# Quick And Dirty Motor Fan



## petcnc

I have an old 0.5 HP induction motor that I plan to use to power my air compressor




As you can see at the back of the motor there is something missing: The cooling fan.




All decent induction motors have a cooling fan in a nice cover, to keep the motor healthy.




 As my motor will get hot without it, I must make one for my motor to prolong its life.

I cannot make it like the original one. Too much trouble! 

I need something quick, and easy to make.

Ok lets design it first with a little help of my machinist’s divider.





Piece of cake!




Material: A steel computer cover

Tools: metal cutting shears




To secure the fan to the motor shaft I machined a cast iron ring to the lathe




All parts together




Shaft ready for the fan




Finished assembly on the motor




Remote test run (I was away for safety reasons)




Next thing (AND MOST IMPORTANT FOR SAFETY) is to build the cover for it.


Thanks for reading


Petros


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## Tony Wells

More commonly known s a TEFC style


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## dave_r_1

yow.  I've seen a fan like that, laying in a basket of parts under the lathe in my shop (was my dads).  and what looks like the cover for it.  It looks like it was on the motor for the lathe, but was off it for some reason (perhaps for shipping and/or fixing whatever problem the lathe was having).  I think I will have to add this to the 'to do' list, to reattach the fan to the lathe, and then reinstall the cover.


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## petcnc

Tony Wells said:


> More commonly known s a TEFC style



OMG!
Looking for the meaning of TEFC style I discovered all different types of motor cooling!
So my work was to make my motor from

*Totally Enclosed Non-Ventilated (TENV)*

to

*Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled (TEFC)*

He he he!

Thank you Tony for the hint


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## petcnc

dave_r_1 said:


> yow.  I've seen a fan like that, laying in a basket of parts under the lathe in my shop (was my dads).  and what looks like the cover for it.  It looks like it was on the motor for the lathe, but was off it for some reason (perhaps for shipping and/or fixing whatever problem the lathe was having).  I think I will have to add this to the 'to do' list, to reattach the fan to the lathe, and then reinstall the cover.



It will be healthier for the motor if you do


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## Tony Wells

The first job shop I worked in did a lot of electric motor machine work for the motor shop across the road. Welding up and metalizing of shafts and end housings, etc. We also put a lot of fans on. Or fitted replacements, I don't know which. The motor company brought us some rough cast aluminum blanks of various diameters and we bored, keyed, and set screwed them. Bunches actually. I guess maybe they get broken more than I think, or they just knock them off with a hammer when they tear a motor down for rebuild.

Anyway, on the first or second day I worked there, I made my first "on the job" goof up. I was young and a little anxious, so prone to make mistakes anyway. Got the lathe work done, np. Broached the keyway, np. Was told to put a 1/4-20 set screw hole over the keyway. I promptly drilled a 1/4" hole and it didn't hit me until I dropped the tap through it. I got that sick feeling in my stomach and went and told the boss. He just laughed and dug out a 5/16-18 tap for me.


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## FOMOGO

Nice job on the fan. Any balance issues with it? Mike


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## petcnc

FOMOGO said:


> Nice job on the fan. Any balance issues with it? Mike



Mike machinist's dividers are very accurate so material is equally distributed all around. I did not notice any imbalance issues while I tested it off the shaft. On the other hand the motor is quite heavy compared to the fan to be influenced...

Thanks for asking

Petros


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## Randall Marx

Looks great, Petros! Reminds me of one I did a few years ago, before I had a lathe to make the part that connects the fan to the shaft. Worked well until the shaft bearing seized (unrelated problem).


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## markba633csi

Is that a small mistake on the three small mounting screws Petros? Not a big deal I imagine anyway
Mark


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## petcnc

markba633csi said:


> Is that a small mistake on the three small mounting screws Petros? Not a big deal I imagine anyway
> Mark


He he he I could play the wise **s here and tell you that it was for balancing, but its obvious that I never followed my dads words here "Measure 10 times and drill once".
Petros


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## Bob Korves

petcnc said:


> He he he I could play the wise **s here and tell you that it was for balancing, but its obvious that I never followed my dads words here "Measure 10 times and drill once".
> Petros


"Balancing hole."


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## markba633csi

HARMONIC balancer that is


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## petcnc

markba633csi said:


> HARMONIC balancer that is


You guys are in a very high level of making scientific excuses for your mistakes! I wish I could make such an excuse! My mistakes are just mistakes I cannot justify them further.


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## Bob Korves

petcnc said:


> My mistakes are just mistakes I cannot justify them further.


That's no fun.  We have a national pastime of making excuses that get us out of trouble -- sometimes!


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## dulltool17

Excuses?  Sometimes the greatest successes are just cleverly disguised screw-ups.
Since function is far more important than function....."I see nothing........"


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## T Bredehoft

I keep telling my  sons, "That's a witness mark, to prove it wasn't CNC made. "


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## Tony Wells

The true sign of a major breakthrough or discovery is not yelling "Eureka!", but rather saying, "That's funny, did you see that?".


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## Silverbullet

Looks better than original plastic crap . Big coffee can looks about right for the endcap.


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