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Thread: Anatomy of a drum spinner

  1. #1
    So after a great time at Manchester (thanks for all the positive reception Road Bump received!), and spending a bit of time talking to Jamie McHarg at the event, I think the time has come where I'm ready to build a spinner.

    My plan is to go for a drum spinner, approximately 100mm diameter by 150-200mm width. I have already bought what I feel is a suitable motor: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...___store=en_us

    The main area I'm struggling to work out myself is what goes into a suitable mounting system. Basic stuff I could really do with some pointers on:
    • Shaft material and diameter
    • Bearings/bushings
    • Pulley ratios
    • What style of drum is easiest to make for someone with limited resources and connections?


    Any help would be hugely appreciated!

  2. #2
    I wondered who's the Road block featherweight replica belonged to-
    I was thinking of building a replica of piece de resistance feather-
    maybe we could have a replicas event, I know theres a beheamoth
    somewhere too

  3. #3
    although i have not built a spinner at all i could help answer a few things.

    Shaft material. high grade Alu (7075) Or Titanium

    Bearings are better (less rolling resistance = More RPMs = More KE) but more complex ( correct bearing, preloading etc)

    Bushing cheaper and simpler but higher rolling resistance.

    I would suggest reading 360 build log, Team Eventorizon build log. Really any spinner build log

  4. #4
    For a drum spinner, a fixed shaft is generally the better option as it aids the structure of the machine better than a rotating shaft.

    For materials, I'd look at silver steel. around 20 to 25mm dia should be a good starting point. Titanium is another viable option. I wouldn't recommend aluminium.

    Both bearings and bushings are viable options and have been used successfully. Bearings are a little more forgiving if things aren't quite 100% accurate.

    Ratios are entirely dependent on what speed you want to achieve.

    What tooling do you have available to you?

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by typhoon_driver View Post
    Ratios are entirely dependent on what speed you want to achieve.

    What tooling do you have available to you?
    I'm not sure what speed would be considered adequate for a drum, but the lowest I dare gear it is 1.8:1, any less reduction than that and I'm worried there won't be enough torque. Assuming mechanical and aerodynamic drag knocks 20% off the output speed, that ratio should be good for around 11,800rpm and a tip speed of 150-160 mph.

    I personally only have access to hand tools at this point, and I don't really know much about CAD software. I did ask around a few local CNC places, but none of them were very interested in doing one-off parts. If anyone here knows anyone who can help on this sort of thing, it would be enormously appreciated.

  6. #6

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