Hard drive fan mod

post_break · 10-October-05, 06:37 PM

Well I gutted an old 684mb drive and Im going to try to make a fan out of it. Has anyone attempted such a thing? Well if I ever get time to actually put this together I will post pictures.

MasterP · 10-October-05, 06:39 PM

Is this gonna be like a 3.5" bay fan disguised as a HDD? If so, that's a wicked idea!!

post_break · 10-October-05, 06:46 PM

Im just ripping the motor out of a hard drive and attatching a fan to it. No hiding what so ever. I could however see someone doing that also.

MasterP · 10-October-05, 07:33 PM

That's ambitious dude!

One thing, that fan's going to be spinning pretty fast

GOOD LUCK! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

post_break · 10-October-05, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masterp


	One thing, that fan's going to be spinning pretty fast

Thats the idea.

lobey · 10-October-05, 08:16 PM

Sounds like a cool idea, no pun intended.

musclecars&computers · 10-October-05, 08:27 PM

Great idea!

Have you thought about a way to adjust the power (for speed), maybe a fan or led controller, better yet a dial light switch from home depo.

Isn't that like 5 times a normal fan speed?
If u have watercooling that would cool a radiator.

Avalonthas · 11-October-05, 10:45 PM

i would be safe though and maybe test it outside of ur PC for like a long duration or make a cage around it, possibly with some thing mesh or something cuz if that fan blade comes loose, it might do some damage to ur components at that speed. I was thinking of doing the same thing with a HDD that somehow had a piece of eyebrow hair get caught in the drive head runing the disk.

post_break · 12-October-05, 05:34 PM

Well the only thing I need help with is wireing this bad boy. It has a ribbon cable with 4 traces and Im not sure what is ground and what is 12v. Anyone have an idea to find out?

Nerdz · 12-October-05, 05:49 PM

Those Motors are called Stepper Motors. 2 Wires are for the motor, 2 wires are for the coil. There are 2 types, unipolar and bi polar. One of them has 4 leads, while the other has center tapes in the coils

Here this will help:
http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/step/types.html

I think the ones in hard drives are Bi Polar, meaing 2 coils. I know you can buy a kit to power one, or program an IC to do so.

More info:
http://library.solarbotics.net/piece..._steppers.html

Im just using google to find stuff.

You cannot put 12V directly on it, they have to be controlled. There are simple circuits that will do so too.

Heres one:http://www.web-ee.com/Schematics/Stepper/stepper.htm
ANother:http://www.electronic-circuits-diagr...obotckt1.shtml

Or a kit:http://www.futurlec.com/StepperMotorController.shtml

EDIT: Hopefully I didnt discourage him from this project....Sorry if I did.

post_break · 12-October-05, 06:30 PM

"EDIT: Hopefully I didnt discourage him from this project....Sorry if I did."

I can read this too you know. Im thinking about just putting it back onto the controller card and using it that way.

Seikatsu · 12-October-05, 07:27 PM

Sounds like a nice idea. Imagine using a burnt out (chips are fried) Scsi drive for the motor.
15k RPM anyone?

I wonder how that would sound with a 120mm blades attached.

SiathLinux · 12-October-05, 11:18 PM

So, let get this right, your trying to build a 10k rpm fan in a HDD inclosure with cut outs top and bottom, why not 'create' the fan 'cover' by cutting a design into the covers.

But here's another thought for you, light inside of that case...

10-October-05, 06:37 PM		#1 (permalink)
post_break I Drive A Mac	Hard drive fan mod Well I gutted an old 684mb drive and Im going to try to make a fan out of it. Has anyone attempted such a thing? Well if I ever get time to actually put this together I will post pictures.

12-October-05, 05:49 PM		#10 (permalink)
Nerdz Sir Knight of Spamalot	Those Motors are called Stepper Motors. 2 Wires are for the motor, 2 wires are for the coil. There are 2 types, unipolar and bi polar. One of them has 4 leads, while the other has center tapes in the coils Here this will help: http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/step/types.html I think the ones in hard drives are Bi Polar, meaing 2 coils. I know you can buy a kit to power one, or program an IC to do so. More info: http://library.solarbotics.net/piece..._steppers.html Im just using google to find stuff. You cannot put 12V directly on it, they have to be controlled. There are simple circuits that will do so too. Heres one:http://www.web-ee.com/Schematics/Stepper/stepper.htm ANother:http://www.electronic-circuits-diagr...obotckt1.shtml Or a kit:http://www.futurlec.com/StepperMotorController.shtml EDIT: Hopefully I didnt discourage him from this project....Sorry if I did. Last edited by Nerdz; 12-October-05 at 05:59 PM..

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10-October-05, 06:39 PM		#2 (permalink)
MasterP Da' Thunda' From Down Unda'	Is this gonna be like a 3.5" bay fan disguised as a HDD? If so, that's a wicked idea!!

10-October-05, 06:46 PM		#3 (permalink)
post_break I Drive A Mac	Im just ripping the motor out of a hard drive and attatching a fan to it. No hiding what so ever. I could however see someone doing that also.

10-October-05, 07:33 PM		#4 (permalink)
MasterP Da' Thunda' From Down Unda'	That's ambitious dude! One thing, that fan's going to be spinning pretty fast GOOD LUCK! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

10-October-05, 08:16 PM		#6 (permalink)
lobey Apex Tech Fanatic	Sounds like a cool idea, no pun intended.

10-October-05, 08:27 PM		#7 (permalink)
musclecars&computers Apex Tech Demi-God	Great idea! Have you thought about a way to adjust the power (for speed), maybe a fan or led controller, better yet a dial light switch from home depo. Isn't that like 5 times a normal fan speed? If u have watercooling that would cool a radiator.

11-October-05, 10:45 PM		#8 (permalink)
Avalonthas Apex Advanced Techie	i would be safe though and maybe test it outside of ur PC for like a long duration or make a cage around it, possibly with some thing mesh or something cuz if that fan blade comes loose, it might do some damage to ur components at that speed. I was thinking of doing the same thing with a HDD that somehow had a piece of eyebrow hair get caught in the drive head runing the disk.

12-October-05, 05:34 PM		#9 (permalink)
post_break I Drive A Mac	Well the only thing I need help with is wireing this bad boy. It has a ribbon cable with 4 traces and Im not sure what is ground and what is 12v. Anyone have an idea to find out?

12-October-05, 06:30 PM		#11 (permalink)
post_break I Drive A Mac	"EDIT: Hopefully I didnt discourage him from this project....Sorry if I did." I can read this too you know. Im thinking about just putting it back onto the controller card and using it that way.

12-October-05, 07:27 PM		#12 (permalink)
Seikatsu Apex Master Tech Apprentice	Sounds like a nice idea. Imagine using a burnt out (chips are fried) Scsi drive for the motor. 15k RPM anyone? I wonder how that would sound with a 120mm blades attached.

12-October-05, 11:18 PM		#13 (permalink)
SiathLinux Apex Master Tech Apprentice	So, let get this right, your trying to build a 10k rpm fan in a HDD inclosure with cut outs top and bottom, why not 'create' the fan 'cover' by cutting a design into the covers. But here's another thought for you, light inside of that case...