News Old HDD modded into a variable speed disc sander

[Admin]

A step-by-step guide showing how to convert an old HDD into a small variable speed sanding tool has been shared.

Old HDD modded into a variable speed disc sander : Read more

 

[Hooda Thunkett]

A 30 Amp ESC? Are you sure? My car charger is hooked up to a 30 Amp circuit. That's a huge amount of current !

 

[BillyBuerger]

Hmmm, this could be a fun project. I have some old 10k/15k SCSI/SAS drives that could be fun to try with.

 

[Misgar]

Some hard drives use glass platters. Imagine what might happen if a platter breaks at 7,200RPM. Even more "fun" at 10,000 or 15,000RPM. Face mask anyone?

 

[artk2219]

Some hard drives use glass platters. Imagine what might happen if a platter breaks at 7,200RPM. Even more "fun" at 10,000 or 15,000RPM. Face mask anyone?

Its fine, totally fine, see it has the sand paper that was attached to the top, its like extra reinforcement, or something lol.

A 30 Amp ESC? Are you sure? My car charger is hooked up to a 30 Amp circuit. That's a huge amount of current !

Thats what i was thinking, thats a ton of power for such a small motor. I mean i guess if its what you have on hand, still seems like overkill though.

 

[Eximo]

A 30 Amp ESC? Are you sure? My car charger is hooked up to a 30 Amp circuit. That's a huge amount of current !

30 Amps at the low voltage side, not the AC side. 6.6kW would make that explode, instantly.

So like, maybe 100W to the motor at 3.3V? Still high, not sure what voltage the spindle runs at.

Also, they gave that for the controller's power rating, not necessarily what was sent to the motor.

 

[Sippincider]

Some hard drives use glass platters. Imagine what might happen if a platter breaks at 7,200RPM. Even more "fun" at 10,000 or 15,000RPM. Face mask anyone?

Shattered grinding wheels are a reality and nothing to mess around with. IMO repurposing high-speed platters into something they were never remotely designed for is venturing into Darwin Award territory.

 

[CelicaGT]

Guys, the ESC is capable of delivering 30A (peak, burst), that's it. The actual current draw will likely be what it was before this thing became a questionable power tool, depending on the voltage used and the mechanical load from "grinding".

 

[mike.stavola]

I would be happy to run this at, like, 10k rpm or lower, with a shield around the edge to catch the exploded platter.
I know enough about this by experimenting with something like this a long time ago. Turns out, when you apply pressure to a spinning drive platter (at 50-70k RPM), it can unexpectedly explode with enough force for the shrapnel to pierce 16ga sheet steel.

 

[MisterZ]

Looking at the photo at first I thought this was one VERY rusty old HDD!

 

[snemarch]

Shattered grinding wheels are a reality and nothing to mess around with. IMO repurposing high-speed platters into something they were never remotely designed for is venturing into Darwin Award territory.

It's scary enough when a tiny dremel grinder bit shatters – I definitely wouldn't mess around with repurposing hard-drive glass platters for something like this 😬