Adjusting engine speed washing machine may be required by any home DIYer who decides to adapt a part from a used assistant.
Simply connecting the washing machine motor to the power supply does not do much good, since it immediately produces maximum speed, and yet many homemade devices require an increase or decrease in speed, preferably without loss of power. In this publication we will talk about how to connect the motor from the washing machine, and how to make a speed controller for it.
Let's connect first
Before adjusting the speed of the washing machine engine, it must be connected correctly. The commutator motors from automatic washing machines have several outputs, and many novice DIYers confuse them and cannot understand how to connect. Let's talk about everything in order, and at the same time check the operation of the electric motor, because there is a possibility that it is completely faulty.
For your information! Tachometers having two outputs can be easily checked with an ohmmeter. But similar parts with three outputs do not ring in any direction.
- Next, we take one wire coming from the collector and connect it to one of the coil wires.
- We connect the second wire of the collector and the second wire of the coil to a 220 V network.
- If we need to change the direction of rotation of the armature, then we simply swap the places of the connected wires, namely, the first wire of the collector and the first wire of the coil are connected to the network, and the second wires are connected to each other.
- We mark the wires of the coil, tachometer and collector with labels so as not to confuse them and perform a test run of the engine.
If trial run was successful, namely, the engine smoothly picked up speed without jamming or jerking, the brushes did not spark, you can start connecting the washing machine motor through the speed controller. There are many diagrams for connecting a motor through a regulator, as well as diagrams for the regulator itself; let’s consider two options.
Connect via voltage regulator
The simplest option for adjusting the electric motor of a washing machine is to use any voltage regulator (dimmer, drill trigger, etc.). maximum speed. By turning the dimmer switch, we reduce the voltage, and the engine accordingly begins to reduce speed. The connection diagram is as follows:
- We connect one coil wire to one armature wire;
- connect the second wire of the coil to the network;
- we connect the second armature wire to the dimmer, and connect the second output of the dimmer to the network;
- We test run the engine.
We check how the engine operates at minimum power. You can see that even at minimum power the idle speed is impressive, but you just need to lean a wooden block against the rotating axle and the engine immediately stops. What is the conclusion? And the conclusion is that this method adjusting the speed of the electric motor of the washing machine leads to a catastrophic loss of power when the voltage decreases, which is unacceptable if you are going to make some kind of homemade product out of the engine.
Important! When starting the washing machine engine, follow safety precautions. Be sure to secure the engine before starting, and do not touch the rotating elements with your hands.
Initially, we set the task of learning to regulate the speed of the washing machine engine with our own hands without loss or with minimal loss of power, but is this possible? It is quite possible that the connection diagram will simply become somewhat more complicated.
Via microcircuit
It's time to remember about the tachometer and its outputs, which we found on the engine, but set aside for the time being. It is the tachometer that will help us connect the washing machine motor and regulate its speed without loss of power. The tachometer itself cannot control the engine, it is only an intermediary. The actual control must be carried out through a microcircuit that is connected to the motor tachometer, winding and armature and is powered from a 220 V network. Schematic diagram you can see in the picture below.
What happens to the motor when we connect it to the network through this chip? And the following happens, we can start the engine with our own hands on maximum speed, or we can turn the special toggle switch to reduce the speed. We give a sudden load to the engine by placing a wooden block under the rotating pulley. The speed drops for a split second, but then recovers again, despite the load.
The fact is that the tachometer detects a decrease in speed due to the load that has arisen and immediately sends a signal about this to the control board. The microcircuit, having received the signal, automatically adds power, thus leveling the engine speed. The homemade dream, as they say, has come true. If you have such a connection diagram, you can make a wood splitter and many other useful things from the washing machine motor.
To summarize our story, let’s answer one more reasonable question question that the reader may have: where can I get such a board? You can assemble it based on the diagram and list of parts that we attach to this article, or you can order it ready-made from specialists. Fortunately, there are enough offers on this matter on the Internet. You need to look for the TDA 1085 circuit.
It often happens that washing machines fail. This happens for many reasons, but that’s not about that now. In most cases, washing machines go to waste along with all components and parts. However, there is no need to rush.
If the drum, housing and other small parts are practically impossible to fit anywhere, then the engine can be installed in many places:
1. Homemade sharpening machines (carbon steel);
2. Woodworking equipment;
3. Homemade engravers;
4.Etc., etc.
Almost all power tools are built on the basis of universal commutator motors, which are installed in washing machines.
True, there is one very important detail– it is possible to connect the washing machine motor directly to the target device, but a number of problems will arise.
Problems with using washing machine motors
- Firstly, it is too revvy (3000 rpm is not needed everywhere).
- Secondly, even if you give the maximum, the vibrations will increase significantly, and this additional problems with a frame, etc.
- Third, often smooth speed control turns out to be very useful in the operation of the final unit.
- Fourth, washing machine motors are equipped with tachometers (these are elements structurally combined with the motor, they are necessary to control the shaft speed, the rotation speed proportionally affects output voltage tachometer), which significantly complicates the process of connecting and designing a control circuit.
Rice. 1. Tachometer
It is highly likely that you will not be able to use the built-in board from a washing machine, so the logical conclusion is that you need to purchase a ready-made board.
However, after studying the cost ready-made solutions it turns out that it’s easier to buy all ready-made device than “reinventing your wheel.”
That's why many people choose self-assembly such a fee.
Do-it-yourself adjustment of washing machine engine speed
Easy adjustment voltage on the motor windings will also be able to control the speed, although this approach is not viable in real conditions, since under load at low speeds the engine will show low power, which means its torque will be very small.
The correct way out of this situation is to use special controllers that will control the shaft based on data from the tachometer.
One of the most popular approaches is a circuit based on the TDA1085 (this microcontroller is used by many manufacturers household appliances to control electric motors, you can consider the Russian KS1027XA4 microcircuit as an analogue).
The diagram itself looks like this.
Rice. 2. Microcircuit KS1027ХА4
The PCB option is shown below (you can design your own).
Rice. 3. PCB option
Resistor R17 will be responsible for adjusting the speed.
Change the rotation speed range by experimentally selecting the value of capacitor C14.
The engine itself is not connected to the network directly, but through a transformer with a power of more than 200 W and an output voltage of about 60 V (±10 V).
If you need direct power from a 220 V network, then you can consider using following diagram.
Rice. 4. Scheme for 220 V network
It is built on the basis of the same TDA1085.
Scheme for regulating the speed of commutator motors without microcircuits
From 600 rpm.
Rice. 5. Scheme for regulating the speed of commutator motors without microcircuits from 600 rpm
This circuit is the safest for users, since the potentiometer is decoupled from the network alternating current.
The semisistor must be mounted on a heat sink.
A variation of the original circuit with adjustment from 200 rpm.
Rice. 6. Scheme for regulating the speed of commutator motors without microcircuits from 200rpm
Its disadvantages include the fact that the potentiometer is connected to an alternating current network, which means there is a risk of electric shock. Use models with plastic adjustment knobs!
There is always a risk of engine “overrun” when the governor fails and the shaft begins to rotate at maximum speed. Therefore, provide quick emergency shutdown unit and strengthen the frame in which the engine will be installed. Just in case.
Publication date: 22.03.2018
Readers' opinions
- ValeraMoogs / 03/16/2019 - 22:19
- Sergey / 09/23/2018 - 12:19
Can you tell me an option for controlling the engine from a washing machine with a tachometer but without a commutator? - Grigory / 09/15/2018 - 10:39
Thanks for the work you've done. I came to you through Kaligraph. I will be with you in the future.
A neighbor in the building placed an automatic washing machine on the landing for further disposal, as a repairman told him, the motor was damaged. Not one Samodelkin, never in his life, will pass by a discarded unit without picking it up for spare parts or at least looking inside at the contents. I have the same problem, so I decided to spare my neighbor the hard physical work of taking the unit to the trash and took it to my village for spare parts.
In the photo: One of the most useful elements of the inside of a washing machine.
Everything was disassembled into useful gadgets and it was time to check the condition of the motor.
Paragraph 1. Checking the motor.
To check the motor and upgrade the lighting dimmer, we need tools.
*Device (tester)
*Electrician's side cutters
*Dimmer
*Soldering iron
Inside there was this brushed universal motor MCA 52\64 -148\KT11 390W. 13000 RPM.
In the picture we see a seven-pin large connector, on the left there are all single-color blue wires (to make it more difficult for the average person to understand) and one yellow-green (grounding), on the right there are wires going directly into the motor, if you look from the top, there are two red ones (to the stroke sensor ), blue to brush 1, purple to the other brush 2, black (midpoint of the motor windings), orange (two stator windings).
Let's strip all the outgoing blue wires to test them with the device.
Let's disconnect the connector and use a tester to call which of the blue wires goes to which motor wire, so as not to forget, you need to write it down and sketch it.
To easily start the motor, we only need two orange, blue and purple wires; the rest can be bitten off or insulated for future homemade products.
According to this diagram, you need to connect the motor.
You can check the operation of the motor, everything works (as in most cases it happens), only it is advisable to replace the bearings.
This is how repair specialists carry out diagnostics; the price of such a new motor is 6,000 rubles + installation work.
Point 2. Reverse.
This type of motor can be reversed, which is what the washing machine does during washing; to do this, you need to change the connection of the brush from one winding to another, only do this after the motor has completely stopped and is de-energized.
Scheme. Reverse using a toggle switch.
The toggle switch itself.
Point 3. Speed control with light dimmer.
You can also regulate the speed by reducing or increasing the current, for example, using a wire rheostat of the required power or using a triac with a PWM controller.
As the simplest and most affordable, this is a Dimmer for lighting (photo below), but be sure to look at which one before connecting for the first time maximum current The regulator is designed, we need a tenfold overlap of the rated power of the motor, because the starting current of our motor jumps from 8-10A and higher, even without load.
Cheapest Dimmer.
If the Dimmer turns out to be 3A like mine, then it can be modified by finding the required triac directly on the control board itself washing machine, where all the parameters are exactly calculated for this motor.
To do this, we will trace the path from the place where the motor terminal is connected to the board and along the widest tracks, one of which will definitely fit one of the legs of the part we need (in my case, it is a BTB16 triac with three legs).
We disconnect the radiator mount and solder the part, being careful not to overheat.
We solder the resulting triac together with the radiator to replace the old part in the regulator, now you can safely connect a load of 10 A and even up to 16 A at the time of start-up.
We connect the regulator (Dimmer) to the break of one power wire of the motor, plug it into the network and turn the regulator knob, the motor should start rotating, and the speed should correspond to the position of the regulator knob.
If, when connected to the network, the motor is in any of the positions of the regulator or is constantly running without changing speed, then the part (triac) was broken (burned out), provided that the regulator itself was initially in good working order.
Now we need to make a new case for Dimmer, the old one has become too small for it. But that is another story.
Washing machines, like any household appliance, tend to break down. And it’s good if the breakdown can be corrected at low financial cost. But alas, there are times when there is no point in repairing a washing machine, since it is easier and cheaper to buy new unit. But what to do with the old one? Moreover, if its engine is in excellent condition and continues to work properly.
Necessary unnecessary things
Many people will simply take the car to a junkyard and forget about it. But this is not a solution to the problem for a zealous and skillful owner. You would be surprised to know where and what parts of a washing machine could be adapted into household. And in our article we will talk about the most valuable part of this unit - the working engine automatic washing machine.
Most suitable option Using an electric motor means connecting it to another device. For example, an electric grinding machine (or any other). But to do this, first of all, you need to connect the motor to a 220 V household network and adjust the number of its revolutions.
Connection to 220 Volt
In order to connect the electric motor to the home electrical network, you will need a multimeter.
With its help we call the output wires coming from the electric motor. The purpose of this operation: to detect among the wires (from 2 to 4 pieces) two with the highest resistance (about 12 Ohms). Accordingly, if there are only 2 wires, then the task is simplified to a minimum. On this moment We have on hand two power wires from the excitation coil of the washing machine motor.
The third pair of wires we need belongs to the tachometer. They are mainly attached to the engine housing. Otherwise, you will have to partially disassemble it (the motor).
We connect one of the collector wires to the coil wire. And we connect the remaining pair (collector - coil) in a convenient way to a 220 Volt network. We are conducting a test run.
If you do not know what the parts we named mean and look like: excitation coil, collector, tachometer, etc., it is better to postpone reading this article until you become familiar with the device and operating principle commutator motor automatic washing machine.
Adjusting the engine speed of an automatic washing machine
Engine rotation speed plays important role in its further application. Exists a large number of circuits and printed circuit boards on the basis of which the electric motors of washing machines are connected. And further large quantity motor speed control board from a washing machine homemade, which are sometimes much more efficient and of higher quality than their factory counterparts. Let's consider two schemes for adjusting engine speed from a washing machine.
Voltage regulator
The simplest and most accessible regulator of the speed of the electric motor of a washing machine is any device designed for such actions. It could be:
- Dimer;
- Electric drill trigger;
- A swivel wheel, etc., taken from any household appliance or purchased from a store.
The meaning of the operation for adjusting the speed is simple and consists in reducing or increasing the voltage supplied to the engine from a 220 Volt network. That is, by turning the adjustment wheel, we regulate the voltage, and therefore set the rotation speed. The diagram of this connection looks like this:
- We connect the wire from the coil (1) to the cable coming from the armature.
- We direct the 2-reel wire to the network.
- We close the remaining cable (2) of the armature to a dimer.
- The second output of the dimer is to the network.
- We test run the electric motor and operate the regulator.
If you haven't mixed anything up, the engine will obediently change its speed. But one will appear a big problem. When you touch the rotating axis of the motor, it will stop. That is, at the slightest outside influence, a loss of power occurs, regardless of the applied voltage. Essentially, we have a working engine on our hands without any useful functions.
Connection via board (chip)
Our speed control scheme was not initially the most elementary. And that’s exactly why we used a tachogenerator in it. Now it's time to get to work on it. After all, with the help of a tachometer we will be able to regulate the speed of the washing machine engine without any loss of its power, that is, turning the electric motor into a truly functional device.
In our case, the tachometer is an intermediary between the engine and the microcircuit, which looks like this. This circuit is created on the basis of a factory board marked TDA 1085. It will not be difficult to purchase it in radio equipment stores.
A completely appropriate question would be: what will change in the operation of the engine after it is connected via a microcircuit? A lot of things.
If with the usual connection we described above, you had to start the engine with a movement of your hand. Now this is possible with a simple turn of the toggle switch. When trying to influence a rotating pulley, the engine does not stop completely, but drops the speed literally for a split second, after which it returns to the set power, but taking into account the increased load.
That is, the microcircuit we built, having received a signal from the tachometer about a decrease in the number of revolutions due to the increased load, instantly reacts to this and increases the power, and therefore the number of revolutions of the electric motor.
