Can an ESC control a Lathe?

[MONSTER]

Just a thought. I have an old Traxxas XL-1, and wonder if I can use it and a 6-Cell to make a decent compact "power supply" for a lathe. I dont see why not, but what do I know? I dont want to ruin anything.

[GAMMACRUSH]

hey,
cool idea. i think it would work but i think you would still need a radio to make the motor go just like in an rc. unless you can set it up somehow to just run.

i think a good idea too, would be to use a mechanical speed control and you can just move the wiper arm by hand to control the speed. instead of using a servo, this would eliminate the radio. just my idea? not sure if it would work.

hope this helps just my 2 cents.

peace,
gamma

[Bugle]

Yeah I use a mechanical speed control on mine, works well

[MONSTER]

The XL-1 has a "Screw" that sets it for Neutral when the Tx Trigger is at Neutral. I was thinking you could use that to set the Lathe Motor Speed. You would just have to turn it up. If youve ever Set Up a XL-1, that might make sense. Point is, I dont believe you would need a Tx, you should be able to adjust the speed on the ESC itself.

[Erich Reichert]

hehe thats interesting one. Yes a mechanical speedo would work for that... but why not just take two cells off the battery and use it directly

[shodog]

I just use a four cell battery with an old stock motor. I would think if you spin it too slow it isn't going to cut right.

[Erich Reichert]

well that sort of depends more on the bit then the speed, if it spins TOO fast (like mod motor fast) the arm will hop in the lathe and make a big mess hehe. The standard has always been 4cell and a stock motor though and its probably far easier to do that and put a switch inline then it is to hook up mech speedos and worry about shorts, etc

[MOmo]

I use a 4 cell battery as well. I like the idea of an ESC though. I just rigged my lathe to a switch and just plugged the battery and turned the lathe ON. A 4cell shouldn't be too much juice for the lathe.


interesting idea though for the MSC or an ESC. I have a small lathe w/ a makeshift case, no space for much else. I might look for a spare ESC though and see.



MOmo

[MONSTER]

Well, it just so happens, I have several Brand New MSCs I dont/wont use, and only a couple extra ESCs. So, I believe I will be hooking up one of the MSCs for my Lathe.

Although I have several ruined Stick Packs that probably have 1 or 2 good cells in them, I think I would rather see if I could salvage enough of them for some Side X Side Packs (which I COULD also run the MSC/Lathe with).

Thanks Guys