Robust American Beauty Motor Placement?

This is merely idle curiosity but after watching a video demonstration of the Robust American Beauty I noticed that the motor is exposed behind the headstock, a design very similar to Powermatic lathes but unlike the Oneway lathes where the motor is enclosed in the tubular bed. What I'm curious about is 1) Does having the motor exposed present a problem with collecting dust and debris and therefore affecting its performance? 2) Does having the motor enclosed present a problem with it overheading?

Steve being an owner of an AB for about 4 years, what I can say is No on your question. Never had a problem. Mine is the 3HP model.

My lathes all have exposed motors. How much gets in the motor depends on how it is sealed and cooled and how much dust you let float in the room. I have not seen a problem in 15 years. I do however, try to keep the free dust down with a dust collector, I almost never power sand, and I occasionally gently blow some compressed air on the fan end just for fun.

JKJ

The motor supplied with the American Beauty (and all the Robust Lathes for that matter) is a TEFC (Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled) motor intended for environments. The rotating elements are sealed and cooled by a fan. It is necessary that the motor be mounted with the headstock as the headstock slides. One of the best features of the lathe in my view.

I've had my AB since Oct 2011 and have never had a problem with the motor. Interesting thing is that my 3hp is an ultra-high efficient motor and I have intentionally checked it out after roughing large forms (25" x 20") only to find the motor is just as cool to the touch as it was before the lathe was even turned on! As far dust getting into the fan blades - I have seen that only once or twice and just ran a vacuum over the grill and everything was clean again.

Yup, no worries... I have had mine for 10 years, maybe.... Can't remember. I have the older model with 3 speed ranges. It does get mildly warm when turning because I work it hard. When sanding, I run at maybe 15 rpm, thanks having Brent help me adjust the converter, and it runs cooler than when I am turning.

robo hippy

For my Oneway. I sometimes spin wood for hours and then days and I have never experienced any excessive heat from the motor.

The ducted fan on the back of the motor blows cooling air over the exterior of the motor. The motor itself is environmentally sealed so no contaminants enter the motor. The way that it is mounted is the way that it is designed to be used ... in free air. Enclosing a motor in a cabinet would mean that it wouldn't be able to dissipate heat as easily and would therefore run hotter.