Can a dimmer switch be used to control drill speed?

[Gary Tollison]

Hello

As the title says...

I'm thinking about having a 1.8A 400V bushed fixed speed drill, mounted in a press, connected to a dimmer switch to control the drill speed.

Any ideas, or advice?

And please, to those who think I'm silly to think such an idea etc, I can do without the criticism

This is only an idea at this stage...
Thanks

 

[telectrix]

best thing to do is try it. it worked for Edison. i'd fit a 1000W dimmer and see how it goes

 

[DavidSpark]

I'm not sure if the mechanism the dimmer switch uses to dim would translate very well for the drill, and I'd be sure to pick a dimmer than could handle the 400V but like @telectrix says, best way to find out is try it out! Be careful and don't get hurt with your experiments!

 

[Squid]

Variable speed controller or does the drill have a light thats too bright?

 

[Gary Tollison]

Variable speed controller or does the drill have a light thats too bright?

Used as a variable speed controller

 

[Squid]

Try it and let us know what happens.

 

[Phil Thompson]

A dimmer switch isn't suited to a fan, which is a motor, so wouldn't imagine it would be for a drill motor.

Get a variac 1af from "watt bits" and build your own that way would be my suggestion.

 

[David M]

Is the motor DC or AC or universal? This can make a difference , a dimmer switch may not work well on an inductive load, though there are dimmers available which claim to work well on either resistive or inductive loads. There are relatively inexpensive speed controllers on the market that would be more suitable for your drill.