hasn't had any problems in years.

[t41w4ne5ef0b]

alrighty!! thank you a bunch!!!