I know everyone knows that hot gluing has a million uses around a model railroad and everywhere else.
Last night I was remotoring a P2K Alco S-1 that from when it was brand new ran painfully slow despite all the usual procedures you go through to lube and everything. I took the motor out and it was simply very weak.
I decided to replace it with a twin shaft can I got from a slot car source on ebay. the question, how to hold it in? The original is on the left. Flat surfaces top and bottom, screw holes, and the frame in the loco made to suit. Replacement motor similar to one on right. curved surfaces, no screw hole.
Since the overall height of the 2 motors was the same, I thought I'd just give hot glue a try. It took a few attempts, but it works like a champ. I forgot to take pix during the transplant, but you cant see the glue under the motor anyway. I'll be using this method more, especially when a motor needs to be positioned a little above the frame, or the 2 mounting surfaces don't match. If you blow it, you simply pull the 2 pieces apart, and peel the glue off whichever part it stuck to, try again. Dan
Since the overall height of the 2 motors was the same, I thought I'd just give hot glue a try. It took a few attempts, but it works like a champ. I forgot to take pix during the transplant, but you cant see the glue under the motor anyway.
I'll be using this method more, especially when a motor needs to be positioned a little above the frame, or the 2 mounting surfaces don't match. If you blow it, you simply pull the 2 pieces apart, and peel the glue off whichever part it stuck to, try again. Dan
I'm going to be doing a transplant in a couple of F7's. I never thought of hot glue.
Mike.
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Here's a case where I used a good-quality 3M double-stick pad in addition to a few wraps of Kapton tape.
IMG_6622 by Edmund, on Flickr
I have no qualms about not having the motor rigidly attached. This method, like yours, allows some degree of isolation which improves transmitted motor vibration.
The only downside I can see to the hot-melt glue is that when the cold motor hits it the glue may chill quickly before you get a good chance to align the motor properly? I've seen others use RTV with good results and it allows for a little alignment before it cures.
Good Luck, Ed
Does the motor generate enough heat to soften the glue??
herrinchoker
I would be inclined to use a polythiosulfide adhesive----
Interesting solution. I've seen quite a few attached with silicone caulk, but never Hot glue. Seems like it would set up alot quicker than Silicone which could be a good thing.
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I've used the double stick tape before, with good results when the conditions are right. I've used silicon, I don't like the sticky yet slippery mess especially if changes are needed.
If a motor got hot enough to melt the glue, there are bigger issued to be resloved!
I used the glue gun on the hotter setting. This gives just enough time to set the motor and quickly adjust. You do have to work quickly and don't have time for repositioning. It took about 3 or 4 tries, mainly because I had the motor leaning to one side or the other, and there's no room in that shell for error. But even then, turn around time between tries is very quick too.
Also, the hot glue is thick enough, it won't wick into unwanted areas, like small gaps in motors.
I just pulled a few shelved (stalled) projects out of boxes to see if there is any potential for this idea in any of them, and I can see that there is.
Edited in, the bigger the glob of hot glue you use, the more time you do have to make some adjustments. Dan
A little further along in working with this idea, I have had this critter mechanism around for a while. Based on a Kato blomberg truck and a CD motor, the motor is shafted to the worm gear, and the worm cover holds everything in alignment, but doesn't secure the motor itself.
Tonight I unsnapped the worm retainer, lifted the motor, added a dab of hot glue just under the motor the size of half a raisin, and snapped the worm cover down. Stable as can be. While I was at it, I used hot glue to fix the motor wires in place and insulate them too. I'm finding I have more time to position and adjust than I previously thought. Not a lot, but enough. Dan
Tonight I unsnapped the worm retainer, lifted the motor, added a dab of hot glue just under the motor the size of half a raisin, and snapped the worm cover down. Stable as can be. While I was at it, I used hot glue to fix the motor wires in place and insulate them too.
I'm finding I have more time to position and adjust than I previously thought. Not a lot, but enough. Dan
Mel, I can't tell from what I've done so far. The motor in the S-1 is pressed down into the frame, and not really isolated from it, but the motor is quiet enough anyway.
This material is of about the same texture as Athearn's motor mounts in the blue box locomotives, if not a little more pliable, So I'd imagine it could help in that regard.
I find that hot glue does not hold metal very well in the long term. On the other hand, I see real potential in using it to "tack" the motor on with a limited bond, to test the motor in its position. If all is fine, one could squeeze in silicone in the remaining gaps between the motor and the frame. The silicone would provide that long term bond assurance. When remotoring a steam engine, a temporary bond would be very useful to test a connection between a worm gear and a main gear.
I think I will try that the next time. I was thinking of doing one soon...
Thanks for the idea!
Simon
I thought about it some years ago but used bath caulk. That way I had time to set the proper gear lash on my steamers and the motor noise was vastly reduced. I had a 0-4-0 with NWSL 45-1 and 72-1. Motor RPM was somewhat high and concerned about noise.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
This method is obviously not a cure all or for all applications. Simon is right about hot glue's limited adhesion to metal. His and other's ideas about silicon still hold true. But in applications where the motor's mounting is already kind of laid out, and, as in the ways I've used it, you don't need a lot of time for readjusting, it's an alternative worth looking into. Dan