Building A Variable DC Power Supply From Treadmill Parts: 054
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.ย. 2024
- How to use / wire a MC80 Speed controller from a treadmill without the console or power board. I made this one into a standalone DC power supply. Speed controller
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The volt/ampmeter display- A DIFFERENT ONE FROM THE VIDEO. The original is no longer available.
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In this project I used a 10k potentiometer because that is what I had on hand. But I would normally use a 5k potentiometer like this one on amazon
5k potentiometer
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Banana plugs /Binding Post... the ones I purchased were $7 and they are no longer available on Amazon. This is the closest thing. You just need something similar.
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If you want to chip in a few bucks to support more content like this, please visit my patreon page.
/ jeremyfieldingsr
My website www.jeremyfielding.com
Technical Notes and Corrections here.
The switch is drawn in as being on the neutral side. It is actually on the hot side. You could also use a switch to break both sides of the circuit for those who want some extra safety 👍
Final Note:
PLEASE UNDERSTAND...I receive hundreds of messages on all platforms (email, Facebook, comments etc) asking for advice, and help with projects. At this volume, I simply can't do one on one advice. I do read all the questions, and if I get the same ones over and over I make videos about it to help lots of people. Thanks for your understanding on this.
Best person to know after the apocalypse: Jeremy Fielding. Seriously though, the relaxed and personal style really gives me as a viewer confidence that I can try these things. Your videos have encouraged me to move to three phase and more serious machines for woodworking. Jeremy you are a top bloke.
I think that's probably one of the most astute observations I ever seen on this channel. I know it's been 2 years, but I figured it's worth emphasising just how important that style of communication is for education and inspiring confidence.
Other people may skip over mistakes, or worse, talk themselves up about all their amazing training/education etc. But Jeremy just talks to you as though he's making a burger, how he likes onion but not lettuce etc, and it's just so relatable. No "man behind the curtain".
I came to the comments to say this guy would be a gem on an apocalypse team... you beat me to it by a couple of years lol
Imagine having this guy as a neighbor 😂 It would be the best neighbor anyone could ask for 👌
@@Joserocha-wm9de spent my whole life hoping to meet people as interested in tinkering in the garage as I am. The internet is a welcome substitute, but yeah would be awesome to have a dude like Jeremy as a neighbor :)
"My soldering is an abomination." - Love the honesty! 😂👍
When have you ever seen a better instructor than our "gifted" friend.
Outstanding! Thank you.👍🏻
Hard to decide whether it's the find of getting rid of the other control board or the box build that I loved the most! That box idea was FANTASTIC!!!
Good stuff, thanks. One of the best tips I got when I was learning to solder was to let the metal I'm soldering to melt the solder (and not let the soldering iron directly melt the solder). My other suggestion is: Keeping a steady hand or mechanically holding the bits being soldered still is critical for a reliable joint. Cheers, David.
i appreciate how smart you are and don't make me feel stupid. this can sometimes seem daunting.
A broken treadmill will never be left to the landfill again. I honestly never knew they used a DC motor to drive these. Really cool. Also, the “MC80” must be a PWM controller designed for this size of motor or more.
This is great and once again, thank you for the ideas as the possibilities are endless.
The home tinkering/builders music was a nice touch.
From a guy who never owned a cell phone, sent a text, tweet, down loaded an “APP” or had any social media presence, I am great full I have a $20 internet and a son who got me loaner laptop. It is more capable of the wooden crank phone on a party line on the family farm.
Thanks for the ideas as I will not be able to get this out of my mind. Kudos again!
You are an “Angus McGyver” without the mullet or duct tape.
No reason for any thumbs down, as only a small portion of 320 Million people know how the shiny thing on the door works, to let them escape to go to a job probably complain about.
Nice build.
I scavenged an old variac from a 1976 Westinghouse elevator and run through a step up transformer to a rectifier for 0-325 vac, 0-450vdc output.
The old variac had been in my basement for over 10 years before I finally found a use for it. One of the few times pack rating benefited me.
Thank you for your time! I've learned things I've wanted to know for years. Just a back story with me...i got zapped some years ago and almost died from it. So from that I've become afraid of electricity for good reason..well like you I got the knack I guess to build things an most need power. Now I understand it that's made me less afraid of that awful zap so thank you much!!
Super cool project. What a great power supply. Much nicer than the many supplies on TH-cam made from old computer power supplies.
Man I would love to teach you how to solder, I had a tough time with it too until I went into the navy My boss showed me some basics and the rest is just practice.
But I did have a couple of pointers to pass along and that is to get it clean and Flux is the secret ,hope that helps. you have helped me a bunch thank you.
The neighbor dragged his out the other day and it was gone before he walked back to get in the truck to go to work. I knew I saw a video somewhere late night TH-cam watching about treadmills. Thank you for the video.
Hi Jeremy, I love your videos! I'm at the part where you post your wiring diagram. I'd recommend putting the switch on the line/hot side & not the neutral. Reason being is if you switch the neutral the rest of the circuit still has potential & is just looking for a source to ground (IE: you). If you switch the line side then there's no potential within the enclosure if you forget to unplug it before working on it.
-Nick
I'm not that knowledgeable and even I picked up on that.
I was going to say that exact thing, just wanted to make sure someone else hadn't already said so. You never ever switch the neutral.
Here in the UK its normal to switch both the live and the neutral .
Mr Fielding, I’m so glad I found this channel! I was looking for a new motor with high torque online and I would have paid a couple hundred bucks. I never even thought about a treadmill motor, let alone getting the whole unit for free. I am picking one up Friday, another on Saturday and a third in a week or two (just working around #3’s schedule). the best part is that ALL three are in perfect working order, these folks simply want to get rid of them. Anyway, I’ve been watching your motor videos, it’s like taking an online course and I thank you for sharing that knowledge! Rich. btw, that is one big ass drain pipe in the background!
Hey Jeremy, I really appreciate the fact that you utilize re-purposed parts for your builds.
I do similar projects but usually am flying blind as far as the electronics go . Thanks for the great info about the MC-80. I acquired a treadmill that had a similar controller but was older and was kind of quirky. It was very soft starting and if you slowed the speed down, the motor had to be completely stopped in order to increase the speed afterwards.. some kind of safety-reset feature. I used a rheostat set-up just like you did in the video with the hopes of powering my wood turning lathe. I still haven’t settled on a plan of how to vary the speed without having to stop and reset every time I slowed the speed but then wanted to increase it again. Very annoying!
That’s great. I’m trying to learn how to use a repurposed treadmill motor on an old potter’s wheel. That’s for the wonderful videos.
Hi Jeremy - just what I needed, thank you. I picked up two free treadmills and my wife wants them gone already!
[Edit: this correction is already mentioned in your description, thanks! but I'll leave this here so more people might see it..]
Important -- At 6:13 the 120V switch breaks the neutral line meaning more of the circuit remains hot while turned off. Just like with any light socket, it's best (and probably electric code compliant) to switch the hot line rather than the neutral. Either way you still need to handle that switch pretty carefully while it's all open. Hope this helps!
Cheers!
Andy
This is great! Thanks for the wiring diagram! My treadmill is just like this one and now I can make something useful out of it instead of throwing it away! You’re awesome! Keep it up!
Quality content. Thank you for doing this, your videos are fun and super informative. It'd be great having you as a neighbor so I could see all the crazy stuff you come up with.
Nothing is better than the genius of a person who can diagnose an unfamiliar device and repair or who can explain to the average person, how and why a device works, so they understand the explanation. You’re a great find and you look like a great dad and person as well. Keep up the super videos and continued success to you.
You're very cavalier when taking this thing apart. I would have to take photos every step of the way.
Brainiac! No question.
You the man. Wish you were my neighbor because I got lots of projects and not enough knowledge.
Dude is the David Attenborough of engineering. Seriously, I could listen to this guy talk about literally anything for hours.
I just found my first scrapped treadmill and this video is exactly what I need to make it work so that I can put it on a tool and improve my shop. Thank you
I’ve watched a few of your videos and have always been impressed with your great information and practicality. You usually give me the answers I’m looking for.
You’ll go far in life if you retain this drive to learn how it works and share it with others. Well, done. Subscribed !
I wish you would do a vlog on where to find and what motor would be a good idea for propulsion on boats...
What a guy !!!
Been missing you Jeremy. I don't know what I'll ever do with the knowledge you so generously share with us, but I appreciate it none the less. BTW, soldering is easy. Just be sure your wires/traces are hot enough to flow the solder. A good soldering iron makes a huge difference. Cheap ones are hard to work with.
Mine is the definition of cheap LOL
I stumbled across your channel today by random recommendation, and enjoyed watching and learning. Then all of a sudden I see a cnc video by you! I've been running and programming cnc milling machines since 2005. Interestingly, I have next to zero manual machining experience, and very little cad cam programming, however I have been cnc programming with my mind. The company I work for is looking at buying Gibbs cam. Hard to say what they will do. They have nx software but is apparently too complicated. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos! Fascinating stuff!
It's always a pleasure to see you take something broken and give it new life.
Nice video! Good pacing and well rehearsed presentation. Best of all no music track!
I started out looking out treadmills a few years ago. But now the DC power supply is on my "to make" list. Yes, treadmills not just internal parts but lots good clean steel, motors, belts, bearings, pillow blocks, and rollers. The walkway plank and belt could be used to make a stroke sander for panels, or low friction in feed and out feed table extensions.
BTW, for drilling large holes in metals, wood , or plastics, I highly recommend a good set of step drills. They always drill round and concentric holes. No more Wankel rotor shaped holes. For larger holes in thicker metals, Annular Cutters mounted in a Magnetic drill will appeal to the engineer/machinist. Faster cutting, less waste, useful plugs left over for other projects.
Would it have been wise to install a little fan for cooling the components in the box?
Excellent work by the way!!
Mr Fielding, you truly are a person I can relate to, I know nothing about lectricery being a spanner hammer man, but watching a few of your videos I feel that I could at least give it a go. Well done my friend and thank you for the education and knowledge sharing. Stay safe👌
New to your channel.... Tripped on it and man an I glad I did. I see a lot of new projects for me. At little to no out of pocket. And that's the kind of things I really dig. Thanks in advance for your content.
I find it hard to believe that a super smart guy like you makes abominable solder connections.
Great channel, very informative. I have the MC-60 version of these controllers, and now am trying to apply the electronic parts and motor to my metal cutting lathe, seeing how these treadmill motors are two HP motor. A lot of these controllers were used on lathe like maybe 10+ years ago.
Always find myself watching your videos to further my knowledge. Thank you man!
Please be careful- those treadmill PWM speed controllers output pulses of full voltage, just vary the duration of each pulse.
This works fine for motors, not so much for other types of loads.
Digital multimeter does not give you full picture.
If you come across a cheap used oscilloscope, use it to observe the output of that PWM controller.
noob question: how does one measure the output without damaging oscilloscope? With ground lead attached to negative and probe tip to positive, loud noise and flash in the surge protector ensued. Tried "floating scope" (the thing everyone says don't do) and although I didn't get loud noises or flashes, the surge protector circuit breaker tripped after about .5 seconds.
@@tightirl Isolation transformer.
A word on safety when cutting larger holes in plastic. Standard fluted drills work fine, but it gets mighty squirrely when you get to spade bits, hole saws, or even forstner bits, and even more flesh eating when you're dealing with thinner plastic, and faster drill speeds. To confidently, and safely, accomplish the aforementioned task, it's as simple as doing everything the exact same, except run the drill in the reverse direction. The safety, skin scarring issues arise when the drill's teeth catch the soft plastic material for which it is most definitely not made to properly handle, and the workpiece is grabbed and spun violently, and if the piece isn't secured, but simply being held in one's hand, could easily bring that hand into the business end of that drill bit. By running the drill in the reverse direction, the teeth do not grab in the slightest, and the cut ends up extremely clean, and precise, and best of all it was easily performed with confidence, and safety was thought of only as ritual to maintain safety, and not a brown stained afterthought. Enjoy!
I absolutely love your videos I learned so much from them. I love to Tinker and invent and reuse leftover equipment and motors switches and so on. I currently took apart a 6 function blender save the Motor & Control Panel. I'm looking forward to see if I can convert it into a drill press. And it's a high-end blender. I have various other projects that I'm going to incorporate Motors from a food processor and so on such as a Disc Sander combined with a belt sander it has the proper RPM range and I have a speed controller that I need to wire up to it it is a pedal operated but I convert it to a knob system or or thumb screw system you could say that I can control the pedal operation of it. When I get these machines up and operating I will post pictures to you and show you the final product. Keep up all the videos that you make and the knowledge you spread and give to people like me. God bless you he gave you this knowledge to better your life and others. My name is Auggie look forward to more videos and possible correspondence with you. Bye for now and have a blessed day
That's awesome. I have a treadmill that I took the parts out of so I can make my 9"x20" lathe variable speed with a knob instead of having to change the belt on pullies. I need another treadmill to do the same thing to my bandsaw so I can slow it down for cutting thick aluminum and steel.
did you ever get this done?
It’s nice to see the way you, think your way thru a project. Well done. I’m in the process of converting two treadmills into belt sanders. The treadmills are found off the street. Literally. The cost for wide belts are very reasonable. I don’t need to buy anything so far. Just a nip hear and there. Anyway, I always learn something watching your channel.
Thank you!
Allen W Great idea using the treadmill for a wide belt sander. I have to build one of those too now!
Great video! Two suggestions: That hole that we all don't see? :-) You might want some more of them. This is a high-power circuit, and it's going to need some cooling. I realize as a test bench only supply it won't be used for long periods, but it's still a good idea to ventilate.
The other thing, not really a suggestion, but you didn't mention the on-off-on quirk these controllers have. With the motor running, if you turn it off and back on again, the motor won't restart. You have to return the potentiometer to zero, then bring it back up, to get the motor to run.
Just the video i was hoping for...I have a similiar treadmill and I'd like to ad variable speed to my home built lathe. Thanks
About three months ago, I found a treadmill left outside the recycling containers at our municipal building. I salvage the controller's, the DC motor, and stepper motor. Unfortunately there were no schematics. Perhaps I can find them online. This video was very helpful.
I love how excited you get over finding components like your new controller there. I get the same way over microwaves, air conditioners and car parts lol
The true maker: the one that builds his own instruments to build other things!
gatekeeping makers
I’m curious if you put any kind of fuse or circuit breaker in your power supply. I really like the build otherwise. You have a fantastic voltage range and plenty of available current. Great idea and nice packaging!
Its amazing what resources we have right in front of us that would normally just thrown in the trash!
That laugh when it starts working on the first try. I do the same thing. I love your videos. All around great work!
Extra vent hole a good idea 😀
That sounds way better. I will say that from now on 😂
Airflow it’s the saviour of many electronic products! You were just over engineering this unit!
"it's a feature not a bug" 🤓
Absorightly!
Dude! You are such a resourceful and brilliant individual! Cute kids too! I didn’t realize I needed a 120VDC power supply until now. I have to go to the store to buy a treadmill now to make this lol
I got a free treadmill on Facebook Marketplace.
Hey good video I used to tinker with electronics when I was younger I should have stuck with it.But you make it sound simple and clear good job.
I don't know if I could duplicate what you did but I did learn from this video. I couldn't believe you ran the motor off a single AAA battery. Great job
This information has to be golden to the person that can apply it to a task. Thanks for sharing your discoveries with us.
Dude! You are so smart, creative, pleasant to watch and listen to. Have SOOOO many cool ideas! ...and then I see you using needle nose vice grips as pliers, and aviation snips to cut tangs on electrical boards. 😲 Honestly, you are the part of my brain that is missing. I wish we could kick it. Your brain and my 25 years of tinkering too. Nothing else it'd be fun. Keep it up brother. You are my new fav TH-camr!!
I can see this being a much simpler way of upgrading a pully-adjustable lathe. Just wish I had your knowledge, skill and confidence.
Awesome! I really enjoy that you take the time to explain the process as you investigate a part you are salvaging. There is so much variation in parts when salvaging electronics that seeing how you figure out how to get something working is in many cases even more useful than the actual end setup you use.
Thank you. I agree that it certainly helps me to hear how someone solves a problem rather than just hand me an answer.
Wow good job! I dont ever see treadmills in trash around here but I do see a lot of washers and dryer's.
hello Jeremy,
i like your idea of the power supply /controller...I like it very much...I have three complete tread mill setups down stairs in my shop.i think I'll do this too.just finished doing my southbend 10 k ,I changed over to dc from the ac drive that was originally in it....and the dc setup with the variable pot works like a charm............I just love it...never need to go back for the belt changes again.......love it.....
Watched it twice already with the wife, explaining as you went along
how this pertains to my little project.. good info, good build on the box too.
Thanks for posting
That is awesome!
There are now links in the description for the purchased parts. Several people have asked. There are also notes about changes to the circuit you should see before you build.
hi make a treadmill generator to charge a 12v battery with a charge controller. and then hook up a inverter
I must have missed it Where'd you get the display?
GOOD VIDEO BUD
@@patsox2004 Google Display Digital Current Voltage Power Energy Meter
Flux helps solder to stick better, that was my problem......thank you for your creativity and sharing. You are a wonderful teacher, extremely easy to absorb. God bless you, Jeremy. Keep up the outstanding work!
You have done it perfectly well!
this is my fave video, i love re purposing old electrical components and fit them for other uses. . I love wiring things anyways
Love your attention to detail. When people say "Good Enough" I cringe in horror.
Keep up the good work. I love Motors and I just found your channel and fell in love with your gadgets and You Sir should be teaching
That extra vent hole in the back is brilliant! 😆
The wiring diagram helps but please remember many of us are clearly not as familiar or comfortable around electrical connections. With luck, I might find some stuff like this and get LUCKY hooking it up correctly.
I've learnt so much from your videos about motors etc. Thank you man! Respect!
👍
I imagine that when you were growing up NOTHING escaped the inevitable Jeremy question; "What would this look like spread out on the floor in a million pieces?"
Thanks for the truly informative videos!
I was the same way. When my dad went to work, i decided to take apart his power drill to see how it worked. A few years later they bought an Apple IIGS computer, and yes... i took it apart. But by that time i had gotten very good at re-assembly due to the ass-whoopin' i got for taking his drill apart.
I'm going to use this same method for my e-motorcycle I even picked up a free treadmill a while back knowing there has to be a good speed controller onboard. Thank you sir!
re: extra power cord hole, always nice to see people acknowledge their mistakes but not belabor them.
Great video as usual! Keep it up!
Thank you!
I tried doing the same thing but I couldn't get past the hall effect sensor it kept stalling a motor after it ran for a few seconds. Kudos on getting it to run Mr. Feilding you, you truly are a master of the motors.
LOL Watching your videos of things made from treadmills, I get an add for a treadmill. LOL
Nicely done. Love watching your video’s even though I do the same thing lol. One can always learn something new yet you seem to be in an area where people just throw away all sorts of cool stuff. Do you have the wife getting on your case for bringing home so much so called garbage then when you show her the cool things that you make then you get the ok just don’t turn the garden/garage into a junk yard? Lol. I think we all do.
So glad I found and subscribed to your site. You do an excellent job in describing and doing picture in picture of details and various labels, makes it so easy to see the details that are so important.
Keep up the good work
dude! appreciate your videos. went to the dump today and found similar treadmill. took it home and got it going. motor to be used in my 2x72 bench grinder build. thanks for the inspiration
👍🏽
Great video. I just want to caution you though. As a master electrician I would advise that you NOT switch the neutral conductor on any device and leave the hot connected permanently. as in your diagram. It is a shock hazard. We need you to keep making great videos!! Stay well and make stuff!
It’s a real joy to watch you perform . Thanks 👍👍👍
Thanks Jeremy just in time also. I just pulled a PM DC motor from a treadmill with a MC-2100 controller. No background in electronics so this was very helpful. The MC 2100 doesn't appear to have the 3 post connectors that you had to connect the potentiometer to. So I'm trying to solve how that connection will work.
Great video i need to save this one for a later project...have a great weekend..
That is a great project! Way to build a voltage controller on the cheap while simply repurposing some of the main components.
👍
I've got a bucket of treadmill parts in my garage--Now I'm going to take a look and see if I can make any sense of the boards, based on what you've shown. Thanks!
Incredible dude you are a wizard.
Cool build as with everything you do. I noticed a 1600watt power supply Jehu Garcia built with two HP server power supplies capable of some 50-60 amps. Pretty cool. Very robust PS modules.
Jeremy, great build!
Thanks for all the info. Links are appreciated as well.
Jeremy the key to soldering is flux, the same kind used for copper pipes. You can neutralize the acid after completing.
Negative, brother -- you're partly correct in that you do need to use flux, but for electronics you would use *rosin-core* solder. The kind of solder you would use for plumbing is *acid-core*. The acid in the flux is beneficial when you're joining pipe or sheet metal, but it's the kiss of death for electronics. You can also use solid solder, in which case you'd apply the flux separately; but either way, flux for electronics isn't the same as for plumbing and sheet-metal.
#Jeremy Fielding - I made a bench top power supply out of a computer power supply. It gave me 12v, 5v, & 3.3v connections. Which worked good enough for what I needed at the time.
*BUT* ... to take a treadmill speed controller... and convert that into a benchtop power supply, *Really Great Idea!* I've used treadmill controllers before, but only to control the treadmill motor for whatever project I was working on. Never thought about using one as a Fully Adjustable Independent Power Supply before! Build an enclosure, throw a voltage display in there, and its Perfect! Might just do that with the next treadmill I come across! *Thanks for the idea!*
**EDIT:
The PVC box you used are great for stuff like this, *super versatile.* I used to buy them all the time for projects, as they come in a bunch of sizes and the price wasn't too bad. However, we moved since then, and now no one anywhere near me sells those! But if I am planning out a project ahead of time, I have ordered them online and used them. Handy little boxes though, and since they're pvc they're also of course not electrically conductive, which is really helpful sometimes for some projects.
This guy is great. I have been thinking about cheaper ways to power my devices when visiting Liberia.
Bro I can’t stop watching videos here!! Keep up the good work
I know it's been 3 years but I hope you bought some of those multimeter leads with the little spring loaded hooks on them. they're really convenient
The secret to a good solder joint, (of course first the flux as mentioned earlier) is to melt the solder with heat from the pieces being soldered, not the heat source. ( s. Iron, flame, etc.) use the iron to heat the joint, but only touch the solder to the joint, not the iron. This insures that the parts of the joint are accepting the solder. The hot iron, or flame can easily melt the solder, but the pieces may not be hot enough. As soon as the solder starts to flow into the joint, remove the solder and iron, to keep it neat and minimize the amount of heat going to the component (for electrical connections) For example, touch the iron to the back side of the wires, while holding the solder touching only the front side. Only the solder that flows into the joint is needed, big lumps on the outside don't help. For copper pipe, just give it a few more seconds to flow all around the pipe. The solder WILL flow uphill into the joint if heat is applied to the uphill part of the joint.
If I could, I'd send you a metal lathe and milling machine just to see what you'd do with them. Keep it alive man.
I feel more motivated to salvage a treadmill now. Awesome vid!
Awesome! That was the idea :)
Very skilled mind at work when seeing an item and thinking what can I build with that.. Great stuff..
Fantastic vid - I've always wanted to make my own continuous power supply/speed controller. This vid will be so helpful. Thanks so much Jez.
Jeremy, you have opened a new world to me, and it is so exciting! I finally feel like I can build my own power tools with your help.
One thing worth noting is I'd love to follow your affiliate links, but some of them seem to be broken.
I like your style and your content.
The ultimate tinkerer with a purpose
Really cool to see that box come together!