Tips – Drive Train
There are different approaches to aligning drive motors. Roy C, shares these with us. ... READ MORE …
Aligning motor and prop shaft
If you have a motor shaft of 1/8″ diameter, and a propeller shaft of 4 mm diameter (a common combination) you can quickly make a tool to help align the two. You need two short lengths of 5/32″ and 3/16″ outside diameter brass or aluminum tube. With the motor placed in its correct fore-and-aft position, measure the distance from the end of the motor casing to the inner end of the prop shaft, and cut the tubes to this length. To use the tool, insert one tube into the other, and the pair onto the motor shaft. Place the motor into position and then adjust its position up-and-down and side-to-side so that you can easily slide the 3/16″ tube off the other tube and onto the prop shaft. When you can do this the motor is correctly aligned to the shaft.
Installing twin propeller shaft tubes.
One of the tricky, early tasks in building a model of a twin-screw vessel is fitting the propeller shafts and tubes. Whether you are building a kit or from scratch, it’s equally tricky because you have to locate and make two holes in a surface which is probably sloping in two directions. …READ MORE …
Marine Drive Unit
A marine drive unit consisting of prop tube, prop shaft, propeller and motor mounting is available from at least 2 suppliers in the UK, Model Dockyard and J. Perkins. This item takes away the hassle of trying to correctly align the motor with the prop shaft. It is supplied with a plastic propeller threaded 4mm, so a suitable brass prop could be substituted. The current price is around £12.50 (approx $21).
Methods of Wiring a Bow Thruster
Most bow thrusters consist of a tube into which is inserted an impeller, driven by a single motor, to force water from one end to the other. The tube is permanently glued into a hull with the ends open to the water.… READ MORE …