How does 380v 3ph work?

Ok, I live in Switzerland and come from South Carolina. I never had to hook up a 3 phase anything before moving here, so I never thought about it. Now I have more than a dozen 380v 3ph machines (thank god even little apartments here have that piped in already!). Question is: how does it work?

I asked a buddy who is a certified contractor, and he explained that 3 220 volt lines come in that make the 3 phase. I even went so far as to check them with a voltmeter. So where does 380 come out of that?

Many of the motors here can be rewired at the input to the motor for 220 3ph or 380 3ph just by changing taps, which is handy since 220v VFD's are cheap on Ebay, and 220v is the standard single phase here. But again, how does that WORK??

I can hook up a motor and have it run, but jeezum petes I'd like to know how it works!

"Many of the motors here can be rewired at the input to the motor for 220 3ph or 380 3ph just by changing taps, which is handy since 220v

"I can hook up a motor and have it run, but jeezum petes I'd like to know how it works! "

220/380 and 240/415 motors are really the same.

If you Wye reconnect a 220 Delta motor, it becomes 380.

If you Wye reconnect a 240 Delta motor, it becomes 415.

While European residential service is 220/230/240, the corresponding commercial/industrial three-phase is 380/400/415.

Here in the U.S. most motors are 9-wire 208-240/480, and are Wye-connected; and cannot be reconnected to Delta, hence they cannot be reconnected to 380/400/415.

(12-wire motors can be so reconnected).

The short answer to European 3-phase 230 V service:
230 V is the voltage from phase to neutral
400 V is the voltage from phase to phase.

Regards,

Benta.