3 phase lathe help?
- Thread starter danutz
- Start date
phase 3
they make phase 3 convertor
they make phase 3 convertor
I almost positive it will be cheaper and better to just have an electrician to put in a 3 phase hookup
phase
phase 3 uses less power than single phase he is ^right plus some of the converter boxes burn out
phase 3 uses less power than single phase he is ^right plus some of the converter boxes burn out
3 phase motor
Keep the 3 phase motor and buy a good inverter for approximately $500. - By adding an inverter you can now have VARIABLE SPEED - START - STOP - AND - JOG, as well as, forward and reverse . . . by the time you purchase a good single phase 110V motor to replace the 3 phase motor you will have spent at least $500 in time & materials and have gained very little. The inverter is looking for 220 volts - single phase . . . . the power coming into your house - so decide where you are going to put the lathe and have your electrician run a 220v line with suitable circuit breaker from your panel box to that location, hook up the inverter - instructions are normally included with the inverter - all of you lathe functions will now be controlled from the front panel on the inverter.
pfd
Keep the 3 phase motor and buy a good inverter for approximately $500. - By adding an inverter you can now have VARIABLE SPEED - START - STOP - AND - JOG, as well as, forward and reverse . . . by the time you purchase a good single phase 110V motor to replace the 3 phase motor you will have spent at least $500 in time & materials and have gained very little. The inverter is looking for 220 volts - single phase . . . . the power coming into your house - so decide where you are going to put the lathe and have your electrician run a 220v line with suitable circuit breaker from your panel box to that location, hook up the inverter - instructions are normally included with the inverter - all of you lathe functions will now be controlled from the front panel on the inverter.
pfd
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I bought a 3 phase Pantomiller pantograph and took out the motor because I couldn't get 3 phase power in my residential area either, but I wired my shop with plenty of 220 outlets. I took the old motor to an electrical guy and he matched me up with 220 single phase for $150. I changed out the motor (make sure you get the same mounting brackets on the new motor) and it runs like a champ. I had to rewire the switch also.
John
John
I got confused by some of the replies(no offense intended).
There a couple of ways to get 3 phase out of regular 220.
A: A static or rotary phase converter
1:cons
a:now your are driving TWO motors and using more power
b:static inverters reduce the HP output of the motor in question
2
ros
a:if you buy a big enough inverter, you can run more than one machine on a single inverter.
B: VFD(variable frequency drive)
1:cons
a: they are DESIGNED(i hooked my up through the control panel and haven't blown anything up yet. I tried to do the same on my mill, but it wouldn't work) to be connected directly to the motor, which means your controls on the lathe won't work. You can hook the machine's controls to the low voltage terminals on the vfd and have them work as intended though.
b: only one machine per VFD
2ros
a:they are completely adjustable in almost any way you can think of(want to run an infinitely adjustable lathe that, if you wanted to, can turn at twice it's rated speed? no problem, dc brake? no problem.....ect...ect...ect.)
b:they are cheaper than phase converters
Run a VFD and forget converters. 3 phase is superior in every way. They are not hard to wire up and you will be happy....without a doubt.
There a couple of ways to get 3 phase out of regular 220.
A: A static or rotary phase converter
1:cons
a:now your are driving TWO motors and using more power
b:static inverters reduce the HP output of the motor in question
2
rosa:if you buy a big enough inverter, you can run more than one machine on a single inverter.
B: VFD(variable frequency drive)
1:cons
a: they are DESIGNED(i hooked my up through the control panel and haven't blown anything up yet. I tried to do the same on my mill, but it wouldn't work) to be connected directly to the motor, which means your controls on the lathe won't work. You can hook the machine's controls to the low voltage terminals on the vfd and have them work as intended though.
b: only one machine per VFD
2
rosa:they are completely adjustable in almost any way you can think of(want to run an infinitely adjustable lathe that, if you wanted to, can turn at twice it's rated speed? no problem, dc brake? no problem.....ect...ect...ect.)
b:they are cheaper than phase converters
Run a VFD and forget converters. 3 phase is superior in every way. They are not hard to wire up and you will be happy....without a doubt.
Paul's advice is good, but what I did with my South Bend was take the 1HP, 3PH, 1750RPM motor off and replace it with a 2HP, 1PH, 115/220V 3500RPM motor with the same style mount. The higher speed makes it much better for woodworking. I've been running that bad boy for 18 years and I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Sherm
first-are you comfortable and knowledgeable enough to do this work yourself. if not, then hire an electrician to guide your decision and do the work. the questions that need answering are this- does the machine allow for voltage changes? most that are set up for 3 phase don't allow for phase changes. some might if the control voltage is set to 120v 1 phase. you would need to get a wiring diagram or track the wiring manually to make some changes to the starters and control transformer,also confirm voltage. if you can get the nameplate info on the motor, you could check with a electric motor vendor to see if the motor you have will lend itself to a frequency drive. if it does, this is the easiest approach. all that is needed is to provide 220v 1phase in and the frequency drive will produce the 3rd phase. its not always easy to run 3phase equipment on single phase, but it can be done.
Except that he is not talking about an inverter. An inverter converts dc to ac. I think he means a VFD, which is the way to go. I was able to use mine simply as a 1 to 3 phase converter. I plan on utilizing all the goodies provided by the VFD soon.
Also, I wouldn't want to use the keypads for controls. It will probably take a day to rewire my lathe so the controls work with the VFD as they do now.
There is a provision to link a potentiometer and control RPM that way. Using a vfd I could hypothetically run up to 4000 RPM.
After having a foot brake, there is no way I would be without one. I am so used to stopping it with my foot that, while using my taper shaper, I stomped my foot on the ground thinking I would stop the machine....:smile:
A 3 phase drop, even IF it was available is very expensive.
Hi,
If you use a converter you can't live thread because the speeds drop and are not in sync. Do yourself a favor and buy one with 110 v.
Rick
If you use a converter you can't live thread because the speeds drop and are not in sync. Do yourself a favor and buy one with 110 v.
Rick
Huh! Aren't most using lathes that are mechanically driven with a gear box or transmission running off of the same motor that the headstock is using? Please explain how it is possible to lose sync in this situation.
I don't see why it would matter. Mine is running twice the speed it was designed to and I can still live thread. There is only one motor which controls the head stock and the carriage through a system of gears. They should be synced together. How does the converter change that? I haven't used one but I understood that they just changed the current flow, not the mechanics of the lathe?
Hi,
Makes sense.
My friend bought a Clausing and put on the converter and he says after converting he can't cut threads correctly. He is a very good machinist who knows what he is doing.
Now that I think of it, maybe his problem is not in the converter / motor / trans. function but may be the frequency speed control along with the converter added to the mix. The LED on the speed control might be giving him the wrong numbers to sync with the thread chart.
Sorry to post info that may have been misleading. :scratchhead:
Rick
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No converter has the ability to change the mechanical ratio. If he can no longer thread it is because he is trying to do so at an inappropriate speed/feed for the material and or tooling in use. Maybe a lack of understanding of how his converter has affected the speed that the lathe is now running at?