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

 

[Tony Wells]

More commonly known s a TEFC style

 

[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.

 

[petcnc]

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

 

[petcnc]

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

 

[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.

 

[FOMOGO]

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

 

[petcnc]

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

 

[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).

 

[markba633csi]

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