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What type of electric motor is best for moving a revolving...

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Question by richard
Submitted on 2/10/2004
Related FAQ: Stagecraft Frequently Asked Questions
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What type of electric motor is best for moving a revolving stage.  30ft diameter. A wheel drive unit that travels with the stage or a friction drive assembly that is anchored and moves the unit via tracks?


Answer by Craig Anderson
Submitted on 5/21/2004
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30 feet is a pretty big turntable. For our 14-foot turntable I used a surplus 24-volt wheelchair motor which, even at 12 volts, had plenty of torque. I geared it down to a driven wheel that turned with the stage. One problem: the wheels tend to eat up the stage, especially if there are a lot of layers of paint on it.
If I were turning a 30-foot table, I'd mount the motor vertically in the rear and bolt it to the floor, then use a rubber wheel as a "rim drive," exactly like a phonograph turntable (if you remember what a phonograph was!)

Craig Anderson Magic Effects Laboratory of Theatre (CAMELOT)
http://camelotfx.blogspot.com

 

Answer by Bart
Submitted on 8/26/2005
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I used a geared down, reversiable motor that drove a intermediate two tiered wood pully ( 4 foor in diameter) coupled using a chain with a sprocket on the motor.  The intermediate pully was coupled to the revolving stage by a steal cable.  This combination allowed bi-directional control and allowed us to have a raked stage with a practical grand piano on it.  The stage revolved at 1 RPM as per the designers spec and at one time had 30 actors on it in addition to the piano.

 

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