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Azimuth Motor Gear Stripped - 1-800-John-Cimo
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First off the phone number in the subject is not real.....but John is an expert in all things electrical and mechanical to name just a few.
Last week, as I was finishing a 300 point SkyX model, my Exploradome azimuth motor 'stripped out'...meaning that the motor was driving but the dome was not spinning. I immediately called John....who you will see advising many in the forum here, and who has helped me out numerous times in the past with observatory issues I thought it would be useful to document the repair here in the forum as I think others have (or soon will) suffer a similar fate. Attached are the photos of the hardware after the failure (hardware was circa 2013): 1. The motor mounting assembly 2. The motor shaft condition 3. The acorn gear condition Next steps are A: clean up the motor shaft and keyway B. file down the new acorn gear ($90 from exploradome) base. This is so the new acorn gear hub clears the motor mounting screws and sits on the motor shaft c-clamp C: add spring tensioners to the motor bracket C: move the encoder hub from the old gear to the new one Afterwards Ill be measuring the vertical and horizontal 'run out' of the dome track to assess the torque being passed to the motor/gear assembly during slewing. More to come........       |
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Update.....
Successfully performed the above steps as mentioned..... A: clean up the motor shaft and keyway B. file down the new acorn gear ($90 from exploradome) base. This is so the new acorn gear hub clears the motor mounting screws and sits on the motor shaft c-clamp C: add spring tensioners to the motor bracket C: move the encoder hub from the old gear to the new one Afterwards the system worked flawlessly and I was able to complete the 300 point model....the most stressful task you can throw at the ED azimuth motor. Ill continue to monitor and post if/.when any issues arise Jim |
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John Cimo
Hi Jim, Glad to hear your efforts were successful. I’m guessing the springs made a big difference in motor movement and motor loading as well. Did you get a chance to measure / correct any vertical track run out? John On Wed, Jun 15, 2022 at 4:46 PM Jim <jamesirwin2012@...> wrote: Update..... |
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Hi John!
The springs make a huge difference. No more motor winding in the tight spots and the popping sounds are no longer as well. I highly recommend this for those that dont have it already. It must be saving major wear/tear on the motor. Ill be measuring the vertical / horizontal runout of the track/motor interface this weekend Keep yall posted Jim |
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