Help inspecting/repairing a BLDC motor.

[ESjaavik]

Here are the pictures: http://www.sjaavik.com/CNC/thumbnails.html

[Al_The_Man]

Is'nt there any indication where the 'powder' came from?
Al

[arvidb]

Oh-oh. My expert opinion is that that rotor doesn't look healthy at all

Thanks for posting the pics.

(And what's with the ants?)

Arvid

[ESjaavik]

The powder was covered by the fibre strands and epoxy, so I don't think it's ground off from anything. I think it is corrosion. From the web site of a company manufacturing such magnets I read that these magnets can corrode if subject to moisture. But that's just a guess. And the wear around the epoxy putty cover indicates that this motor had quite a bit of friction on it's "last rounds".

Arvid: The ants was identified as "Forest Ants", and I was assured they would not eat my house. They were not very easy to get a good picture of until I offered them some Bacon Cheese.