Cheap Maxon motors - get 'em while they're hot

[Dirk Jan Blikkendaal]

Short time ago I found some coreless 12 v DC motors 8 x 16 single and double shaft, available from RIC MOTOR China or TRAMFABRIEK in GB. The first supplier charged me $10 and 12 with free shipping.
Among others rebuilds this one is perfect for a remotoring of the Athearn/MDC 2-8-0 leaving room for a sounddecoder and speaker in the tender.......
I will be making and ATSF 3D printed or resin cast 8500 gallon ATSF tender......... making  a reasonable model of the Traveltown SF loco 669, the last consolidation (with some other simple modifications)....

[peteski]

Short time ago I found some coreless 12 v DC motors 8 x 16 single and double shaft, available from RIC MOTOR China or TRAMFABRIEK in GB. The first supplier charged me $10 and 12 with free shipping.
Among others rebuilds this one is perfect for a remotoring of the Athearn/MDC 2-8-0 leaving room for a sounddecoder and speaker in the tender.......
I will be making and ATSF 3D printed or resin cast 8500 gallon ATSF tender......... making  a reasonable model of the Traveltown SF loco 669, the last consolidation (with some other simple modifications)....

Those sound like the coreless motors used by companies like Bachmann or Arnold, or even Kato.  While they are coreless, they are likely not as well made as the Maxxon motors.  Maxxon motors usually have long-lasting precious-metal commutators and brushes, and more windings. While those less expensive motors still work fine, if I have a choice for a similar price, I will go with Maxxon.

[Dirk Jan Blikkendaal]

agreed..... but smaller size and double shaft are convenient sometimes..... and they are still pretty good with a convenient rev range.

[mmagliaro]

I have seen those double-shaft motors from TRAMFABRIEK for some time.  They also sell on eBay.
They list their rated torque on their 8mm x 16mm as 3 g-cm, which converts to 0.29 mNm.
The Maxon 1017 rated torque is 0.746 mNm.

The stall torque on the TRAMFABRIEK is rated a lot higher than the Maxon, which I find very peculiar.  But in general, you would never want to operate either of these motors at stall, especially at full voltage, unless you want to fry the motor.

I am not surprised that the Maxon is a lot more powerful.  Not only is it a higher-end motor, but it is 10mm in diameter as opposed to 8 for the TRAMFABRIEK, so we should expect significantly more power.

I would be interested to hear of some first-hand experiences running the TRAMFABRIEK motors in a loco for a while, to hear how it performs and most importantly, how it holds up.

[Cajonpassfan]

A great thread!
Thanks, Max, for starting it, and for all the other valuable contributions guys!
This is why I come here.
Otto

[timwatson]

I just wanted to followup and report the 8 motors I got all worked well. They all had broken wires on the negative terminal. The terminal itself was still intact and connected.

I hope you all fared as well.

Changing polarity changes the audible resonance of the motor. That seemed odd.

[mmagliaro]

I just wanted to followup and report the 8 motors I got all worked well. They all had broken wires on the negative terminal. The terminal itself was still intact and connected.

I hope you all fared as well.

Changing polarity changes the audible resonance of the motor. That seemed odd.

That does seem odd.  Then again, I don't know if these motors are new.  It could be that they've been in service in a piece of equipment that always runs in one direction, so there is "bias" in the amount of wear on the bearings that causes a different vibration when run the other way.   When I get mine, I'll report in.   Did you see a difference in the current draw between one direction and the other?

[timwatson]

I didn’t measure that Max but running reverse will likely even out things.

[MK]

Could it be that these motors don't have neutral timing and thus different direction running gives slightly different performance/noise?

[Dirk Jan Blikkendaal]

Mine came in yesterday: I ordered 4.
Three are identical forward/backward (terrific slow start, same revs/noise).
One is slightly different.... does not start as smooth as the others... but identical forward/backward.
Will have to see how that turns out in a engine drive or on a decoder...
All have been used (some small scratches and solder on the tabs).
But at that price a score of at least three good ones is OK for me..... 

[peteski]

Mine came in yesterday: I ordered 4.
Three are identical forward/backward (terrific slow start, same revs/noise).
One is slightly different.... does not start as smooth as the others... but identical forward/backward.
Will have to see how that turns out in a engine drive or on a decoder...
All have been used (some small scratches and solder on the tabs).
But at that price a score of at least three good ones is OK for me.....

Dirk Jan,
On one of the motors I purchased the brass collar on the base of the shaft was moved inwards slightly (probably during the spur gear removal). It was too tight against the shaft bearing, making the shaft bind slightly.  I managed to move it out tiny amount, after that, the motor ran much better.

Check the other motor shafts to see how much play there should be for normal operation.  You should be able to move the shaft slightly back and forth.  The motor I had problem with had no play at all (until I moved the collar).

The other thing to look for is a missing plastic cap on the commutator end of the motor.  It was missing on another one of my motors, exposing an opening in which the end of the commutator and brushes are visible. The hole was large enough for some debris to enter the motor.  I used some masking tape to cover the opening, but I'll come up with a better solution later.

[peteski]

I just had a good laugh!  Of course the bargain 118381 motors are all gone, but there are some new-stock motros available from UK . . . for about $200 each!!!  That seems a but steep, even for a brand new Maxon 10mm motor. 

For a chuckle, just search eBay now for Maxon 118391.
Here is one of those listings (all from the same seller). https://www.ebay.com/itm/142913380265

[mmagliaro]

Yeah... that's how those motors go.  Some people are either trying to get away with something, or have no idea what the competitive price is.

Somebody in Poland is selling the 6v version of the 10 x 17, with the pinion on it (so if you found a gearhead, you could just screw it right on).  They are claimed to be NEW, not used, but they are $20 + $20 shipping.  Search for Maxon RE10 6V

There were some of the 10x17 on AliExpress for only $4.95.  I managed to snag 4 of those (they all seem fine to me), but they are now all gone (I'd bet it was the same guy from China who was selling them on eBay). 

[Chris333]

I thought there were like 600+ up on ebay. They sold out already?

[reinhardtjh]

I thought there were like 600+ up on ebay. They sold out already?

That was one I checked.  I looked back and they were sold out... after selling 5 total.  Either they lied about their stock or they sold it off Ebay somehow.