Brent H
Ultra Member
@Susquatch : I hope I can make that call 
-
Scam Alert. Members are reminded to NOT send money to buy anything. Don't buy things remote and have it shipped - go get it yourself, pay in person, and take your equipment with you. Scammers have burned people on this forum. Urgency, secrecy, excuses, selling for friend, newish members, FUD, are RED FLAGS. A video conference call is not adequate assurance. Face to face interactions are required. Please report suspicions to the forum admins. Stay Safe - anyone can get scammed.
.5hp-1hp 220v 1ph to 3ph VFD suggestions?
- Thread starter calgaryguy
- Start date
Former Member
Guest
I paid a pretty penny for mine but I have a Lenze VFD. Any issues I see my motor supplier. Basically despite my attempts to punish the system in use 
motor stays cool and so the VFD.
motor stays cool and so the VFD.calgaryguy
Chris
I think I'm going to try to swap this Baldor 3507L .75 HP reversible motor in for the 3ph thats there and see how it goes. the 1/3hp motor hoising is quite small by comparison so I'll update a new thread with any fitment issues.
I had a 3/4 hp on mine as well and no problems. I bought an new single phase motor and not being a motor guy I took it and the fwd/rev switch to a motor shop and had them wire it up. It cost me $70 but it worked and I didn't let the smoke out. If I had it to do again I'd have bought the VFD rather than the new single phase motor. You have the advantage of having the singe phase motor sitting on the shelf. I had the belt tension a bit loose so when I did stall the spindle the motor just spun the belt and didn't break anything.
An added bonus to using a VFD is if you accidentally go from fwd to rev the motor just slows down and then reverses direction, gives you time to flip the switch back to off no harm done. I don't know if all VFD's work this way but the one I have now does (TECO 510).
The forward/reverse on my lathe is just this HUGE COMPLICATED handle on the saddle connected to a bar that runs the length of the lathe that is attached to a drum switch in the head. It's the most expensive complicated switch arrangement you could possibly imagine! It boggles my mind whenever I look at it.
I plan to just rewire it to control my VFD.
Maybe it's not so crazy. The gearshifter on cars and trucks used to be directly connected to the transmission with various designs of shift rods, gear shoes, Boden cables, and levers. When electronically controlled transmissions were introduced, the industry didnt think people would accept a simple switch to replace all the mechanical hardware. So a crap load of money was spent and wasted on a really fancy switch setup that had the feel and look of a good old fashioned mechanical gear shifter. But all it really was is a really fancy switch.
Maybe my lathe designer isn't so dumb after all.
I plan to just rewire it to control my VFD.
Maybe it's not so crazy. The gearshifter on cars and trucks used to be directly connected to the transmission with various designs of shift rods, gear shoes, Boden cables, and levers. When electronically controlled transmissions were introduced, the industry didnt think people would accept a simple switch to replace all the mechanical hardware. So a crap load of money was spent and wasted on a really fancy switch setup that had the feel and look of a good old fashioned mechanical gear shifter. But all it really was is a really fancy switch.
Maybe my lathe designer isn't so dumb after all.
@Susquatch - I don't know what brand switch is on your machine but the Allen/Bradley drum switch is easy. Contact 3 is the common, 4 is reverse and 1 is forward. Wire those contacts to the corresponding contacts on the VFD and away it goes. I still use all the machine gears but being able to tweak the speed with the VFD just adds so much to the functionality of the machine.
The fwd/rev switch should have a 3 wire setup, one being the common. The common and the fwd wire are connected when the swith is in fwd, the common and the rev wire are connected when in reverse. You should be able to determine whats what in the control cabinet pretty easily. You shouldn't need to mess with the switch at all.
You should see the big honkin switch on my SM1660...
You should see the big honkin switch on my SM1660...
Ya, that's pretty much my take too. A VFD on my lathe will do the following things for me:
1. Allow me to use a smooth 3ph motor that is slightly higher torque than my existing 2hp motor.
2. Provide very smooth startup.
3. Provide rapid braking.
4. Provide a smooth transition between fwrd and revrs.
5. A slower minimum speed than the 70RPM I have now.
6. Fine tuning of the existing speeds if and when required.
Yes, that is how mine is wired too.
And yes, I had planned to just use the existing wiring in the cabinet. The switch in my gear head is difficult to get at. But as you say, the other end is already in the control cabinet.
I don't see this as a complicated project. My existing 2HP single phase reverable induction motor only has three wires going into it. The two hots and a ground. It can be wired internally for 220 or 110.
That said, it isn't gunna happen tomorrow. It's worked fine just as is for about 8 years now. Converting it to a 3ph VFD system is on my project list but nowhere near the top.
I never setup the braking on mine, haven't the need, yet. My machine can slow to 36rpm as is so that's not a problem.
On the TECO VFD you can set the startup and run down speed from nothing to, I think it was 10 secs, I have mine set to 3 secs and I am happy with that.
Lots of advantages to the VFD.
On the TECO VFD you can set the startup and run down speed from nothing to, I think it was 10 secs, I have mine set to 3 secs and I am happy with that.
Lots of advantages to the VFD.
If that Baldor isn't going simply drop in, I have a 3/4 HP single phase motor complete with new bearings and proper 4 step motor pulley installed that will sitting here collecting dust.
Last edited:
calgaryguy
Chris
Bolted right in. The old motor and this one are bot frame 56 motors. Brand new, never been run .75 HP Baldor that was still in its original baldor box and wrapped in the shpping plastic.
My next challenge will be rewiring the allen-bradley mag switch inside the cab for single phase.
Ive also done a bunch of disassembly and cleaning today. I'm going to start a new thread asking some questions about the crossfeed nut.
calgaryguy
Chris
Perfect!
@phaxtris
Oooops.... I forgot about this discussion.
RF30 Basement Install
Well.... wasn't hard to disassemble. No centrifugal switch to disconnect. Lots of dust. The fan and fan cover cowling are plastic??? Should be able to do something with this. Just have to careful not to take too much off.
canadianhobbymetalworkers.com
Me Bad.
Rauce
Ultra Member
I have one of these (1.5kw) on my lathe and after I upgraded to a 2hp motor I had to program the soft start to keep it from shutting off on start up. I’ve been meaning to get a higher rated one eventually.
I have a Teco VFD on my mill that works just as well but it doesn’t have a dial for frequency, which is nice.
That's odd. Both my TECO VFDs can be set to use the panel dial or an external dial for frequency.
Maybe you just need to dig a bit to find it.
Rauce
Ultra Member
It’s an older model I think, I bought it old stock on eBay from a seller in Quebec. It just has push buttons for frequency on the panel. I have the manual and I know I could hook up external controls but back when I got it it seemed a bit beyond me… I’m a bit better with electrical stuff now so maybe I’ll try again.