Need right motor for my application

[cldbase]

I have a specific application for which I think an electric motor might suit the bill. I was hoping someone here with more experience then me could offer me some possible solutions.

I am trying to payout a reel of line while maintaining a constant tension on the line. I will need some type of braking force on the reel. The force on the end of the line will constantly be changing and the resistance will have to compensate for this, allowing the reel to speed up or slow down to maintain a constant tension.

I will also need to reel the line in after the payout is complete.

I am thinking an electric motor may be able to do both these jobs for me. I know when I am riding downhill in a golf cart the electric motor creates some resistance to control the speed of the cart. This type of resistance would be perfect for the payout portion of my application if I can control the ammount of resistance. Will this force remain constant and can I control it? How? Is it simply a small amount of current passing through the motor countering the freewheeling of the cart? Will this cause excesive heat in the motor?

Obviously I can simply run the motor to reel the line in. There will be very little force on the line at this time, just enough to keep the line clean.

One more question: Are there 12v motors out there that will be capable of this application? I understand a much higher voltage is often required but I would like to power this from the battery in my car.

Any suggestions are welcome, please help me find a solution.

James

 

[automatic2]

Fine tension control can be had by implementing a mechanical 'dancer'. This is where an idler under some preset/adjustable tension is used as positional feed back to the motor. The tension applied by the substrate (line) directly controls the motors action.

 

[cldbase]

What company manufactures mechanical 'dancers'?

 

[blacksea]

Mechanical"dancer" and it's controllers you may find at Montalvo, Warner, Erhardt+Leimer (Germany). The othet methods for tension control based on load cell or ultrasonic sensor you may find there also.

 

[twarr1]

Polyspede has decades of experience with just the kind of application you are talking about. Give them a call 1-888-4poly44. Ask for Tony in engineering.