I have a cable machine in my home gym that uses regular weights for resistance.
At the moment the highest weight the machine can go to is 50kg each cable, but was hoping to up it to at least 100kg on each cable using a DC Motor for resistance something similar to speediance Gym Monster product.
I'm more into programming than electronics and such so need some pointers if anyone can point me to a project similar to this or a list of hardware that would be needed?
A very similar project would be diy steering wheels with forcefeedback and have looked at a few but i wouldn't know exactly how to convert the resistance of the motor into Kg pull.
A motor needs to be powered and actively controlled—it won’t resist motion on its own unless it’s actively running or using braking mechanisms. What happens if something fails? What safety devices are you planning to include?
Please post an annotated schematic showing how you intend to implement this. Also, consider the liability: who would be responsible if someone gets hurt?
I strongly advise against pursuing this project as it stands, as it seems you may not have the necessary resources or tools in your toolbox to ensure it is done safely and effectively.
the idea is that i should be able to control the response force to 100kg, think about when you turn a usb steering wheel and it exerts a force to bring itself back to the center but only it would be pulled through a pulley system and it would be fighting to get back to a rest hopefully if its tunable then it could be lowest maybe 5kg up to 100kg
the cable machine i already have has safety mechanisms built in that stop things from getting out of hand through pulleys and what not this is just to replace the physical weights with motor resistance. Getting it powered is not an issue i can plug in a power source etc and do any wiring necessary. I could also program in a few failsafes like those that exist on speediance when it experiences a sudden loss of pull, eg training to failure.
To be honest you are correct about the tools and what not, but only person that can be hurt by this is me. This isn't going to be sold to anyone more a personal project to see if it can be done and done safely and the number one reason for this post is to see if i can get some guidance.
this is the box gym i have at the moment, each side at the moment holds 50kg, i guess i could do with just 50kg each side and work up to see if it can hold the extra tension?
Rather than using a torque motor, I wonder if he could use a variable mechanism similar to the autobelays in a climbing gym. I don't know the terminology, but my understanding is that the mechanism is entirely passive. The currents generated by the magnets and the spinning ferrous disk induce resistance. I wonder if you could vary the strength of the field to induce more resistance. Maybe you could use a load cell to measure the force applied to the mechanism and then use some sort of feedback to vary the field strength. Instead of using an electromagnet, you could use a permanent magnet, and vary the field by adjusting the distance between the magnet and the disc.
