Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

I really doubt it myself, but take a look:

I have been reading up on drill motors being used in RC cars/trucks, and just out of curiosity, I cracked open an old Skil Warrior 9.6 volt cordless drill that I had laying around. Here's what I found (PICS).

I took out a Traxxas Titan from an EMaxx for comparison. It will be on the left in the photo's, the drill motor on the right.

Interstingly enough, they are almost identical...I did say ALMOST! The shaft on the Titan is noticably longer, and it has the capacitor/resistor thingies....whatever they are.

I plugged the Titan directly to a 7 cell for a few seconds, and did the same for the drill motor, oddly enough, the drill motor "sounded" like it was turning more RPM's....noticably more than the Titan. Is this expected?

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

no, i do not think they are using drill motors. if you compared the vxl motor to the CM36, i bet they would look the same. they are both brushless motors.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

since they are both 550 size (or close) they will look much the same because they need the same dimensions to qualify for 550 size.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

i'ld try um be interesting IMO

the lug

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

Pop the drill motor into your truck and try it! Keep us posted on how it dose! :D

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

The Titans are your basic closed endbell 550 brushed motors, no bearings, no replacable brushes. They are used in most stock RC's, cordless drills, electric vehicles for toddlers, cordless vacuum cleaners (both robotic and handheld), etc. There is nothing special about them, they are a generic product. You can buy them for $5 bucks a piece from most electronic component retailers.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

I happen to have a drill motor kicking around, any one know how it would handle in a slash?

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

Try it. There is really no way to tell without more information. There are drill motors out there 3x this size rated for 24 volts.....

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

that's the last time i buy a titan.. :eek:

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

The drill motor went faster becasue its made for 9.6 volts, while the titan from an e-maxx is made for 14.4 volts. They are not the same motor.
Try a titan from a slash and it will turn faster than the drill motor....

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

But what about the pretty sticker?

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

After doing some snooping, I found that the drill motor in question is an obsolete Mabuchi RS-550PF. It seems this particular motor saw some widespread use in the RC car (and airplane) genre in recent years. According to online sources, the Titan 550 and the Mabuchi are almost identical. Too bad they are no longer available, just a couple of years ago they were selling for $3.50.

The motor is not set at 9.6v. Thats what the drill capacity was....the motor is rated to over 12v from what I can find on it...
Not sure why 9.6v would have more rpm that 14.4....
The Titan in a Slash is a 12T if I recall, it had better run faster than a drill motor or the Monster 550's!

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

Drill motors have been a ready source of power for RC for a while now. They have a lot of advantages over both 540 high performance jobbies and in some cases, brushless.

They are pretty much zero maintenance and have ultra hard wearing brushes made from a carbon/steel/copper compound that will provide the same performance over and over again. They will run underwater, in dirt, through cold and hot conditions without ill effect. Onboard fans keep the heat under control in high stress applications (IE 16.8v in an E-maxx), they will take huge amounts of voltage, up to 36v+ in some cases. Their combination of longer armatures, magnets and a greater commutator surface gives higher torque, coupled with the longer windings gives higher efficiency. If one does blow, the chances are you can replace them for around $5.

They can give truly huge power. Pair a couple of Johnson PTO3016 motors in an E-maxx, and they will give you a combined 1000 watts at 14.4 volts, find a suitable controller, and they will run at anything up to 20v. At which point you'd be dropping serious $ on a brushless system to just keep the brushed truck in sight, let alone be faster than it. They run 85% peak efficiency too, not far off brushless. They still use a huge amount of power though, so runtimes will be cut.

Friends don't let friends buy Titans, you'll be paying a $15 premium because it has a Traxxas sticker. Best chance is looking for an ST-550 equivelant, you'll get an E-savage motor which is a more powerful motor. You'll also get it for $3.50.

It's worth noting that the majority of motors aren't really 'tested' as such. If you get one that is 'supposed' to run at 9.6v, it will probably be fine at 14.4, 16.8 etc. There really is no nominal voltage for these things. An example would be the BPO3028 which has a nominal voltage of just 6v, but it sees multiple industrial and automotive applications which have it running up to 16.8v reliably.

Also, if you choose to run one of these in a Stampede or something like that you will need to run two packs (and hence a new ESC) in series to get the required voltage, they will be weak and slow on 7.2v/8.4v/11.1v. They will be awesome in a light truck on 16.8v.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

thanks for the write up lilredmachine. these motors, where are they sold? is there like some online wharehouse that these are sold? i don't think i'm in the market for one just yet, but i don't think my next r/c will be brushless without putting a brushed motor in there first.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a...MOTOR/-/1.html

would be an example. You can find them everywhere, but that site is usually pretty good. That particular motor would fit in a Maxx pretty well, and give it reasonable thrust in a twin setup.

If it blows, at $3.50, who gives a damn? You could melt six before you got to the price of a single Titan.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

Thanks, what motor would work well in a 1/10 stadium truck, or 2wd Mt? running on 7.4-11.1v.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

You'd need to look for a higher RPM motor. The one above would run 12,500 RPM at 6v, so would give you (given efficiency loss) around 22,000rpm on a fully charged 11.1v lipo (say 12 volts), with more torque than the Titan 12t. You could gear it up to make up the rpm difference but that may affect both the life and the performance of the motor, worth a try though. if you were to run twin 7 cell packs through an E-maxx or E-savage ESC though, you would have an absolute rocket ship on your hands.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

This is getting good...! Good info thanks! I did some searching, but the motor I have is discontinued and not available from what I see....no problem, I'll just look into something else! Thanks again.

PS....check out the customer comments on the website...comments about RC uses....

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

Good spot, I hadn't read that, just looked at the specs and it seemed to fit and be very pokey.

167 watts is a good rating, they are quite a bit stronger than the Titans.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

The RS-550?

Should be available somewhere, it's a very popular motor. For faster 550 motors for lower voltages, you may have to look RC specific. I know Graupner do some excellent larger can motors for lower voltages, ball bearing variations too. Also worth looking on boat and airplane sites, these big motors started out their rc careers in boats and planes.

Here you go:

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/speed600.htm

Ball bearing motors in a 600 can size. Bottom one spins out 270 watts and 28k unloaded RPM on 8.4v. You'd have to watch the temps, but that would have explosive perfomance with the right packs and gearing. Pricey though.

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

Heres one just like yours.

http://www.robotshop.ca/banebots-rs-...9300rpm-2.html

or buy it here
http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store...Motor-12V.aspx

plenty of places to buy one. Even over seas sites if someone wanted one not in the US

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...s-550+dc+motor

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

Sorry, the RS-550PF (same exact oneaccording to your numbers)version can be found here. Along with many other kinds too.
http://store.kysanelectronics.com/se...171/Categories

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

SWEET! That's why I love this place. I got the "discontinued" actually from two sites...Skil and some other motor supply site I cannot find now.
I'm thinking of trying a set in the EMaxx, and If I could find a REVERSE roation version, I would definatley try them in the ERevo.

The only reverse rotation I can find now is the GP T-600, the S-600 (rebuilable) has been discontinued according to GP.....

I've read alot of good things about the S-600, but what about the T-600? S=19 turns -vs- T=23 turns......

Thanks again!!!

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

Just switch around the -/+ when you hook it up to the ESC

RE: Is Traxxas using drill motors?
 

I hear ya. But isn't it true you can only do this with certain motors? Something to do with the timing being fixed or adjustable that the polarity cannot be reversed??????

Some clarification on this would be great......