First Factory Box Magazine Motorization
 

Like the title says (versus an OMG HELP ME). I have a manual winding m16/4 first factory box magazine. I know that first factory makes an electrical winding magazine the exact same as mine. Which led to to open er up. The electric ones they sell use 4 - 1.2volt cells and the mini plug mounted flush so you can charge it, and a little electric motor to put out the goods. The high cap winding wheel has a standard imperial allen head on it (made out of plastic eligantly) which i want to attach the motor's spindle to. That in-lies the problem for me. I figured before i go mess it up (which i am known for) I would get some ideas from you fine gentlmen (and ladies, come now). I was thinking about getting an allen key and cutting it drilling it out and a pressurless headscrew to hold it onto the spindle. :smack:

Peace!

And if any of your have their box mag that is motorized can you get me a pic of how they set it up. I am currious how to get the best motor set up. If I can get a pinion that will mesh on the outside wheel it would make enough torque to wind the thing. When it drives the winding mechanism from the center even a good mabuchi motor wont do it....... I am stumped

Okay new update on my quest for motorization. For anyone who is an electric motor guru I need a hand. I have a 3 cm long electic motor (shown in picture) with a 2mm diameter shaft with a lenth of 6mm. The pinion in the picture is part of my high cap mag and is 13mm in length. In order to motorize the magazine I need a motor of the same specs that is front loading with a shaft of 18mm (outside of the motor) to go directly into the high cap housing and replace the pinion. Easier said than done. I am gona hit some electric motor shops but from phoning around its gona be a pain in the buttocks. I am gona be running it at 4.8v so just a generic motor would do the trick. Does anyone know of a place that carrys custom/odd ball small electric motors around the lower-mainland? if so add me to msn and or contact me.

Peace!

I use this in my FF box mag and it works very well.

http://www.hobbytimeny.com/IBS/Simpl...id/756389.html

thats a good idea! i am wanting to keep it simple though. panzer_17_mouse@hotmail.com add me to msn. Maby you can give me some more info on your contraption. I am familar with tamiya products and deal with them alot (in particular this item) those motors are cheap junk but i am sure would do the job

I used the entire kit not just the motor alone. You need the gearbox to generate enough torque to wind the magazine.

The shaft from the kit is to be epoxied to the winding wheel. So, you need to cut it down to a suitable length where you're able to pull out the gearbox assembly. I do not mount the gearbox and just let it hang off the shaft.

Yeah yeah i hear what you are saying, but i am not going to attach it to the main winding wheel but rather that small pinion inside of the magazine. I tracked down the gearbox, but i am not sure if its 2mm diameter shaft? if you can confirm that for me it would be great! And then i will just buy a pressure fit pinion and slap it together!

Peace!

The axle is hexagon shaped, not round.

Yeah that sounds like a good idea too since the axel is hexagonal, but how about if you want to manualy over-ride it?

Just open up the boxmag and pull off the gearbox.

haha yeah! currently my box mag is and has been in that state for a week haha. Does the hex axel fit into the manual winding sprocket, and then just epoxy to keep it that way? or does it involve serious screwing around? i will find out in a bit when i pick one up!!! Thanks a million for your help man!

Nahh, nothing to it. Just build up the kit, cut the axle to size, epoxy it and gently fit the axle to the gearbox and you're good to go.

ETA - wait for the epoxy to fully cure before fitting

Okay I finaly finished motorizing it! I bought the tamiya three speed gearbox. Cut an allen key and filed it to the diameter of the smaller hexagonal axel (easier said than done with hardened steel!). I cut the box's empty chamber to allow the axel to mesh with the main winding wheel, and am using three 4.5v in total AA batteries to power it. I use the largest gear ratio like you recommended but it just wouldnt wind the mag fully even with the 9v i was testing it with, and the mid gearing has the axel in the middle so space constrainst prevented that. I ended up using low gearing/high torque and it winds pretty darn fast! (faster than people can work the wheel thats for sure!) and doesnt put unnecisary stress on the motor. Popped a pressure switch into the circuit and good to go! johyew my friend you deserve a medal! you saved me so much time and trouble and the gearbox fits perfectly just foam to keep things secure and silent and it mounts right in!

ps your my hero *star*

Peace!

Great job!! I guess i meant to use the highest gear ratio meaning highest torque. Enjoy.

You know what else you can do... connect the switch wiring to the aeg trigger switch. Winds as you pull the trigger!!!

Okay I have looked at the only thread i could find in search for wirring the trigger. Has anyone wired one on an m4/16 before? and if so any pictures/guid as to how to make it clean?

Peace!

Sorry that I can't help you on this one. Just make sure that the positive wires are on the same switch contact.

Okay. Now all I need help with is the circuit. I have a tamya FA-130 motor. It says the power consumption is 1100ma and should be run at no more than 4.5 volts, and i just know it gona melt if i run it at more haha. Anyone good at transformers and resistors? Something like (Vs/Vp)=(Ip/Is). Oh and i am running an 8.4v 1200mah NiMh battery, and my back up battery is an 8.4v 600mah but i hardly ever so much as touch that so wiring it to the trigger it safe to assume i am using the 1200mah

Thanks for your time

Wow, that tamiya gearbox is just what i'm looking for to power my G36 box mag in a cd spindle. Could you please give me dimensions on it? I think thats the only thing holding me back on purchasing it. A pic wouldn't hurt either! thanks in advance!

Sorry for the tardiness of my reply! This is my first factory m16/4 gearbox motorized with the tamiya crank axel three speed gearbox. Gear Ratios: 16.1:1 58.1:1 203.1:1 Motor: FA-130 is the technical details. It draws 1100ma and is tested for those ratings at 3 volts (they say 4.5 v tops) so halving the voltage from an 8.4 battery would do the trick but would double the current. Anyhow enough with that yamble! I took an allen key that fit in the winding wheel and filed it down to the slightly smaller hex axel and popped it all in! Took a bit of time to get it all mod'd, but it was worth it so i can remove everything seamlessly if need be without butchering it. I have batteries in it localy but i am going to wire it to the trigger in a few days and test to see what the motor needs to do to keep up to my m4a1. It has prometheus bearing bushings, systema bearing spring guide, and an ms100. So time will tell what the rof is on it with my 8.4v 1200mah battery. I am running it at 203.1:1 ratio and it has no problems what so ever winding the mag. If you can get ahold of another tamiya gearbox of the same size go for something with a little less torque (say 50-100:1 range) and i am sure they would do the job and keep up better to R.O.F. If need be i will get a motor that's faster and draws more ma's. The motor is common in mini 4x4 tamiya (and knockoff) cars so you can find them easily to uprade to suit your gun's feeding needs. I appologize for the long post, but there was no way around it

P.S. i did line it with felt however i am going to fully line it since some get stuck up in the intermediate chamber, but when they are fed and in to bottom chamber its silent!

:duke:

thats awesome man. It looks like the box mag was bought with the gearbox installed. Very nice install!

Can you get some some estimates on the dimensions of the tamiya gearbox.

Its roughly 7 cm long by 2.5 cm wide by 1.7 high. I took it apart and roughly messured it with my analog caliper so dont hold me to more than a few sig figs haha. Thats with the tabs that are on the gearbox cut off, and including the housing that sticks out to hold the axel for the gear recession. Enjoy