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Atlas motor wiring

OverKill

Plastic
Joined
Aug 28, 2007
Location
Tucson
Hello, not sure if this belongs here but i guess you can move it if you need to.
I recently purchased an old used 12x36 atlas machine for very cheap and it is wired for 220v and i would like to convert it to 110v, the motor does have a diagram on it but it says that 3 of the wires need to be attached to "line" (assuming the hot) 4 need to be attached to "tape" and 1 other to another "line" (assuming neutral). but i have no idea what "tape" means as the wires that it says should be "taped" for 220 are hooked up to other random wires. all help would be greatly appreciated. BTW the motor goes up to a switch that has fwd/rev on it, not directly to/from the power to an on/off switch
 
It sounds like you may have a 3 phase motor, if you want 110V you'll need a single phase motor. Look on the plate where it lists data for the motor, where the HP and RPM and such are listed. Does it have something like "PH 3" on it, or say "Three Phase" up at the top? It should also list the allowed voltages, most 110/220V motors are single phase and most 220/460V motors are three phase.
 
that was the first thing i checked
it's single phase, i'll check again tommorow but im sure it's single, the shop that WAS using it didnt have 3 phase there, so i know it cant be, but i will double check.
Do you know where to get new gearing for the atlas'? we need about 8-10 new gears. and to get a parts manual/owners manual should i just call clausing? found a thread on here from a while back that had a "warehouse" address? maybe i'll try that! thanks for your help
 
You see gears for Atlas on eFray all the time. I'm not sure, do some "Google," but I think maybe the 6" gears are the same as the 12"
 
Maybe you could post a picture of the label(s) on the motor - that might help us understand what you've got.

Gears - I bought a couple from a guy on eBay that makes new, steel gears to fit the Atlas. The Craftsman I have makes a big deal about how good the "Zamak" gears are that come with the lathe, but they don't seem to be much different from "pot metal" to me. The gears for the 6" and 12" are NOT the same, at least not the 6" and 12" that I have. You'll need to do some measurements of your existing gears - find out how big the hole in the center is and what the "DP" (diametrical(?) pitch) is (along with how many teeth you want).

Try giving Clausing a call - I've heard good things about their service before.

There's a group on Yahoo for these specific lathes, called atlas_craftsman, lots of people with these lathes hang out over there.
 
I don't have any pictures of the motor but i know the model is a Dayton 5k117 L

I'll have to check out that yahoo group, thanks.
Yea i see the atlas gears on ebay, i dont want used ones, we have found a couple in the MSC cat. that have the same dp/width just thicker, thinking about buying those since they are cheap and cutting the thickness down a bit to fit. they range from 15-25/each. Not so much worried about the gears as the wiring, gears wont do me any good if i cant run it, eh?
 
No, the Atlas/Craftsman change gears for the 6" lathe are different from those for the 9", 10", and 12" lathes... The 6" uses 14-1/2 pressure angle 24 pitch while the larger ones use 14-1/2 pressure angle 16 pitch.

You may be able to find the manual you want in one of the atlas-specific groups on "Yahoo Groups".
 
I had a "Hi" "Lo" motor not too long ago that was very similar. It was configured for 220 and I wanted to change it to 110. I knew it was single phase and it said exactly the same thing. Tape. I finally figure out that what they mean is to twist the wires together and tape them up like in electricians tape. Duh! It worked perfectly.
 
Found a photo of your motor on Grainger, but can't quite make out the wiring diagram on the motor label: Grainger link

Yours should have something like this diagram. Changing voltage usually involves swapping a couple wires under the cover. If an older motor, perhaps the diagram is under the cover. "Tape" would mean to connect those wires, better done nowadays with a "wirenut".

I say forget what you know about how the previous guy set it up and wire it as per the diagram/instructions. (I've come across more than one old "junk" motor that was improperly strapped - probably the reason they were junked.) If you are changing voltage, you will also likely have to re-wire the reversing switch. Depending on the switch you've got, I might be able to provide a diagram for switch and motor - email me off-board.

As for new gears, manual, price list, etc., contact:
Clausing Service Center
811 Eisenhower Drive South
P.O. Box 877
Goshen, Indiana 46527-0877
Phone: 1-800-535-6553
Fax: 574-533-0403
Web Site: www.clausing-industrial.com

(Atlas bought Clausing a long time ago and took the name; Clausing still supports these nice old machines with many parts... not sure the gears, as I got mine via eBay)
 
Thanks, I called graingers yesterday and they sent me the wiring diagram, but it never came thru my email but no big deal, now that i know what tape is, i had assumed that is what it meant but since the wires go directly from the motor up to the switch i was confused as to which wire to wire where, but now i think i can figure it out. thanks for the offer on the diagram here's a picture of the beast after 12 hours of cleaning just the head and front portion of the ways. lots of good times!
lathe-clean.jpg
 








 
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