Homemade products from the engine from an old washing machine: what can be done

A variety of useful devices and fixtures can be made from parts from a washing machine, regardless of its condition and type.

They can perform various mechanical work, as well as play the role of generators of free reserve energy. For the manufacture of homemade products with an electric motor, housings, wiring and other spare parts will fit.

Fixture options

Here's what you can do with an old washing machine. These devices will be useful for household, construction, gardening and renovation.

The most common homemade product is emery.. Since the diameters of the motor shaft and the grinding stone are different, a matching adapter will need to be made. Its role will be played by a piece of a 20-centimeter pipe. At the end of the latter, a thread should be made so that it is twice as long as a whetstone. Its direction should be opposite to the rotation of the motor. This is necessary so that the grinding wheel does not unscrew and fall off.

The adapter must be fastened to the motor shaft. Then you will need to drill a hole there, and screw in the bolt and nut to finally fix the emery wheel with the adapter. It remains to strengthen the homemade product on a reliable basis.

The motor power from the washing machine is enough for a small lathe or drum grinder. In the first case, you can slowly machine the cylindrical workpiece. For more reliable fastening, a support should be used that protects the motor from excessive lateral loads. In the second case, a cylinder is put on the engine shaft, on which sanding paper is put on. A steel bar should also be installed inside it, with which you can fasten it to the motor shaft.

An old activator-type washing machine can turn into a small concrete mixer. To do this, you should:

• Make the blades, for which it is necessary to cut out blanks from 4-5 mm steel, connect at right angles (in the form of the letter P), and weld.
• Attach the part to the place of the activator.
• Connect the motor to the mains (see. below).
• All that remains is to put the necessary building materials into the tank.
• In this case, the motor power will be sufficient for small volumes.

You can also make a feed cutter. In addition to the engine, you will need a drum from a washing machine. It is necessary to make two sharpened blades that play the role of knives. The drum is bolted to the base frame. An outlet hole should be made in its lower part. One blade with a knife is installed at the bottom, and the other is closer to the top. A lid must be fitted to the opening in the front of the drum to prevent feed scattering to the sides.

Another possible DIY is a lawn mower. It will work just as well as the factory one. To make it you will need:

1. Use a thick piece of steel or a large pot lid for the base.
2. You will need corners or pipes for the frame and handle.
3. Wheels should be compact but strong. They can be taken from a stroller or a large toy car.
4. Be sure to need a wire of a suitable length with a plug and a switch.

First you need to weld a square frame with axles. In the base, which is attached from its bottom side, a hole should be made for the motor shaft, and then secured. A U-shaped handle should be made from longer pipes. A rubber casing is put on its horizontal part to make it easier to hold. A wire with a switch is connected to the motor. If it is planned to use it for cutting wet grass, then all conductive parts must be carefully insulated.

Finally, the last device that can be made from a washing machine is generator. The asynchronous motor will require improvement. It is necessary to disassemble it, cut grooves in the rotor into which neodymium magnets must be inserted and glued with cold welding. The working winding will need to be connected to a controller, which stabilizes and rectifies the current induced in it and provides a given voltage.

Such a generator will be able to power the lamp or charge the battery. The rotor can be driven by a drill, screwdriver, or pedal mechanism. Other options are also possible.

Types of motors

Older washing machines used induction motors. They consist of a wound stator and a cylindrical rotor that is driven by a rotating magnetic field. They are distinguished by low noise, simple design, and sufficiently high power. But there are also disadvantages - these are large dimensions and weight, the complexity of smooth speed control, and low efficiency and torque. They also cannot function as a generator without rework.

The most common are two-phase induction motors. They have a working and starting winding. The first is connected directly, and the second is connected through a phase-shifting capacitor. Currently, asynchronous motors are not used in washing machines.

The collector motor is used in all modern automatic washing machines. Powered by AC and DC. It consists of a stator and a rotor, the magnetic fields of which interact, as a result of which the latter rotates. It is equipped with a collector through which voltage is supplied to the winding through the brushes. Advantages - high torque and considerable rotation speed, which can be easily and smoothly adjusted. Brush motors are also capable of operating as an externally excited generator.

The inverter motor is directly connected to the drum. It has a rather complex design. This motor can work as an efficient generator if the manufacturer of the electric motor has installed magnets in the rotor, due to which a considerable current will be induced in the stator.

Connection and verification

Make sure the selected motor is running. To do this, determine the conclusions of the windings using a tester or multimeter. To check the operation of the collector motor, you need to connect one wire of the cable with a plug to one brush, and the other to the winding terminal. Free conductors are interconnected. If the engine is working properly, the rotor will start to rotate.

The asynchronous motor is connected in a different way. First, you need to determine the working and exciting windings. The first will have more resistance. Power is supplied to it directly, and to the exciting one - through a phase-shifting capacitor.