Dumpster diving for servos, sensors, etc?

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Scott Smith

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:34 pm

Guest

I'm working on a robotics project at home, and I've been able to scavenge
lots of DC motors, steppers, gears, encoder wheels, IR emitter-detector pair
sensors, etc. from old inkjet printers.

I'd really like to get some servos to work with, and I've been Googling
around, looking for articles on good sources for scavenging certain parts -
but surprisingly, haven't found much.

Can anyone recommend good sources for things like servos, or other
hard-to-find components like sonic ranging sensors? Obviously, junked RC
cars, boats, planes, etc. would be the best source, but I don't anticipate
finding many of those...

Any advice from other frugal hobbiests out there?

Thanks in advance

-Scott

Don Bruder

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:33 pm

Guest

In article <47e2ca5c$0$6127$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
"Scott Smith" <scottseansmith2@NO-SPAM.hotmail.com> wrote:

Quote:

Based on past observations, you're correct to not expect much. First, it
isn't that common a hobby anymore (at least, not at the quality levels
that would mean "servos instead of some cheaper method") and second, it
seems to me that any model aircraft/car/boat that's not "Radio Shack
disposable" level junk is a hand made "precious heirloom" type of thing
that typically gets repaired until repair is no longer possible, then
the servo guts are harvested to be reincarnated as another
whatever-it-was before the stripped carcass is junked. (or more
frequently, ceremoniously destroyed - it's rare to find a good quality
RC item, even in "totally crashed out" condition, in the garbage - Maybe
it's just because of where I've been, but I've found that owners of such
gear frequently burn, bury, or otherwise "ritually dispose of" the
carcass, rather than sending it to the landfill)

Why? Probably 'cause servo stuff of any quality at all is pretty darn
pricey, and tends to be recycled multiple-many times (frequently through
multiple incarnations of owner-hand-built and highly treasured items)
before finally crashing, burning, drowning (or likely some combination
of "all the above") bad enough to be turned into totally non-functional
junk.

In a nutshell, if you actually do find servo gear in the dumpster,
chances are high that it's because the gear itself - not just the thing
it was in - has totally failed.

--
Don Bruder - dakidd@sonic.net - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist,
or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
somewhere, any message sent to this address will go in the garbage without my
ever knowing it arrived. Sorry... <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd> for more info

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:14 pm

Guest

On Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:34:36 -0700, Scott Smith wrote:

Quote:

I'm working on a robotics project at home, and I've been able to
scavenge lots of DC motors, steppers, gears, encoder wheels, IR
emitter-detector pair sensors, etc. from old inkjet printers.

I'd really like to get some servos to work with, and I've been Googling
around, looking for articles on good sources for scavenging certain
parts - but surprisingly, haven't found much.

Can anyone recommend good sources for things like servos, or other
hard-to-find components like sonic ranging sensors? Obviously, junked RC
cars, boats, planes, etc. would be the best source, but I don't
anticipate finding many of those...

Any advice from other frugal hobbiests out there?

Thanks in advance

-Scott

DC servo motors from old printers. They are quite strong.

I take apart old hard drives, as the shafts that the disks mount on are
very smooth. They make great swivel castors for trailing third wheels.

I've used inexpensive ($8 US) drills for drive motors. These are the kind
that run off 4 AAA cells. They're geared down real nicely. I take the
chuck off and mount a wheel on the shaft. Good for slow movers.

And best of all, my recycling center seems to attract a lot of discarded
R/C tanks, trucks, etc. I trash all except for the frame, wheels,
steering and the motors. All I need to do is supply the electronics for
the drive and the brains. The difficult mechanical work has been done for
me.

Al

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