Motor upgrade for lathe

[Chris Haas]

no, your choice isnt my second, the vfd in my post was. i think i fixed the link.

[Raymond Sprouse]

Ok, it's working now. That looks like a good one. I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks.

[Dave Schell]

Raymond, I went through this process when I was building up my barebones Vicmarc lathe. One thing I learned from researching alot of VFDs is that some come with rather sparse, technical documentation for programming the drive and some come with very clear and understandable documentation. In the end, I went with a Hitachi drive primarily because it had documentation I knew I could understand. Most of these manuals are online so you can read them ahead of time before buying.

If you search this forum for "barebones vicmarc" you will find the thread I started documenting my entire build, including the exact motor and drive I used, prices, and how I programmed it, including wiring in a remote control box (a good thing).

Good luck. Dave

[Dave Mueller]

Raymond,
I bought the same VFD as shown in your earlier post and have been very pleased with it. There are some other VFDs called "sensorless vector" which go through a self-tuning measurement and then automatically adjust for that motor to provide a torque boost at the low speeds, which is what the Australian Vicmarc and the Robust use, however, I have not felt a need for it.

I did reprogram my VFD to go to 90 Hz or 150% of the base motor frequency of 60 Hz. That means my 1800 RPM rated motor maximum is now 2700 RPM. The spindle is the same RPM, since I used a 1:1 pully ratio. I checked with the motor manufacturer and he said that it is OK to run it at 150% but not to go higher. I think it is a function of motor design.

Having said all that, my homemade lathe goes from about 40 RPM (I also programmed the lower frequency) to 2700 RPM without a belt change. Although the torque at 40 RPM is pretty low, I only use it for sanding. As soon as I speed up to about 100 RPM, I have never been able to stall it and it is a 2 HP motor. If you buy the FM50 controller and have any problems programming it, drop me an e-mail through the Creek and I'll help if I can.

Good luck - it's not as hard as it sounds.
Dave

[Raymond Sprouse]

Dave Schell, thanks for the tip. I'll research the manual. Also, great job on your build. I read over the thread today. Looks like a nice lathe.

Dave Bryan, That is comforting to here of someone else with the same VFD. It sound good. I was hoping to get somewhere near 50 rpm on the low end. Thanks for the programing help. I will definitely keep you in mind when I get my supply's. Do you have any pics of your homemade lathe?

[Bob Borzelleri]

Jake, to answer your question, conversion was about $575.00. I ordered through FactoryMation. Motor is 2hp WEG premium efficiency cast iron, drive is Teco 7300CV. I also ordered parts to build remote (cost extra) but have found controls on the VFD are working great. Yes I still have full use of all features on the Nova. Used my existing pulleys, but did have motor pulley reamed out to fit new motor shaft. I am sure I probably could have gone with cheaper motor and drive but so far I really enjoy my set up.

Skip...

Do you have any photos of your conversion? Also, I couldn't find a single phase 2 hp WEG premium efficiency cast iron motor on the FM website. Do you have a model number or are you using 3 phase?

...Bob

[Raymond Sprouse]

Anybody know of a site I can find some good 3 step pulley's? The motor I ordered takes a 7/8" bore. I can't remember what my spindle is at the moment, but still need to find a place to buy the pulleys.

[Greg Bender]

Raymond,
your local bearing supplier should also carry all kinds of pulleys with the ability to bore for shaft size.
Greg

[Raymond Sprouse]

Raymond,
your local bearing supplier should also carry all kinds of pulleys with the ability to bore for shaft size.
Greg

Thanks Greg. I live in the middle of nowhere. I don't have a bearing supplier within 100 miles that I know of. I'll keep searching.

[Mark Hazelden]

Raymond,

Here are some companies that I use when making items for my shop.

http://www.mcmaster.com/
http://www.use-enco.com
http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm

Perhaps they have what you are looking for.

Good Luck,

Mark

[Raymond Sprouse]

Well I finally got my VFD and motor. The VFD is: 3 HP, G.E., Model D7210, 230 Volt 1 Phase Input
The motor is an Emerson 2 HP Three Phase, Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled.

I have to run 220 to my shop now. Once that is done, I'll be asking some questions about setting up this VFD. If anyone has this unit, please let me know.

[Raymond Sprouse]

I was looking through my VFD manual and have a question. I have to get some kind of plug to plug in my vfd to the wall outlet. Some 220 volt plugs have 4 prongs, some have three. By looking at the pic I pulled off my manual, it looks like I need a 3 wire, 3 prong plug. 2 power wires and 1 ground.
I have a 2hp motor and my home's electric is 1 phase. This would put me on figure d.

Does that sound correct?

[John Hart]

Yes...Figure D would be correct

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thanks John.

So I would need the 3 wire/ 3 prong plug like a dryer?

[John Hart]

Yep...that'll work. Just make sure you get the matching outlet. A dryer set would be of sufficient rating though.