I've seen treadmill motors be used for wind turbine generators. It was featured in Make Magazine volume 5, link to the project page here: <a href="http://makeprojects.com/Project/Make-a-Wind-Generator/9/1">http://makeprojects.com/Project/Make-a-Wind-Generator/9/1</a><div>
<br></div><div>It calls for a "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Arial, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a class="muted" href="http://makeprojects.com/Item/Treadmill_motor" style="color: rgb(102, 140, 157); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; ">Treadmill motor</a>, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Arial, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span class="item_type">260 volts DC, 5 amps, with a 6" threaded flywheel" </span></span>and certainly seems like the hardest part to source for the project. </div>
<br>I would certainly be interested in one of these motors, however I'm in Kingston, so it would probably be a little while before I could take it off your hands. <div><br></div><div>Does the ModLab have a scrap bin? When I visited Kwartzlab they had a shelf with tote bins filled with goodies, such as the linear actuators you mentioned, among other things. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Sam <div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Aug 24, 2011 at 5:29 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tonyelwood@telus.blackberry.net">tonyelwood@telus.blackberry.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
Hello builders and thinkers,<br>
<br>
My name is Tony Elwood. I've been following the mailing list for a few weeks, eavesdropping on all the interesting craziness you people have been up to. I have been building and inventing things since I was a kid and had a box of wires, batteries and lightbulbs.<br>
<br>
Just getting back into it now playing around with a chipkit uno arduino based on microchips 32 bit chip. I built a shield out of treadmill parts to drive an 8x8 led matrix. Amazingly it works.<br>
<br>
I do service for a fitness company and we are cleaning out stock of obsolete parts. Does anyone have a use for treadmill drive or incline motors. We have a big pile that will be scrapped. Many of them are brand new. I may be able to get some for free. The drive motors are dc, 1.5-3 HP. The linear actuators are slow but high torque gearbox ac motors with wormwheel shafts on them.<br>
<br>
Let me know if anyone is interested.<br>
<br>
Hope to attend a lab soon and meet you all.<br>
-Tony<br>
<br>
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry<br>
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