Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Christie AW-3

This is topic Christie AW-3 - Bodine Motor Squeaks in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 07-17-2000, 08:39 AM:

Some of our motor are squeaking and was wondering if anyone has any ideas to stop it.

I had one to blow out the dust and reverse the brushes but two things are difficult with this. One are the plastic caps. The are either too tight or the largest screwdriver I have just chips away at the plastic slot. Two. The brushes aren't reversable. Either top to bottom or front to back. Can't even pull them out of the slot without disconnecting them.

So, would a shot of WD, FilmGuard or 3-in-1 oil on the shaft by the bearing do any good or do I just live with the squeaky motor.

BTW, Christie has a different material for the motor puck that doesn't deform when the motor has been resting. These new pucks run smooth and quiet. (Thanks BEVAN)

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-17-2000, 03:27 PM:

Yes, Bevan designed the pucks himself. They are officially called Bevan-Pucks.

Some of my motors have always squeaked. I have not found a way to stop it. I am assuming that it was caused by too much dust during construction, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Spraying oil or FilmGuard on it doesn't seem to help.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-17-2000, 09:16 PM:

Take one of the squeeky motors to a reputable motor repair shop and have it checked out. The motors use very common bearings that are easily replaced. They sometimes get full of graphite from the normal brush wear that happens in any motor. It could also be that the commutator is worn. It can be cut down in a lathe to clean it up, and new brushes installed. Also check the drive roller and see if it is squeeking. The bad thing about these Bodines, as is about most of them is that the armature and or field coil cannot be ordered as replacement parts as it is an OEM Bodine motor. Many of these are this way. The older AW-2 motors were also OEM only.
NEVER spray any oil or equivelent lube into any motor. Simply add a shot of Film-Guard into your nightly dose of Geritol, watch Joe's video 6 times in quick sucession and the squeeking motors will no longer matter!!
Mark

Posted by Russ Kress (Member # 461) on 07-17-2000, 11:45 PM:

We use Ballantyne Pro-35s (ha ha, I've already heard that one) *g*. We generally use a GE motor with them. The GEs replaced (in most cases) Bodine motors which had failed.

Usually, the problem was with the centrifigal switch that switches off the start winding.

Anyways, every time I see one, I make a mental note of some future holiday/birthday/graduation/family event that I will miss while changing one out.

THEY SQUEAK TOO!!!?

Russ

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 07-18-2000, 12:13 AM:

"Bevan-Pucks"?
He's got a whole line of crap, doesn't he?

(Of course by crap I'm not implying its bad, just using another word for stuff, things, whatever.)

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-18-2000, 12:52 AM:

Uh oh. Now you've gone and PISSED BEVAN OFF!!!! I'd lay low for a few days if I were you.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-18-2000, 02:50 AM:

Paul,

How long have the new Bevan-Pucks been installed on your platters? Bevan was nice enough to send us one of his pucks for Joe to review. Joe has insisted they be tested side by side with a never used Bevan-Putty-Puck (the old style made from genuine Silly Putty carefully molded into that perfect "almost circle" by Bevan's own hands) not on the theater's platters, but on the AW3 in my screening room. Since it does not get used very often (as opposed to testing it at the theater), it will truly be an excellent test of the new Bevan-Puck. I can tell you from experience that a Bevan-Putty-Puck will completely deform within 3-4 months on my AW3 bad enough you can feel it "thumping" in the floor. At the last theater I worked at, some of the Bevan-Putty-Pucks were so bad you could hear them in the auditorium...and yet the projector could NOT be heard!

I'm REALLY hoping these new Bevan-Pucks do what they claim.

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 07-18-2000, 09:13 AM:

The new Bevan-Putty pucks are slowly being installed when I can. (I lift the empty platter deck up high enough to get the old one off. Too damn hard to take the motor off, and then put the entire motor back on) Anyway, the original ones are the yellow-ish kind and thump fairly bad.

Why can't they be made of fairly hard black rubber like tires? Must be they can get the proper milage rating out of them.

Paul.

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 10-11-2000, 09:08 AM:

I got the motors to stop squeaking. Pay careful attention to the orientation of the cord and everything else.

1. Remove motor from platter
2. Remove top plate from motor
3. Remove large plastic access caps and pull brushes out a bit.
4. Disassemble motor by removing the two long phillips head screws, carefull, there are nuts at the top.
5. Clean bottom part of dust and such.
6. Use 220 grit paper and clean the $#%& off where the brushes contact the motor. (Armature, commutator, ??)
7. Reassemble. Again, watch orientation. Otherwise, it will go the wrong way.
8. Reattach to platter and listen. Still listening. Should be nice and quite.

I actually to go and look to be sure one was running because the squeaking was gone.

4 motors done, 68 to go.

Paul.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 10-11-2000, 09:30 AM:

Can someone tell me the operating volatage of this motor and it's max RPMs and other technical stuff. I'm going to be doing a mod to my homemade tower and need a dc motor or two to do the things I want to do.

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut