Motorized plant turntable

in the ongoing saga of attempting to build this contraption i have assembled yet another iteration and failed yet again. this time the vinyl tube i attempted to secure to motor shank did not hold. in retrospect it should have been obvious. its really tough to glue vinyl to metal, now i know.

i have a new design planned and im 80% sure its gonna work this time. rather than trying to mentally design the whole thing ive decided what part i need next. itll be a bracket to couple the shank to the turntable, this has been my weak point.

once this piece is installed i need to find a way to mount the motor just the right distance away from the coupler so i can lock it in place with an m3 screw. from there it should be smooth sailing.

by the end of the weekend it should be spinning!!

2 Likes

Iā€™m telling ya bicycle chain with main gear and small gears from a multi speed bike. It solves both the slippage and the ability to gear up or down to the right speed.

im having enough trouble doing something i thought i could imagine assemblingā€¦ lol!!

maybe you can build it and show me?

i think i finally have a design thats gonna work

oh, and for now im gonna use the 0.6rpm and be happy

Lol If you lived by me I could assemble it in a day from whatā€™s in my brain. I might could draw a plan that maybe would make sense.

1 Like

ok its a challenge. you assemble yours and demonstrate it working before i get mine done. i have a part on order that wont get here until Saturday.

keep in mind, mine have to fit in my 2x2 tent and i intend to set it up at an angle so it has to be stable and run on electric motor

Iā€™ll see if the wife will ok the parts. I need to come up with a bike to strip parts off of. So it might not be super cheap unless I can find a freebie. Link me to the motor and power supply so I know Iā€™m looking at the same ones and not having to search.

1 Like

I think itā€™ll be easier to keep everything flat and just place a wedge under the plant to get the angle you want. You donā€™t want the drive motor or mechanism working with an angle. Itā€™ll only make it harder and more prone to failure.

1 Like

the power supply was from an old wifi router modem 12v 3.5a i think. it may not technically be compatible with the motor but ill deal with that after i have a problem. the sellers never returned my email inquiry about with power supply was appropriate.

the motor is a 0.6 rpm motor from amazon. Aobbmok DC 12 Volt Low Speed 0.6RPM Turbo Worm Geared Gear Motor High Torque Turbine Reducer with 6mm Shaft

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DYG5XGZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_bX62Bb29B7H4Z

1 Like

the part of this that kinda sucks is i may do all this and it may not have the torque to move a heavy plantā€¦ lol

i did not know that. thanks!

oh on second thought, that wont work. just putting a wedge under the plant and spinning it will not achieve the goal

Well thatā€™s where itā€™ll get interesting. But the gearing of a bicycle can actually help with that too. If you use the lighter gears which will be good at reducing speed they also generate more torque than just a 1 to 1 ratio does.

Why not the base of the plant would still be at an angle?

because the angle to gravity needs to change. thats what stimulates growth

its only going to be 10-15degrees

Hmm I guess I need to go look it up and see what methods have worked and try to find a option that works with it.

1 Like

ah yes. let me know what you find. im not convinced anyone has done this in this way before

1 Like

i found a motor that would make this much easier, still i dont know how i would connect a bike hub but this will easily transfer the torque from the motor. nice setup.

Makermotor Electric Gear Motor 12v DC 100 RPM Gearmotor Roller Chain Sprocket Gear + Bracket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XTMCHBJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_C7z3Bb3BB8EWT

thoughts?

That would make it easier. But youā€™d want the big sprocket to be on the motor and a small sprocket on the plant turntable to slow the speed down. But that mounting bracket on it could be helpful in getting it setup. It is a bit pricey though. Iā€™m not sure that motor could be speed regulated but Iā€™m betting it can be. Just need to figure out what the lowest itā€™ll run will be. This is going to be a pretty pricey build for an unknown result.

I know you really want to make this from the bottom up, but this holds 110 lbs & goes 1 rotation every 90 seconds. Bet you could rig that to go much slower.

1 Like