10EE ward leonard parts very cheap..

I fitted my 10EE with an electronic control and have the original ward leonard equipment left over. As far as I know it was working but immediantly replaced it when I received the machine so never tested it. Id be glad to part with these at a very reasonable price. The only catch is they are located in austin tx and I dont really want to crate this stuff up. Hopefully someone not too far away can use them.

Tom, I've emailed you to see if you'd like to sell the relay panel (assuming that it's at all similar to the '56 Works in a Drawer relay panel, or at least the contactors).

I'd like to know what electronics you used in your lathe. Are you happy with the performance of the lathe? Did you keep the original dc motor with backgear? Do you have ample torque at the low speeds? Thanks.

Jeff

Hi Jeff, I used a pacemaster unit and kept the same motor however you must be very careful as the field windings are 115v max. many motor controllers deliver 230v! Dont ask how I know haha. I used the original main power control and contactor on the back of the 10EE as well as the drum switch so its a pretty clean installation and you still have to reengage main power button if building power gets interrupted, an important safety point.

I does seem to have lost a but of top speed probably because the pacemaster doesnt drop field voltage from 120v. I added 100ohms into the field circuit to get some of that back.

If I had it to do over however I would probably use a 5/10 hp 3ph motor and VFD since these are reasonably priced compared to DC motor/drive combos and my experience is they really can deliever a lot of low speed torque. If the motor was a 3450 unit then you could use a smaller motor pulley and let the VFD compensate. This would help boost lowspeed torque as well. A dc motor control that has ajustable field voltage would also work better than one with a fixed voltage but I havent found one yet.

If anyone would like further details let me know and Ill try to find my old notes and put a better post up concerning that.


[This message has been edited by tomp (edited 03-01-2003).]

As with VFDs, the number of options for DC motor control seems to have expanded to meet the customer's needs.

The manuals section of the web page of one distributor of DC motor controls, Microcon Technologies Inc., contains a number of interesting files:

http://www.microcontechnologies.com/files/Control%20Techniques/Manuals/

Microcon Technologies Inc. home page is:

http://www.microcontechnologies.com/

Usual disclaimers.

That was useful - it taught me a new term for the field weakening: "field crossover". Googling on that plus "dc drive" comes up with more links than "field weakening" "dc drive".

When I looked 6 months ago the only dc drives that did what the Works in a Drawer drive does were running $3K and above, looks like there may be some out there in the $1K+ range. That would be a nice option for a drive system replacement as it would keep the DC motor and backgear in place.

There are other options:

Digimaster, Elite/ElitePro, Focus, Mentor, Pacemaster, Quantum, Spectrum, and probably others.

I've reviewed the documentation for several of these, and, generally, these all seem as flexible as a VFD.

"Field crossover" is used as a term in some; "field weakening" in others.

Pay attention to the term "four quadrant". This means that the controller is reversible AND that the braking function works in both directions.

Some require a 480 volt input in order to provide maximum rated armature (and series field) voltage. Others can do it on 240 volts.

Some are so user-friendly, you just input the (dc) motor nameplate data and it pretty much does all the rest.

Most are rated 5 HP and above.

I'd bet within the next year, an affordable 3 to 5 HP unit will become available, one which would be perfect for a Ward Leonard, WiaD or Modular 10EE.

I would suggest that, eventually, a special topic be identified for 10EE-applicable "packaged" dc controller replacements.

Right now, the info is spread variously throughout the 10EE and VFD forums, under several topics.

Peter are the drives you mention above actually a decent replacement for the DC WIAD or Modular?
This is the first I've seen of them, have many people used them?
Are there drawbacks?
Just curious,
Steve

"Peter are the drives you mention above actually a decent replacement for the DC WIAD or Modular?"

Theoretically, yes. Practically, maybe or no.


"This is the first I've seen of them, have many people used them?"

I think every 10EE owner has been seeking the "magic bullet" drive. I don't think there is one which is usable, out of the box, with the Monarch's Reliance or GE motor, however.

I have attempted, elsewhere, to describe some of the problems.

A major consideration is the Monarch drive was designed for the traditional 230 volt armature, 115 (or 115/230) volt field shunt-wound or compound-wound motor, whereas these new drives were designed for the more modern 180-200 volt armature, 180-200 volt field shunt-wound motor, or the more modern 180-200 volt armature permanent magnet motor. (A permanent magnet motor has a constant field flux, and is inherently incapable of operating with "field crossover"/"field weakening").

With an SCR drive, it is impossible to obtain 230 volts dc or 115 volts dc from a 240 volt line. About 180-200, or 90-100 is about the best that can be done.

(The Monarch drives made up for this by employing transformers with about 300 volts to the anodes, whereas these SCR drives are "off line", and are limited to the 240 volt line voltage).


"Are there drawbacks?"

These modern, solid-state drives are highly integrated, and are undoubtedly more reliable.

However, none appear to work as well as a Monarch dc drive.


I think the level of frustration with Monarch dc drives is so incredibly high that some have given up and elected wholesale replacement of their drives.

Sometimes this works, sometimes not.


[This message has been edited by peterh5322 (edited 11-15-2003).]