Hey everyone! I'm working on a project that involves using a Taig mini lathe headstock to trim small carbon fiber tubes. Just to clarify, I'm not looking to turn this into a full lathe—there's no need for high torque or power. I just need a small motor that can operate between 3000 RPM down to around 180-300 RPM. The motor needs to have a shaft that's at least 3mm to fit a GT2 pulley. I'm hoping to avoid a geared motor since they tend to be a bit noisy, but I'm considering it along with voltage control if it's the simplest option. Also, I'm unsure about using brushless motors; most I see are around 1000 KV on Amazon, which would mean driving them at very low voltages. For BLDC motors, do I really need a three-wire speed controller?
2 Answers
It sounds like you might want to clarify the torque requirements a bit. Knowing how much torque you'll need for trimming those small tubes would help in choosing the right motor.
Have you looked into using a NEMA17 stepper motor? They’re commonly used for projects like this. Just keep in mind they can be a bit noisy and might max out around 1000 RPM. If you're okay with adjusting the pulley size, you could grab a stepper motor controller with a display from Amazon—it’s pretty affordable and could simplify your setup.