Total Weirdness with an old hard drive

[Kludge]

Okay, I do NOT recommend this but here is a new way to use your basic no-longer-wanted hard drive - make it into a grinder ...

http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&path=mods/hdd_grinder/index_eng

For those like me who feel this is a bit much, there may be salvation in the idea, that being to use the thing as a burnishing/polishing wheel, although it is a bit fast for one, by applying a tiny bit of diamantine and water or oil to the surface after removing the iron oxide stuff then using very light touches for the finishing steps.
I've never dug around the inside of a HD logic board to figure out how to control the speed of this monster but it would probably be nice to slow it down a whole big bunch to avoid wearing splatter or workpieces or the potential of bits of broken disk. I guess working in close to the hub would be a good thing too.

Anyway, I figured I'd show y'all that maybe we aren't so crazy after all; there are those out there who are definitely worse on a good day than we could ever be on a bad day.

Best regards,

Kludge ... who probably was that crazy in his youth

 

[tmuir]

I've ripped apart many dead hard drives to steal the rare earth magnets out of them for many uses but can honestly say I never though of using one as a grinder.

 

[ksouers]

Hmm, wheels are spinning...

Actually that looks like it might make a nice powered hone for touching up lathe bits or drill points. A bit of 1200 grit paper and your off to the races.

 

[Dhow Nunda wallah]

Hmm, I've used the bearings out of a few (top of the line)
But a grinder?
Hmmm
Thanks Kludge you've got my last 3 or 4 neurons going

 

[Kludge]

I've ripped apart many dead hard drives to steal the rare earth magnets out of them for many uses but can honestly say I never though of using one as a grinder.

With so many of them around, how rare can they be? :big:

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[Kludge]

Hmm, wheels are spinning...

Actually, it sounds a bit like a turbine spooling up.

Actually that looks like it might make a nice powered hone for touching up lathe bits or drill points. A bit of 1200 grit paper and your off to the races.

Another potential use. Dependent on the age of the drive and what type it was, these puppies spin anywhere from 3600 to over 10,000 rpm so it won't take a lot to do that touch up. At those speeds, a piece of Kraft paper glued to the platters might be enough.

Heck, at 10,000 rpm, the laminar flow air may do it by itself. ;D

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[Kludge]

Hmm, I've used the bearings out of a few (top of the line)

Now some have gone to oil bearings but, yeah, the bearing from these drives are wonderful.

But a grinder?

Or anything else a really fast spinning surface can do for you. I know people who'd just watch the thing spin.

Thanks Kludge you've got my last 3 or 4 neurons going

Heck, I've only got one firing and it skips a beat often as not. On the other hand, I've never been plagued by sanity either. ;D

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[rake60]

Interesting concept!

I have about 6 old hard drives here from deceased computers.
Each one is labeled with it's potentially useful content.
If I need something of that sort, I'll temporally insert the old HD into
my current PC as a slave drive to extract that information.

Never thought they may offer a better service! :big:

Rick

 

[Kludge]

Interesting concept!

Isn't it just?

If I need something of that sort, I'll temporally insert the old HD into
my current PC as a slave drive to extract that information.

Heh, heh, heh ... you sound like how I used to was. I finally bit the bullet & bought a DVD burner then backed off all the Really Cool Stuff to DVD. Now all my important stuff is backed to DVD (duplicates, stored separately) which I adjust periodically with changes in the stuff - software upgrades, new eBooks, etc.

Never thought they may offer a better service! :big:

Got any old floppy drives floating around? The spindles on them turn at a more sedate 300 (some 360) rpm though a few sensors et al have to be disabled/fooled to get them to start. CD/DVD drives also have decent spindle motors, though I don't know how fast they turn. (Listening to them, it sounds like they can spin up pretty quick.) They also have to be fooled into working but, like the others, can find a home with an enterprising model engineer. Like with the hard drives, you've got to remove some bits to get to the spindles (and fake the electronics into believing they're still working sometimes from what I've read) but that may not be a major issue.

There is a box in my storage locker with a number of hard drives & CD-ROM drives (maybe a floppy or two, I can't remember - this is all leftovers from when I was building computers at a mad rate.) so next time I'm there and assuming I remember I'll grab a few to see what has to be done.

There are also some of those really cool case LEDs and stuff 'cuz case modding was nearly as important as what went inside. I am such a geek!

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[bentprop]

Just to have a look for myself,I pulled an old hard drive apart.Mine only has one disk in it..I wuz robbed!I guess you need 3 drives to make the grinder thingamajig.
i tried to get the thing to run,but no go.Perhaps that's why i chucked it in a drawer in the first place.
Re the cd-rom motors,I had read something on the net about using these little motors to power an indoor airplane(rc),but they used some other type of magnet,which cost mucho dinero,and could only be bought from a bloke in Switzerland.
It all seemed like too much work for little real gain.Besides,I like the "bang bang" noise up the front ;D.Give me a four stroke motor anyday.
Hans

 

[Dhow Nunda wallah]

Hmmm, someone say "Tesla turbine"?

Speaking of DVD burners, there's a pretty handy laser in those too. (do not stare into beam with remaining eye)

 

[Kludge]

Just to have a look for myself,I pulled an old hard drive apart.Mine only has one disk in it..I wuz robbed!I guess you need 3 drives to make the grinder thingamajig.

Depends on the drive capacity. And the density. And the phase of the moon.

i tried to get the thing to run,but no go.Perhaps that's why i chucked it in a drawer in the first place.

That's a bummer. Usually they spin up as soon as you give them power. Did you have your local friendly gnome kick it in the proper corner precisely at 11:12:13 Martian Siderial time?

Re the cd-rom motors,I had read something on the net about using these little motors to power an indoor airplane(rc),

And outdoor. Folks have been doing interesting things with these puppies.

but they used some other type of magnet,which cost mucho dinero,and could only be bought from a bloke in Switzerland.

Said bloke moved to China but still cranks out serious magnets, they just cost less.

It all seemed like too much work for little real gain.Besides,I like the "bang bang" noise up the front ;D.Give me a four stroke motor anyday.

A number of places have noise ordinances which even muffled bang-bang engines couldn't pass. Electrics are quiet which kept a lot of model flying fields open. They also present a challenge which has seen developments in designs coming from the fliers to the manufacturers as much as the other way around.

As to the sound of a 4-stroke, I'm definitely with you. The B-25 will have two of them (I've not completely excluded a 2-stroke, this is presonal preference) that I wish I could make sound like the original radials rather than runaway lawn trimmers.

But for this application, figuring out how trhe CD/DVD spindle motor knows to speed up or slow down would be convenient. That would give a clue how to control the speed.

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[Kludge]

Hmmm, someone say "Tesla turbine"?

I wonder if one would count on HMEM as an engine. ;D

Speaking of DVD burners, there's a pretty handy laser in those too. (do not stare into beam with remaining eye)

The DVD burner lasers are powerful enough to use for making whisps of smoke in wood and exploding balloons. They aren't powerful enough to do so in any hurry without serious cooling, and even then they can't be encouraged too awfully much without letting all the smoke out. On the other claw, using one for centering a workpiece under a drill or mill then cranking up the power for a while might be enough to leave a mark to ensure that the tool is still centered when it's applied.

Best regards,

Kludge