Aluminum Motor Stands

[Toolman]

Material is 1x1x.125 sq tube. Base measures 10"x13". These are bench top work stands that hold an electric motor for re-building. They will be Tig welded.

 

[Toolman]

Starting with Hub.
Op 1- saw
Op 2- cnc to length and punch undersize hole thru
Op 3- conventional lathe drilling out hole to final size (cnc lathe won't hold a drill this big) RD will be jealous of my 3 jaw chuck that also has individual adjusting jaws that work off the scroll.
Op 4- chamfer
Op 5- drill and tap 3/8-16 hole for locking bolt
Op 6- Sand the crap off of outside for tig welding

 

[RiverDave]

Other then adjusting individual jaw pressure (which I'm not sure why you would want that) I don't understand the advantage of that over what I have?

Seems like it would be a disaster to indicate it in?

 

[Toolman]

As the chuck ages, it will start holding true in a certain range, but not in another. Especially if it was used for production. Cushman chucks can adjust for this wear. Or if you want to pick up and skim a surface but you can't get the surface to run true, you just crank on the jaws. Ex: Those hubs I just made. Say someone else made them and they are brought to my shop to have .005 taken out of the bore, but they won't run true enough 'cause the guy that made them was using a wore out chuck. I can dial 'em in. As you know, some chucks will adjust the whole body to do the same thing. I find this a PITA! I'd rather just do the jaws.

 

[Toolman]

This used to be a 2 piece, welded part. But the weld would crack after much use. So now we do it 1 piece. The groove on the shaft is for the lock bolt to dig into so's not to raise a burr that would rub on the inside of Hub.

 

[Toolman]

This end of Rotating Cup simulates the housing elec motor bolts to. I use a 1" 2 flute end mill to punch a hole big enough to get boring bar into. Also punch a 13/16" hole all the way thru. This allows access to the motor shaft with a special tool on an extension.

 

[Toolman]

I use the V- Drive Bearing Cap soft jaws for this op.

 

[Toolman]

The last pic is the Rotating Cup in the Hub.

 

[Toolman]

Prepping tubes for welding. 1st pic shows grinding 45 deg chamf for weld.
A simple temporary jig.
I use an adjustable parallel to make up for difference in tube lengths. This keeps everything square and makes lifting weldment out of fixture easier.
Tacking up bottom frame.
Also tack up back brace.

 

[Toolman]

I ues a pure copper plate to weld on. I don't get so many "spark jumps". While I'm welding, I lay the frame corner to corner across the copper plate to keep track of warpage. I'll change up the order of the welds according to how the frame is warping. The last pic is of a "blow out". The tube is becoming air tight as I go and when is get to the last 1/4 inch, the air pressure is getting so high, it blows out the weld. I will have to drill vent holes in frame to fix this problem. Sometimes I get away with not having to drill vent holes.

 

[Toolman]

With by best efforts, the frames still have a small twist in them. I want them perfect. So I will "Bump Straighten" them. I'm using my $100k frame straightening machine! lol

 

[Toolman]

Cope out the short tubes to fit hub.
Another simple temporary jig.
Bolt is for clocking.
All tacked up.

 

[Toolman]

The hub is a lot thicker than the tubing so it will more difficult to melt. So I'll crank up the helium. Helium is like NOS to a welding maching. It creates heat. I'm running about 30% helium of the helium/argon mix.
Here's another "blow out". You can see the tiny hole came thru from the main frame tube which is pressurized. Time for more vent holes.

 

[Toolman]

Another temporary fixture. The goal is not to locate on any welds. You can see the picture of the last time I did this job 2 yrs ago. I've found taking these pics is worth the time.
Tack on the Backrest.
Weld everything up.
Another "Bump Staightening" along with some twist eliminating. I want them perfect.
Tig welding the Lock Bolts using silicon bronze rod. These bolts will be black oxided but the bronze won't take the stain. It looks really cool.
Time to start the clock tickin' (delivery)