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Ringo Educational Guide Rev04.1 ~ Plum Geek
Using Ringo’s Motors
2) Bent Motor Shaft:
This should not be a common problem, but it is possible.
If Ringo takes a fall onto a hard surface and happens to land right on one of his
motor shafts, it is possible the shaft could become bent. In all our testing, our
Ringos have taken many hard falls onto a concrete shop floor from 3 to 4 feet
heights. In all these drops, we managed to slightly bend one motor shaft which
was easily fixed as follows. You’ll notice it is bent because as Ringo moves, one
side will “thump” along rather than running more smoothly. Correcting a bent
motor shaft is possible with some care. Closely examine the shaft to determine
the direction it is bent, then, using a tool of some sort, carefully reverse the bend.
This will likely return Ringo to service. If the bend is so extreme that it cannot be
reversed, motor replacement may be required. Contact us to order replacement
motors.
3) Gunk on Motor Shaft:
Ringo is very good at picking up debris in his motor
shafts - especially hair from your pets when he is run on the floor. Usually this is
easy to remove. Using tweezers, carefully pluck the hair off the shaft by rolling
the shaft with your fingers. A bit of hair build up isn’t a major problem, but if
enough is allowed to accumulate, it can effect the performance of the bearing
inside the motor where the shaft exits.
WARNING! If you do feel the need to remove a motor from the clip (this
shouldn’t be required, but we know some of you will try to do it anyway) - the
best way to remove the motor is to slide it completely through the clip outward. It
is tempting to rock the top end of the motor (where the wires come out) upward
until it prys open the clip then rotate it outward. THIS IS A BAD IDEA THOUGH.
As the motor is rotated out of the clip, all the force is placed on the motor shaft
as the motor shaft hits the bottom of the clip. This force (if pryed all the way out
of the clip) is enough to bend the motor shaft. Instead, slide it through the clip
until it pops out the end. Be careful you don’t break the wires when doing this.
To re-install the motor, align it over the clip so the end is flush, then use finger
pressure to snap it into the clip from the top through the open “jaws” of the clip.
