Thread: 10EE Motor-Generator Repair

We have a 1946 Monarch 10EE with the motor-generator drive. It suddenly quit working. The problem might be in the motor, as the brushes are jammed in place by wood blocks. We would consider replacing the drive system completely, but we'd like to have the existing drive system gone through properly first to see if repair would be a better option.

Can anyone recommend a repair shop that is familiar with these lathes? We are located in Oklahoma City but we can ship the lathe by motor freight.

-Clay
Kams, Inc.
Kams Inc.

Fortunately, brushes are available, or can be made from generic brushes.

Ideal makes commutator resurfacing abrasive wands ... makes the commutator resurfacing process safe(er) as the wand is an insulator.

Originally Posted by camgrinder

We have a 1946 Monarch 10EE with the motor-generator drive. It suddenly quit working. The problem might be in the motor, as the brushes are jammed in place by wood blocks. We would consider replacing the drive system completely, but we'd like to have the existing drive system gone through properly first to see if repair would be a better option.

Can anyone recommend a repair shop that is familiar with these lathes? We are located in Oklahoma City but we can ship the lathe by motor freight.

-Clay
Kams, Inc.
Kams Inc.

If there are blocks of wood behind the brushes they are shot; it's time for a new set of brushes. Call Monarch with your serial number and order a full set of brushes for the machine, including spindle motor, generator and exciter. The brushes aren't very expensive. Try this number: (937) 492-4111

Once you have the brushes in hand, have an EXPERIENCED industrial electrician who knows about DC motors and generators come to the shop. He should have you up and running in no time.

Cal

Originally Posted by Cal Haines

Once you have the brushes in hand, have an EXPERIENCED industrial electrician who knows about DC motors and generators come to the shop. He should have you up and running in no time.
Cal

Thanks. We have an electrical company that we use for all of our machinery and building electrical needs, but they don't know anything about the MG setup, and we don't want to pay for them to learn on our machine. We'd like to find someone who knows the system AND who can give us an overall evaluation of what the lathe needs to be in great shape. We'd like to get everything in good shape rather than nursing it along.

-Clay

Originally Posted by camgrinder

Thanks. We have an electrical company that we use for all of our machinery and building electrical needs, but they don't know anything about the MG setup, and we don't want to pay for them to learn on our machine. We'd like to find someone who knows the system AND who can give us an overall evaluation of what the lathe needs to be in great shape. We'd like to get everything in good shape rather than nursing it along.

-Clay

Pop into the elevator cabs of some of OKC's taller buildings. Older the better.

Take note of whom services those 'lyfta' to use the Icelandic word. Make some phone calls. Over their long history, far more Ward-Leonard MG sets were used in elevators than lathes, and that specialty may still be in the skillset - or contractor network - of one or more of the companies that have older lifts to deal with.

Bill

"Over their long history, far more Ward-Leonard MG sets were used in elevators than lathes, and that specialty may still be in the skillset - or contractor network - of one or more of the companies that have older lifts to deal with"

Indeed so.

Elevators, hoists and lifts of all types were initially implemented, at least electrically, using the Ward-Leonard System.

Think of the elevator operator's (removable) control lever (UP, STOP, DOWN) and position (More/Less UP and More/Less DOWN) as a 10EE in which all spindle rotatory selections are accomplished with one hand.

Up above the top floor is essentially the same equipment as is inside an M-G 10EE.

And, it was this way towards the end of the 19th century and well towards the end of the 20th century.

"Mechanical types of adjustable-speed drives and other electrical types continued to be used and new types developed after the Ward Leonard system was introduced. Electron tube types of DC motor controls began to be developed in the 1920s but electronic controls didn’t seriously begin to displace the Ward Leonard system until thyristor controlled drives were developed in the late 1960s. By the mid 1970’s, Ward Leonard drives were rapidly becoming obsolete, but the replacement of existing Ward Leonard drives has continued past the end of the 20th century."

Originally Posted by peterh5322

Up above the top floor is essentially the same equipment as is inside an M-G 10EE.

And, it was this way towards the end of the 19th century and well towards the end of the 20th century.

I was able to visit the elevator room of the 1910 Colcord Building, OKC's first skyscraper, before it was converted from offices to a hotel. The old equipment was awesome. I have a picture somewhere. The room is strictly off-limits now, even for hotel employees.

But the phone numbers here are still open to all..

Oklahoma Elevator Companies

And for all of its bulk and tight-quarters, the entire MG rig of a 10EE is still easier to get out, onto a pallet, and transported off to the 'right' shop and back economically than the gear installed atop a building. IOW, not just Oklahoma City...

Bill

Originally Posted by camgrinder

Thanks. We have an electrical company that we use for all of our machinery and building electrical needs, but they don't know anything about the MG setup, and we don't want to pay for them to learn on our machine. We'd like to find someone who knows the system AND who can give us an overall evaluation of what the lathe needs to be in great shape. We'd like to get everything in good shape rather than nursing it along.

-Clay

Clay,

A good motor electrician with experience working on DC machines won't have any trouble figuring out what's going on. The expense of shipping the machine out to be repaired could easily be over $1000. It's worth the time to get the right electrician in to have a look at the brushes and replace as needed. From what you said earlier, it needs brushes at a minimum.

If you give us a little more information on what the machine is and isn't doing we can help you concentrate on the right piece of the drive.

• Does the motor generator start?
• Do the forward and reverse contactors operate when you move the headstock direction switch?
• What is the DC voltage between terminals E1 and E2? (Measure at the terminal box behind the covers at the operators feet.)

Depending on what part of the machine isn't working, you could ship that part to a shop and have it evaluated/service. We have a member here, for example, that can recondition the DC control panel (near the spindle motor, where most of the relays are located).

Cal