DIY Wavebox! (With modded MJ)

on rc gas cars there is a clutch that could be used with a bit of DIY.. most are made of composite or alluminum.. composite would probably be the best choice here but i guess we'd have to make sure it wasnt harmful to aquarium.. but then again would it work under water??

i think to make this mod most sucessful without stress on prop or pump is one that is not magnetic drive.. meaning it will start in the same direction every time.. i bet if we think a while we can come up with something that will be great. RC boats may be of a great help here but then again they may have no help at all..

here is my idea.. a standard dc motor (whatever size.. there are so many) then use either a 90 degree pinion type joint or put a sproket on the end and use plastic chain (may cause splashing and alot of stress on chain though..) then run it down to a pro (probably any one would be good depending on motor) and have a 90 pinion assembly or a sprocket there then make a shroud similar to maxi mod but just the pvc pipe to help direct flow..


wavebox.jpg



just an idea..
i think this will be a big hit once we get a more reliable one.. i love the idea of the wavebox but the price can be scary
 
too bad you cant use a one way bearing.

RC boats use a fex cable. I think most whould be safe for the aquarium. I know most of them use a stainless steel drive dog, as long as you use a plastic prop and dont make the bends too sharp, you should be able to make something like RSXS's sketch. however the box would most likely need to be much longer than your current one... either that or shorter.

whatabout using a magnet attached to the motor outside the glass then a propeller attached to the propeller inside the tank?
waveboxgo6.jpg


otherwise you could just make a waterproof encasement for a DC motor and directly attach it
 
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If you look at industry there are motors that are DC, they are servo motors they can spin either way and can switch quickly they are build for speed and durability. I think if someone could find one that was cheap enough and powerful enough to power a prop and isolate the shaft and motor from saltwater they would be a perfect fit for this application. If you have ever seen a CNC or similar machine you would know they are well suited for this application.

My brother does tool and die and he built a machine to stack car batteries on a pallet. They can stack 20-45/min. they are extremely fast, strong and accurate.

the trick is getting a fitting to fit the shaft to islolated it.

Put a key in the shaft and a drive dog on a plastic propeller and you are all set.

Price is the only issue, I haven't been able to find one under $100.
 
This is one of those thoughts that goes back to that original DIY vortech thread...

Look at the brushless CDROM motors used in the rc aircraft world. Using one of those (slowfly winding works well - not sure if the 3d would work better?) a 20$ brushless esc, then it's a simple matter of finding a controller to tell the esc to ramp up/down as needed.

Then a magnetic stirer to drive 'through' the glass aquarium wall / wavebox ala tsunami - into something similar to the buisness end of the stream mods (with a thrust bearing)

Using a brushed RC motor is insane - buy one from your local hobby shop - hook it up to a battery... Don't know about you but that noise would drive me nuts.
 
cyslyde, I think you're on to something. You just described making a Vortech. I know others have made DIY Vortechs i.e. liveforphysics, but I don't think anybody thought of using it in the wavebox.

smcnally, Great thread and videos!

BTW quangtam7 has already come up with a way for the mj to spin the right way 100% of time without the noise or damage to the prop.

quangtam7's mj mod

His centering brace is across the bottom, preventing the magnet from ever popping up, so it can only spin in one direction. Here it is w/o the shroud.

mjmod6_812.jpg
 
How about this, A motor mounted above the box to move the wings up and down. Not sure what speed is good, may be 20 rpm?
wings2.jpg

wings3.jpg

wings.jpg
 
since the wavebox is for back and forth movement and not for circulation why not use displacement?

i made a box like the orginal poster and placed a plastic float inside. moving the float down forced water out of the box and moving the float up allowed water to enter the box. this was achieved with a servo motor.
 
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st33lr idea is pretty good.. kind of like a piston in an engine except drawing water in and out.. could you achieve this fast enough to generate the wave motion we are looking for though??
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8925316#post8925316 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ST33LR4T
since the wavebox is for back and forth movement and not for circulation why not use displacement?

i made a box like the orginal poster and placed a plastic float inside. moving the float down forced water out of the box and moving the float up allowed water to enter the box. this was achieved with a servo motor.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't you need a strong motor to "push" and "pull" the float/piston? You still would need a controller/timer for this motor as well???
 
you could use a metal geared servo ( dont have to worry about stripping out) but alot of times theyre response speed isnt as fast... youd probably need some kind of controller but one that made the arm go up then when it reached the highest point to go down... this would have to move fairly quickly to be effective though and to get the timing right would be difficult

and i dont know that it would work as good as like one with a mj mod or tunze ...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8924376#post8924376 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smells like fish
cyslyde, I think you're on to something. You just described making a Vortech. I know others have made DIY Vortechs i.e. liveforphysics, but I don't think anybody thought of using it in the wavebox.

smcnally, Great thread and videos!

BTW quangtam7 has already come up with a way for the mj to spin the right way 100% of time without the noise or damage to the prop.

quangtam7's mj mod

His centering brace is across the bottom, preventing the magnet from ever popping up, so it can only spin in one direction. Here it is w/o the shroud.


are you sure this works??? i can see that it holds the prop down but why does that mean that it starts in the right direction 100% of the time?? it could still spin in reverse but it wouldnt move up the shroud correct??? maybe im missing something..

i think this may help but i dont see where its a 100% work every time :)

mjmod6_812.jpg
Click to expand...
 
are you sure this works??? i can see that it holds the prop down but why does that mean that it starts in the right direction 100% of the time?? it could still spin in reverse but it wouldnt move up the shroud correct??? maybe im missing something..

i think this may help but i dont see where its a 100% work every time
 
I may be way out of line but what about a motor on a gear or chain/belt to a larger diameter wheel with a arm off set to push/pull for the piston type? Like a choo choo train
 
Or what about a ram pump it uses water weight to pressurize or something like that. AND requires no electricty
Might be to slow acting ????
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8929791#post8929791 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rsxs1212
are you sure this works??? i can see that it holds the prop down but why does that mean that it starts in the right direction 100% of the time?? it could still spin in reverse but it wouldnt move up the shroud correct??? maybe im missing something..

i think this may help but i dont see where its a 100% work every time
Click to expand...

im wondering the exact same thing....

looks to be a great design, just dont see how it makes it spin in one direction
 
Since that mod, I have put a small piece of tubing on top part of the magnet to prevent wear and tear, the problem is it get stuck sometime, new solution is make one side farther from the hole on the base so it can only hit just one side instead of both.
magnet.jpg
 
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