Direct Drive Servo Motor retrofit for vintage singer 491D

[DonInReno]

I can’t picture it.

[JClif88]

pardon my ignorance....

don't these gearboxes have a driver input and the output shaft?

I'd imagined you could just have a motor->gearbox->sewing machine?

 

[DonInReno]

With the direct connect servo being fairly wide, adding another 7”-8” for an in-line reducer puts the handwheel waaaay over there.  I can’t imagine it would be very enjoyable to sew with.

[JClif88]

On 11/22/2020 at 4:52 PM, DonInReno said:

With the direct connect servo being fairly wide, adding another 7”-8” for an in-line reducer puts the handwheel waaaay over there.  I can’t imagine it would be very enjoyable to sew with.

true,

 

Anyway, I have a DD motor coming, got it for about £70, will be interesting to see how well it works, I'm quietly confident that it will mount ok as I've heard they have mounted to Singer 591D's in the past. So just a case of trying to work out how to stabilise it which should be possible which a bit of angle steel.

[JClif88]

So I finally got this and fitted it, I'm pretty pleased with it tbh, very easy to install, just needed some bracing fixing to the table to stop the motor spinning. Great control options, much neater than a belted setup and the lowest setting (200 rpm) is fine. Hopefully the quality is up to scratch.

It's a 750W motor and seems strong (I can't stop it with my hand). It also behaves like a stepper motor as it doesn't run smoothly, rather runs in stages. Also it has a nice Led light and single stitch button and also passes power through to an external lamp. 

Edited December 24, 2020 by JClif88

[JJN]

@JClif88I would like to see a photo of your setup.

Edited December 25, 2020 by JJN

[CowboyBob]

On 11/12/2020 at 12:39 AM, Constabulary said:

Why a direct drive motor and not a standard under table mount motor? I´m sure that would cause less trouble.

You would also get a lower speed since the motor pulley would be smaller than the one on the machine,so a motor with 200 rpm low speed would be 100 or less @ the machine on a standard setup.

[JClif88]

 

@CowboyBobI've found that 200rpm so far is plenty slow for my purposes tbh, and the single stitch button and needle positioning features have been more than useful.

@JJN Pictures below. I can't upload more for some reason (keeps telling me I'm limited to 1.46mb). Basically the motor is just hung on the shank in place of the original handwheel/pulley. The angle steel at the front stops the motor spinning. On the back there is a long metal strip that sits into the original belt cutout that stops rotation in the other way (due to kickback when the motor stops) 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by JClif88

[JClif88]

After further messing about I've managed to set it up to lift the needle when pressing back on the pedal. The only thing I'm now working on is deciphering the menus. 

[dikman]

Full marks for your perseverance!