Recreating a vintage motorized DVD “Power Tower” (vertical carousel) — has anyone built one or know how it works?
Hi everyone! My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up and she is a DVD fiend, she loves collecting them and is currently making her own plex server (there’s more stuff too but it’s over my head tbh). Anyway, I’ve been searching for one of those old motorized DVD towers because she’s been wanting one for forever. I’ve look on FB marketplace, garage sales, estate sales, online auctions, eBay (but I don’t want to spend $500 on the item alone and then shipping and everything.) So I’ve decided to try to recreate one where the CDs move in a vertical loop inside the tower (not just spinning on a base, but actually cycling up and down like a conveyor).
From what I can tell, it uses:
\- a continuous belt/chain loop
\- top + bottom pulleys
\- individual CD holders attached to the loop
\- a very slow gear motor
A few things I’m trying to figure out:
\- How were the CDs actually secured so they didn’t tilt or fall while moving?
\- What kind of belt/drive system did these use (timing belt vs chain vs something else)?
\- How slow should the motor realistically be to keep it smooth?
\- Any known teardown photos, diagrams, or internal views of these towers?
If anyone has owned one and opened it up/ tried repairing one/ attempted a similar build, I wouldlove any insight, photos, or advice before I start prototyping.
I would appreciate any help, I just want to make sure I do it right for her!!