Funicular railway - further help needed

[oliverhanmer]

You've got to love a good flange. So what does all that mean for me? (Not the flange loving but the last post about motor size etc)

[tactical lizard]

I have just been looking at your photos,

It would obviously be easiest to keep the existing gear box as everything is mounted based on the gearbox.

So that would mean a replacement motor,

Dimensions required are flange hole spacing, ie how many millimeters are they apart.

Diameter of the flange holes. (Fnar)

Dimension from the center of the gearbox input shaft and the floor, so we know the limit of the physical size of the new motor.

The motor shaft diameter and length so you can mount the existing gear cog.

I think that is it,

Should be able to find a replacement motor, hopefully one of those sew motors from eBay might fit,

It would of helped if we had an RPM but I suppose the inverter can slow it down to stop you from breaking the land speed record.

If you can't find a motor to fit then you will have to replace motor and gearbox which could be more work making a mount for the gearbox.

I'm quite busy this week but will try and respond when I can

[hidetheelephants]

It's a 4 pole 1400rpm motor.

[oliverhanmer]

Ok further measurements.

6mm flange hole diameter
Holes 100mm apart on the diagonal and 70mm horizontal
100mm from centre of gearbox to frame for gearbox (which extends out to under the motor when connected)
Shaft diameter 13mm
Maximum motor size once connected 320mm (which is the maximum space with s bit of wriggle room between the motor and one of the chain cog axles)
Current shaft length from pinion to where the cooling fan was 360mm

I've given a few other measurements in an earlier post if anything is missing. If there is still stuff missing please let me know

Thanks for the advice it's much appreciated. I'll wait to hear views on what motor and inverter I need.

[ndg]

The first option is to replace the start and run caps, and the best place to help with that is the company that did the rewind.

If that doesn't do it, get as many of the dimensions from this diagram as possible:

Be as accurate as you can as it may be an imperial motor depending on age (your measurement of 13mm is suspiciously close to 1/2").

Then phone a motor supplier. I've used Stone Power Transmission in the past and been very happy with the service. They're on ebay and also trade under the name Goldcrest.

I'd agree with previous posters that a brake should be retained. Also go three phase with an inverter. The soft start/stop will make a massive difference to the longevity of the hardware as the shock loading will be reduced. It will also look way cooler as it smoothly accelerates up the hill .

[tactical lizard]

So i spent ages looking at B5 flange motors with a PCD of 100mm but I realised this is the wrong type as its not the same flange type and they have tiny output power doh.

Motor frame size would be helpful, the existing motor may be a size 80,

Motor frame size is measured from the feet of the motor to the centre of the motor

This is why i asked you to measure from the centre of the gearbox input shaft or motor shaft to the floor to see what size motor frame will fit there.

It may well be 80mm but this is a measurement that would help,

The second motor that hidetheelephants linked to on eBay looks to have the correct flange PCD of 100mm, but its 0.55kw which might not be enough if your existing motor is struggling, unless it's struggling because its knackered.

It might be worth you emailing the seller of that motor and asking about the other dimensions such as overall length and shaft diameter and length

Edited by tactical lizard on Wednesday 7th October 22:54

[oliverhanmer]

Thanks for the suggestions. The frame size is 80mm.

Current motor is 0.75kw. Would a 0.55kw have sufficient power to get a loaded cart up the slope? If there is a chance it won't then I need to get a more powerful motor.

What flange type am I looking for and what inverter would be suitable?

If you can help with these questions that would be great and I'll start looking in to possible motors etc

Thanks again.

[hidetheelephants]

It appears to be a nonstandard flange, although there may be a proprietary standard used by motor manufacturers; it might be an idea to enquire directly with SEW as they supply what look like similar motors. It's only a 550W motor when supplied with 240v, if you use one of these(other inverter suppliers are available) it will provide 750W just like the original.

[oliverhanmer]

Thanks. I've made some enquiries about the SEW motor and will see what they say. The inverter linked to seems expensive. Is that the price I'd need to pay I thought they were around £100-£150......