Where to Get Small Brushless DC Motors

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around sourcing small brushless DC motors for a project involving a spirograph-type laser light show. Participants share suggestions for online retailers and discuss alternative options, including the possibility of repurposing components from existing devices like computer fans and CD-ROM drives.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks small brushless DC motors, specifically those comparable in size and performance to computer case fans.
  • Several participants suggest various online retailers where small motors might be found, including robotstore.com, jameco.com, and allelectronics.com.
  • One participant notes difficulty in finding suitable brushless motors on the suggested sites and considers cannibalizing computer fans as a simpler alternative.
  • Another participant mentions that CD-ROM drive motors could be a viable option, highlighting their ease of modification for various applications.
  • A later reply expresses appreciation for the suggestion of using CD-ROM motors and indicates a willingness to explore modification techniques found online.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the challenge of finding small brushless DC motors and the potential of using alternative sources like computer fans and CD-ROM drives. However, there is no consensus on the best approach or specific retailers that provide suitable motors.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty regarding the specifications of the motors available on suggested sites, indicating a lack of detailed information. The discussion also reflects varying levels of familiarity with modifying existing components for new applications.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for hobbyists and robotics enthusiasts looking for small brushless DC motors or alternative solutions for similar projects.

Captain Barbosa
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Hopefully this is the appropriate forum for this sort of question, but I was wondering if any of you might know where I could buy small brushless DC motors online.

I've been Googling around for a while, but most of the ones that I found are too large and expensive for what I need, as they're meant for RC airplanes and the like.

Basically what I want is something with the size and performance of what might be found in a computer case fan, but without having to actually cannibalize a computer fan. (Although this could work.)

I thought some of you people who are into robotics might know where to get them. Thanks in advance.

Just in case anyone is curious, I'm going to use 3 of them to make a spirograph-type laser light show with variable speed controls for each motor. :cool:
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
Have you tried;

www.robotstore.com[/URL]
[url]www.jameco.com[/url]
[url]www.allelectronics.com[/url]
[url]www.lynxmotion.com[/url]
[url]www.hobbyengineering.com[/url]
[url]www.radioshack.com[/url]

?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I only found one motor on any of those sites that's brushless, and there aren't many specs that they show for it.

Maybe I should just cannibalize a few computer fans. It would certainly be easier than trying to hunt down the motor separately.

Some of those sites are pretty cool though, thanks for those!
 
Captain Barbosa said:
I only found one motor on any of those sites that's brushless, and there aren't many specs that they show for it.

Maybe I should just cannibalize a few computer fans. It would certainly be easier than trying to hunt down the motor separately.

Some of those sites are pretty cool though, thanks for those!

Try http://www.graybar.com/" , they may have some.

CS
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry, I didn't realize you wanted brushless motors. I saw DC in your post and for some reason I just assumed brushed. If that's the case the smallest your probably going to find are the the computer fan motors or you can cannibalize CD-ROM drive motors. CD-ROM motors are very easy to modify (used them for many projects) and can be easily tailored to many applications.
 
Captain Barbosa said:
I only found one motor on any of those sites that's brushless, and there aren't many specs that they show for it.

Maybe I should just cannibalize a few computer fans. It would certainly be easier than trying to hunt down the motor separately.

Some of those sites are pretty cool though, thanks for those!

Try this site, not only do they show how, there are some that will sell to you. There is a lot here so spend some time looking through the topics, and threads.

http://www.rcgroups.com/electric-motor-design-and-construction-361/

Ron
 
Wow, thanks for giving me the idea of cd-rom motors! A quick Google showed tons of sites with information on modifying and using them.

I'll be sure to check out that RC groups site.

For my purposes I can probably even just glue the mirrors directly on to the rotor can.
 
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