Universal III power carriage motor adaptation

5427VanderMotor-1 VanderMotor-2 VanderMotor-3Hello: Almost 3 years ago I wrote with some questions regarding the motorization of a Universal III I had acquired without the motor. Paul and others had thoughts to share on the matter, (much thanks for this input to all involved), but it was apparent that this would not be an easy task to accomplish. Last Tuesday, Ignacio Colorado, a brilliant local offset repair technician spent the evening installing a standard Baldor DC motor controller card and a second strip of electronics he custom built for the braking, reversal, delays, etc. involved in the operation of the press. It´s a 21-century solid-state electronics solution to the clutch, relays, solenoids etc. (of admittedly wonderful construction) of the original Vandercook. Although some details remain to be worked out in terms of overall operation—I have yet to find a potentiometer for speed control with the “feel” of the original variac transformer knob, or the genuine mechanical switch (not the knob) for “manual, cycle, and run” (suggestions here appreciated) and a couple of other fine tuning issues–it looks like a very successful adaptation. If anyone is interested in further information regarding this lengthy sojourn, or the specifics involved in contemporary gear motor/controller card, etc. employed in all of this I am happy to provide the details.

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John Henry
Editor
8 years ago

Yes, of course much depends on the feeding of the stock & comfort with the speed of the press. At least the gear motor drives at a fair speed for your use.

I must have been looking at the photos with my head in a bag. of course the drive gear is on the backside of the cylinder.

Thanks for posting you photos and discussing your solution.

John Henry

John Henry
Editor
8 years ago

Great solution with a very minimal footprint. What kind of speed can you get from the .25 Horse driving that weight (relative impressions per hour)? It certainly gives hope to those who might have irreparable damage to their drive system as you did. Why the position on the operator side (unless I’m reading the photos wrong)?

Good work.

John Henry

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