stepper motor for a chile roaster

Thumper · 02-26-2023, 06:24 PM

Chile addict, as in capsaicin laden chile peppers from New Mexico. I used to rely on commercial roasters, but they are inconsistent and I like high roaster temp for short time so the skins are easy to remove, but the meat of the chile is still crisp (NOT soggy and overcooked). I freeze a ridiculous amount of roasted peppers in one gallon ziploc bags, defrosting ~2 every week (my son is now an addict as well).

I bought a roaster, but the cage rolls too fast, so I am replacing the electric motor (1725rpm) and the inadequate "repurposed" gear reduction hardware with a stepper motor/controller. The parts consist of a power supply (24/48VDC), stepper motor controller, and the stepper motor. In addition, I am waiting for a pulse width modulator with a speed control knob, direction switch.

The ancient red step down gear reduce has a bad bearing, and the pulleys are held in place with tension bolt on a flattened surface (shafts) instead of a keyed shaft (MUCH more reliable and lower maintenance). Once I wire the thing up to the PWM and verify variable speed control, I will probably get a planetary reduction gearbox and a pulley to replace the red thing.

Roast2.JPG

ReductionSytemFrontView.JPG

ReductionSytemSideView.JPG

Here is the stepper motor, power supply and controller in testing phase.

StepperControllerPS.JPG

StepperWired.JPG

Thumper · 02-28-2023, 07:11 PM

Yay!

Got the stepper working

I need 400 to 1000 rpm out of this. I could use 300 to 800 with a bigger output pulley. We'll see.

Final rotation rpm needs to be ~40 to 55 rpm on the roaster. I ordered a worm gear reducer that bolts right on to the stepper motor. So I will need one pulley/belt to get to ~40 to 55 rpm. The pulley on the rolling cage is a 12". Looks like I need a ~5" pulley on the output shaft of the worm gear reducer to get there. Can't wait for the 2023 chile harvest!

AJ22_ChinaRider · 02-28-2023, 10:33 PM

that's awesome!!!

Thumper · 03-01-2023, 11:44 AM

Here it is jumped for the high speed mode.

I got instructions on the wiring from here:

I will list the parts. The feedback encoder tells the controller if the stepper has gotten off track (jumped a few steps) which could put the lathe or assembly robot out of calibration. I believe they call this a "closed loop" stepper motor. I don't need that for turning the roasting cage. I should have looked for a stepper motor with only the 4 wire connections. Oh well, this was a good deal anyway. And it doesn't interfere with the speed control, so it's OK.

2LZ · 03-01-2023, 01:14 PM

Thumper McGuyver, is your actual name????
Sweet job!

Thumper · 03-15-2023, 06:19 PM

I got the planetary gear reducer (6 to 1) and a sprocket that will reduce ~2.4 at the belt. The sprocket was 5/8" bore, and I cut another 0.1mm to make it fit the 16mm output shaft on the planetary gearset. I also had to work on the key a bit to get the sprocket to fit on the shaft.

Planetary6to1.jpg

So it is all ready to mount. The sprocket is wider than the stepper motor, so the motor needs to be offset on the mount. But this provides an opportunity to design a belt adjustment platform... I've got some ideas. A 4L belt (53") fit perfectly! There is still at least 5 months until chile harvest, so I am not pannicking yet

StepperFitmentFrontView.JPG

StepperFitmentTopView.JPG

02-26-2023, 06:24 PM	#1
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,381	stepper motor for a chile roaster Chile addict, as in capsaicin laden chile peppers from New Mexico. I used to rely on commercial roasters, but they are inconsistent and I like high roaster temp for short time so the skins are easy to remove, but the meat of the chile is still crisp (NOT soggy and overcooked). I freeze a ridiculous amount of roasted peppers in one gallon ziploc bags, defrosting ~2 every week (my son is now an addict as well). I bought a roaster, but the cage rolls too fast, so I am replacing the electric motor (1725rpm) and the inadequate "repurposed" gear reduction hardware with a stepper motor/controller. The parts consist of a power supply (24/48VDC), stepper motor controller, and the stepper motor. In addition, I am waiting for a pulse width modulator with a speed control knob, direction switch. The ancient red step down gear reduce has a bad bearing, and the pulleys are held in place with tension bolt on a flattened surface (shafts) instead of a keyed shaft (MUCH more reliable and lower maintenance). Once I wire the thing up to the PWM and verify variable speed control, I will probably get a planetary reduction gearbox and a pulley to replace the red thing. Roast2.JPG ReductionSytemFrontView.JPG ReductionSytemSideView.JPG Here is the stepper motor, power supply and controller in testing phase. StepperControllerPS.JPG StepperWired.JPG __________________ -2022 5 speed Templar X Orange, OEM 51T rear sprocket, 14T front sprocket -NOS 2020 KTM 250SX (2-stroke motocross), less than 10 hours on it
	1

02-28-2023, 07:11 PM	#2
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,381	Yay! Got the stepper working I need 400 to 1000 rpm out of this. I could use 300 to 800 with a bigger output pulley. We'll see. Final rotation rpm needs to be ~40 to 55 rpm on the roaster. I ordered a worm gear reducer that bolts right on to the stepper motor. So I will need one pulley/belt to get to ~40 to 55 rpm. The pulley on the rolling cage is a 12". Looks like I need a ~5" pulley on the output shaft of the worm gear reducer to get there. Can't wait for the 2023 chile harvest! __________________ -2022 5 speed Templar X Orange, OEM 51T rear sprocket, 14T front sprocket -NOS 2020 KTM 250SX (2-stroke motocross), less than 10 hours on it
	3

03-01-2023, 11:44 AM	#4
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,381	Here it is jumped for the high speed mode. I got instructions on the wiring from here: I will list the parts. The feedback encoder tells the controller if the stepper has gotten off track (jumped a few steps) which could put the lathe or assembly robot out of calibration. I believe they call this a "closed loop" stepper motor. I don't need that for turning the roasting cage. I should have looked for a stepper motor with only the 4 wire connections. Oh well, this was a good deal anyway. And it doesn't interfere with the speed control, so it's OK. __________________ -2022 5 speed Templar X Orange, OEM 51T rear sprocket, 14T front sprocket -NOS 2020 KTM 250SX (2-stroke motocross), less than 10 hours on it
	1

03-01-2023, 01:14 PM	#5
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,101	Thumper McGuyver, is your actual name???? Sweet job! __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	0

03-15-2023, 06:19 PM	#6
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,381	I got the planetary gear reducer (6 to 1) and a sprocket that will reduce ~2.4 at the belt. The sprocket was 5/8" bore, and I cut another 0.1mm to make it fit the 16mm output shaft on the planetary gearset. I also had to work on the key a bit to get the sprocket to fit on the shaft. Planetary6to1.jpg So it is all ready to mount. The sprocket is wider than the stepper motor, so the motor needs to be offset on the mount. But this provides an opportunity to design a belt adjustment platform... I've got some ideas. A 4L belt (53") fit perfectly! There is still at least 5 months until chile harvest, so I am not pannicking yet StepperFitmentFrontView.JPG StepperFitmentTopView.JPG __________________ -2022 5 speed Templar X Orange, OEM 51T rear sprocket, 14T front sprocket -NOS 2020 KTM 250SX (2-stroke motocross), less than 10 hours on it
	1

02-28-2023, 10:33 PM	#3
AJ22_ChinaRider Join Date: Jul 2022 Posts: 105	that's awesome!!!
	0