Engraver Maintenance: Engraving Motor Belt & Brushes

Vision suggests that you check the motor belts and brushes on your engraving or routing machine at least every 6 months for wear and tear. If either looks especially worn you should replace them to keep your engraver running optimally. Replacing these items when needed will extend the life of your Vision machine.

How to Replace a Belt

The belt is used to drive the spindle engraving system. It is the orange band running between the drive pulley and the spindle pulley.

To remove the old belt, simply roll it to the top of the spindle pulley, and slightly stretch off of the pulley. Once it is loose from the spindle pulley it will be easy to remove. Next, position the new belt around the drive pulley, then stretch until it snaps over the top of the spindle pulley.

It is highly recommended to purchase replacement belts through Vision to be sure you have the correct belt size for your engraver. The wrong belt size can reduce the performance of the engraving motor.

How to Inspect & Replace the Brushes

The motor brushes on your engraving or routing machine should be inspected every 6 months, and replace when worn. Two brush assemblies, one for each side of the motor, are included with our accessories package.

Before replacing the brushes, unplug the speed controller to remove power from the motor. At the top of the motor there are two round extensions, which look similar to ears. Use a flat head screwdriver to carefully remove the small threaded brush cap from the center of the “ears”. Next, remove the metal U-shaped bracket connected to the spring and carbon brush. If the brush is less than a ¼” long you should replace the entire assembly. Do not attempt to remove the brush from the assembly. Reinstall the old brush assembly if it is in good shape, or install the new assembly if needed. Then replace the plastic brush cap.

Repeat the procedure on the other side of the motor. If one brush needs to be replaces, we suggest you replace both.

If you have any questions about these tasks, please leave a comment.

This entry was posted in Quick Tips and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply