VFD on Index mill

johncollins · Aug 25, 2008

I think a VFD might be the way to go with an Index vertical mill I just got. Spindle speed is selected by belt change/back gear. It has a 1hp 3ph spindle drive motor. What is the recommended VFD, what belt position should it be left in & should back gear ever be used?

Thnx - John C

precisionworks · Aug 25, 2008

Any of the popular vector drives will work well - Teco, Hitachi, and ACTech are brands I have. The search function will find more threads than you can read in a week :eek:

what belt position should it be left in & should back gear ever be used?

A VFD is NOT a substitute for your step pulleys, rather it gives you a way to fine tune the speed within each step. Pulleys provide speed reduction with no HP reduction plus torque increase ... VFD provides speed reduction with HP reduction with level torque.

You'll still use each belt step, plus the back gear for certain jobs.

JunkyardJ · Aug 26, 2008

I'd suggest a hitachi or teco vfd.

I like teco, or hitachi VFDs, but LGs are good too. Tecos are cheap, I have personal experience with hitachis, and LGs have a very high current rating. I personally like the flexibility of hitachis. Anyways, you can get awway with a VFD that runs on 120v for stuff under 1hp. If you have the extra $$$, I'd suggest getting a 3hp vfd so you can upgrade in the future. :cheers:

Pierce Butler · Aug 26, 2008

I have 5 Teco/Westinghouse VFDs in my shop. Never a speck of trouble. The Teco two year warranty is longer than most others.

Some resellers are not very proud of their supplier's VFD warranties. They seemingly hide the warranty information. To be honest I really can't blame them as it is not something I would want advertised either.

PrecisionWorks is spot on. A VFD will not eliminate belt changes. It certainly will decrease the number of them though. I rarely change belt speeds on my VFD powered drill press.

On my lathe I can dial in the best speed for the task at hand. I was surprised at how little a change in speed will result in going from blue colored chips to straw colored chips.

Wade C · Aug 26, 2008

I have a Leeson (2hp unit - 1 hp motor) on the spindle and a Hitachi (1hp unit - 1/4hp motor) on the X powerfeed on my Wells Index 745 - and it works great.
The Leeson came with the mill, but I got the Hitachi from Ebay.

Most of my work is in the 400 to 600 RPM range, so its handy to have that first step being 600 RPM - and 60Hz - so each Hz is 10 RPM (if I understand things correctly) so its easy to know where I am speed wise - approximately.

Wade

thistle · Aug 26, 2008

I have wells index machine with the belt change , run by a TECO vfd,

to be honest I never bother with the speed change via the vfd just flip the belts

the vfd is useful for the control aspect , it is easy to wire in on /off /reverse switchs to the vfd.

CR Cat D4 · Aug 27, 2008

Where I work we have converted many of our bridgeport varable speed mills to VFD using an AC Prodrive.
http://www.acprodrive.com/acprodrive_001.htm

The 2 Hp bridgeport motor is replaced with a 3Hp Baldor super E motor with a longer shaft and base that bolts up to the mill housing.

There are no belt changes other than the built in backgear.

The final ratio between the motor pulley & spindle pulley is not quite 2:1, I am in the process of getting the exact ratio soon.

The finish is must smoother and the machine is much quiter than the old varable speed heads and we are saving money not having to replace the plastic bushings in the vary head.

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