Used DC Motors for Robot

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

I was going through my old electronic stuff I collect and found a couple of old cordless drills that at one point their batteries died and so they just been waiting to be re-appropriated to a new project.

Anyone ever considered or used a motor from a cordless drill to power a bot? I would think with the gearing they have it might not be a bad idea as I think they would have decent torque etc. Perhaps maybe not too efficient since they are meant for high torque/speed but maybe I could get a better run time since the speed would be lower.

Just looking for thoughts, opinion or if anyone has had previous experience.

CSys

2

Heh - just about everyone :slight_smile: A gear motor is a gear motor - even when it had another purpose. It’s also very common to use windshield wiper motors too, motors from toys and more. It’s hard to get a “professional look” using re-purposed materials, but the price and specs are right.

3

Not a robot but I had an idea for an electric skateboard and using bevel gears for transmission so that the motor could sit in-line with the skateboard instead of sideways like a lot of people do. I’ll have to dig mine up to a try it out sometime.

About the motors not being efficient, they actually are pretty efficient for the amount of power they put out. As I read a while ago someone say, it’s meant to be light (held with one arm) and run for a long time so that contractors don’t have to keep switching out batteries, but also have the power (torque) to drive large screws in. A lot of research must go into the motor design and battery chemistry especially in cordless drills. I don’t know how old your motors are but every year the drills keep getting smaller, lighter, more powerful all while still running at least for a good hour, so I’d think they’d make a great motor for a project.