Rotary Works 6v Motor Problems, My solution, Possible upgrade/fix?

Hey guys, let me start off by saying I'm no expert on these things, I've simply been playing around a found a possible solution to a common problem. I've had a 6v Rotary Works (plain brass) for a while now and I loved it, great all round machine, does it all however after a few months the motor started the usual slowing down thing and I stopped using it. I then ordered a new motor and that was great however this lasted maybe 4 tattoos before the same problem. At first I thought maybe it was a dodgy clip cord etc but everything ran fan just not the RW.

I thought it might have been the clip cord as I noticed if you moved the cord as the machine was running it would speed up or slow down. What I noticed was that when I applied more outward pressure to the binding posts effectively pushing them apart it sped up. I stripped the machine down and discovered that although the binding posts were still firm and not loose or broken, the actual connection into the motor was loose on one side. Not a lot but enough that you could here the it click as you wiggled it. A few tests running just the motor proved that this play was causing the running issue. I did my best to solder up the connection to stop the movement and this was great but what it made me think is that with high spring tension clip cords, you will inevitably be putting too much stress on these binding posts so I decided to come up with a solution.

With this in mind I figured the most obvious fix is to take the pressure of the motor connections. I had a little sketch and found a neat solution using an old 35mm film canister. I chose this for a few reasons, first was the weight, I didn't see the point in adding a lot of extra weight to what is a nice balanced machine, also the plastic case wont cause grounding issues, and lastly the top comes off making it easy to wire up.

This prototype is extremely crude but I think I could make a better looking version. First off was to reinforce the lid of the canister slightly as I noticed it was bit flimsy. Two pieces of decent plastic inside and out did the trick. Next I made two binders out of brass bolts and drilled a snug hole in each for the clip cord, I like the holes to be tight as you sometimes get speed issues from the clip cord moving around. At this point I must say that this idea would also wok well for RCA connections, however I don't like RCA personally as it tends to pop off all the time.

Before i threaded them into the lid, I soldered two lengths of wire directly to the head of the bolts. You will notice on this example the melted mark in the lid where I attempted to solder with them in situ!! Doh :) Once threaded through the top I secured them with washers and nuts and buttoned them up tight and obviously in line for the clip cord. Next I cut out a hole in the bottom of the canister to allow the motor spindle and mounting holes to be used. The screws in the RW were long enough to tighten up properly and if you leave enough of the bottom it holds the canister tight one you tighten up the mounting screws. What I made sure was to cut as close as possible so there were no gaps around the motor and it was encased properly. I then soldered the wires to the motor leaving a fair bit of wire length so the motor connections would not receive any strain from pulling etc and then assembled it as normal.

With it all together it now runs as perfectly as when I got it plus I didn't have to buy another motor. I've hung it upside down, pulled it etc and the motor looses no power. Its also easy to clean as its plastic and you could use black canisters and tops, or the slightly transparent ones like I've used and maybe put some stickers on it or a design inside. I've also started thinking of making some mounts similar to the Kubin MC that allow the rubber bands to snap on to the canister.

I'm going to give it a good test over the next few weeks and make sure it lasts but hopefully some food for thought for anyone using one and maybe even Dale? As I said I'm no expert and I'm not knocking Dales machines at all, they are one of the best machines out there in my opinion, but this issue seems to have affected a few people.

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Couple more things, first I like that the lid is tight but it turns slightly as you use the machine so it works with you, as long as you left plenty of wire from the motor to the lid there is no strain.

The other thing is technical question. on the back of the motor there is a red dot I assume to signify the positive side of the motor. is this correct as when my clip cord is hooked up red to red it runs the motor counterclockwise (looking at the machine from the front). I thought these were best run clockwise or doesn't it matter?

This is a very clever DIY mod.

sent from my oobnoxiosly large galaxy note phone thing via tapatalk.

I think I understand, but a few photos would help. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, I posted some pictures, can you not see them or do you mean some of the canister open etc? If so I'll take a few with disassembled as I'm going to try a 12v motor and would like to make a neater version :)

pretty sweet. paint that baby with some plasti-dip and you'll be looking good too.

Cool. My 6v slows down somtimes. Pleas show us some pictures of the inside as im a simple man and slill read the Dandy and Beno as they have lots of pictures to help me understand

many thanks mate :o

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. As requested I'm posting some more photos of the build. I decided to give the 12v motor a try as I've ordered 2 more machines from Dale and they both have 12v motors. I'll try and break it down into steps.

Part 1

In the first picture you can see the basic components needed. I have a 12v motor 2 lengths of wire, 2 brass bolts M3 thread I think. 4 washers, 2 nuts and the 35mm film canister.
Now the motor came with the wires attached but to make it easier to put together I unsoldered them from the motor and cut them to length. I then tinned the ends of each wire ready to be reattached. The motors spindle was also cut down as it is long when you buy them. The two brass bolts had holes drilled into the threaded area at the end at the same height for the clip cord, and I heated them up and tinned the heads with solder ready for the wires.

Next I soldered a length of wire to each bolt head. Then using some stiff plastic I crudely made a circle that fits inside the grey canister lid. I lined them up both the lid and inner plastic piece and drilled two holes through them together to ensure they line up. In picture 2 you can see the bolts going through the lid with 2 of the brass washers on first. It depends on the style of lid you have but obviously you need to drill the holes so you have enough space for the washers and ultimately so the clip cord will fit. Not too close together but not so far apart that it interferes with the lid closing.

Picture 3 shows the top of the lid. You can see I used a piece of clear plastic to add support on the outside again drilled with 2 holes that line up with the holes in the lid. You can then put on the last 2 washers and nuts and tighten them up ensuring the clip cord holes face each other.

That completes the lid assembly so now you can turn your attentions to the canister itself. In picture 4 you can see how I cut a hole in the bottom of the canister that is just big enough to clear the motor mounting holes.

Picture 5 shows my disassembled rotary works ready to assemble.



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Part 2

Now that the canister is ready to mount you can go ahead and solder the wires to the motor keeping an eye on which side is positive etc as shown in picture 1.

Now comes the fiddly bit. You need to push the motor into the canister and hold it facing upwards so you can screw the body of the machine to the motor. This can be fiddly as lining the screws up blindly can take a few tries. You might have to get one screw in then move the canister around a bit to get the other lined up. With these you have to have the cam in place in the machine first before you can screw the body to the motor. One tip is to get the motor in place and the cam on the spindle and tighten the grub screw to stop the motor falling off then line up the screws. In picture 2 you can see the canister on and the lid still open.

Picture 3 shows how if you keep the hole you cut in the canister bottom tight as possible to the mounting holes there should be no gaps when looking at the machine from the front. This makes cleaning easier and stops crap getting into the motor.

All that is left is to make sure that the body and motor are tightened up properly and that you have adjusted the grub screw on the cam so that the cam is running perfectly parallel to the machine body. Carefully fold the wires into the canister as you close the lid and voila! Double check the cam moves freely and that there is no interference. I added a few drops of fresh lube whilst I was doing it.

The last 2 pictures show the assembled machine and how the clip cord attaches. As I said before this would work well for an RCA connection too if you prefer. All that is needed is to finish the look of canister, plasti dip or maybe some vinyl wrap or stickers. I used what I had but I've seen some black lid canisters which would look better. Also if you're super handy a turned wooden canister would look awesome! I just want to give mine a thorough working test now. So far so good! Hope this gives you some food for though? :)




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I forgotten about this thread. Just to update I'm still using the same setup and the machine is still going strong. I use it as my daily liner in a busy studio so its getting a good run. Not had any power issues or slow running motor problems. In an ideal world it would be good to have a shorter canister or motor body, simply because it doesn't need to be so long but it doesn't affect the overall balance of the machine.

hello supre cool idea i have now also made the hole in the conectors 1.8mm now which also helps massively on the conection ,,,always learning new things ...but the contact was good when i used to put a ali cover on the motors but very bulky