Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!uunet!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!staff.tc.umn.edu!rogers
From: rogers@staff.tc.umn.edu ()
Subject: Re: Need some cheap components.. any advice?
Message-ID: <1992Nov26.184633.16401@news2.cis.umn.edu>
Summary: Old Printers a great source for servos, steppers, and encoders 
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References: <RG.92Nov25200802@nymph.msel.unh.edu>
Distribution: comp
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 18:46:33 GMT
Lines: 23

  I have gotten more than a dozen servos,  steppers, and shaft encoders
from old printers.   There is a 24 V 1800 rpm servo with a 500 div quadrature
encoder (*4 = 2000 steps per turn) on all DECwriters and LA36's.
   These motors are severly underated (so they can run for years in a printer)
and if you need more torque (I can't find that spec at the moment) you
could just bump the voltage.
   I just got a box of stuff from a friend and it has the guts from at least
three various old (large office type) printers.  There a are 3 smaller
DC motors (bigger than ones in a battery powered child carrying toy car)
2 Large servos (48 V, much bigger than a DECwriter servo) with quad. encoders,
1 PMI ultra low inertia motor with DC tach output (probably from a tape drive)
2 medium sized steppers (2 with quadrature encoders)
1 Large stepper (with quad. encoder)
2 shaftencoders (quadrature output)

Worm screws, belts, pullys and gears galore.     

Look at all the surplus stores and you can get a big old printer (with lots
of stuff, at least a servo and a stepper in each) for less than the price
of a brand new fancy servo.

Brynn Rogers

