Which drive, your opinions?

I am aware that there are likely many threads I could research and so forth, but frankly I am blurry-eyed from researching.........
I have inherited a lathe from an uncle, and do not know by visual inspection how worn out it is, though signs of wear are showing.
This is a factor, since I do not want to drop the $1000-2000 dollars I have been quoted on a lathe whose function is questionable.
I had started down the rpc route but I really don't have the time to fiddle with the build, and would like some of the features of a drive.

The is the size of the motor of the lathe.
3 phase at 230V, 5HP (3.7 KW)

The primary functions I would like:
- ability to add an emergency stop foot pedal.
-convert single phase 220V to 3 phase
-I don't necessarily want to go with the cheapest unit out there, but $1000-2000 Canadian is a bit much....

The secondary features, or things I would see as a bonus:
- variable speed.
-a remote to mount at the lathe.
Thank you in advance for any and all help you could offer.

Lemme see,

You can't see to research, the machine is of dubious value, $1000 is a no go, you have some RPC parts, and the motor is 5HP 230V 3Φ

Functions required: foot pedal, phase conversion, and variable speed.

Suggestions:

Add a foot pedal to your existing machine controls. Use your existing 10HP idler motor from your RPC parts, order a pre-built RPC box from Phase Craft (site member), then use the speed controls built into the late.

Then you will be able to assess the dubious part of the machine. Once that is done, then you will know whether its worth the expense of adding a 10HP VFD and its required controls.

Cheapest way to figure it out...

SAF Ω

I don't believe there is any drive out there, from the cheapest Chinese to a top end unit, that won't give you all the options you desire. They are pretty run of the mill on any drive.

I would certainly stick with a Hitachi or a Teco if it were me. They both offer some type of real support and are know for being quite bullet proof. I have a smattering of both those brands and they haven't missed a beat from the day they were installed.

If you want to 'prove' your lathe before you sink the money into it for a VFD then I would suggest a static converter. They won't do most of the things you desire, but they are dirt cheap and will get your machine up and running so you can determine its viability.

Stuart

Jack Forsberg over at canadianwoodworking imports vfds. I think about 350-450 would be the price range. I believe he will also program to your motor and add controls for a fee. Dave

I got the super cheap Chinese ebay VFD to put on my 10ee a couple months ago, it was $140 for the 5hp, which I'm using to drive a 5hp motor with. It has worked great so far, and its nice to not have to start the phase converter to run that machine anymore. It sucks to advocate giving more money to China, but if you're on a tight budget it might be the way to go.

Dave, do you have contact information for Jack Forsberg?

te4250 said:

I got the super cheap Chinese ebay VFD to put on my 10ee a couple months ago, it was $140 for the 5hp, which I'm using to drive a 5hp motor with. It has worked great so far, and its nice to not have to start the phase converter to run that machine anymore. It sucks to advocate giving more money to China, but if you're on a tight budget it might be the way to go.

Click to expand...

You realize don't you that they lied to you about that drive being capable of running a 5HP motor from single phase, right? Their web sites say it, but their manuals don't agree. 5HP is only for a true 3 phase input, it's rated 2HP if fed with single phase. I complained to Amazon about it once a long time ago and they pulled the add and vendor, but they just change their name and resurface, figuring that nobody has the will power to keep calling them on their BS. I didn't...

Yours might be working, but only because you don't really need 5HP.

TJScharp said:

Dave, do you have contact information for Jack Forsberg?

Click to expand...

PM or email me and I'll forward. Dave

Thank you to all those who have responded, I am still searching, but you all have pointed me in the right direction.

Jraef said:

You realize don't you that they lied to you about that drive being capable of running a 5HP motor from single phase, right? Their web sites say it, but their manuals don't agree. 5HP is only for a true 3 phase input, it's rated 2HP if fed with single phase. I complained to Amazon about it once a long time ago and they pulled the add and vendor, but they just change their name and resurface, figuring that nobody has the will power to keep calling them on their BS. I didn't...

Yours might be working, but only because you don't really need 5HP.

Click to expand...

Not to get off topic, but no most of the time I don't need 5hp, I have overloaded the drive once so far. Its not like I have a dyno or ammeter on my lathe to tell me how much power I was using when that happened. If I get some time I can rig something up though and measure power output when the drive overloads for single and three phase input.
It works though and has inputs for all the features the OP wanted. For $250 they have a 10hp one they claim runs on single phase input, maybe that's closer to 5hp output.

Quick cutting power calculation says I was using 2.6 hp when the drive overloaded, so 2 hp is not that far off. That was running off single phase input.