Can anyone recommend a VFD for a 5 hp 3 phase motor

Hi All:
I'm looking to replace a motor on a Deckel mill.
I've got a nice 5HP 3 phase motor I could use.
I'd like to put a VFD on it that has single phase 220 volt input, so when I sell the mill (it's an FP1) it will be attractive to hobbyists and gunsmiths and other garage type potential buyers.
Biggest I can find with this input is for a 3 hp motor.
Any recommendations?

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

driveswarehouse.com sells 5 and much larger single phase input. Or use a 7.5 to 10hp Hitachi 3 phase input VFD on single phase Follow manf instruction for connections.

WEG's CFW line has a single phase in / 3 phase out

I've used Lapond from Amazon on two lathes now, the most recent being 5hp. Very reasonably priced, great manual, and good support.

Or use the cheaper 3hp VFD and explain it is the same hp as a static phase converter would have.
Bill D.

Most modern VFDs will work for this by simply doubling the amp rating of the VFD with respect to the motor nameplate amps. So if your 5HP 3 phase motor says it is 15A, buy a VFD that is rated for at least 30A (more is better). Beware of older used VFDs for this however, because some will not allow operation from single phase. That issue has gone away in the last 3 years or so though.

My advice though is to stay clear of the dirt cheap Chinese no-name drives sold on numerous websites. Most of those are absolute garbage, basically "midnight production runs" from factories with contracts to make legitimate products for reputable companies during the day, but then they copy them and use cheaper components and manufacturing methods to be able to sell them so cheap.

There is a notorious manufacturer, banned from this website, who advertises that their drive will handle 5HP 3 phase and accept single phase input, it's a complete lie. AFTER you receive it, you discover their "semantic error" in that it CAN accept single phase input, and it IS rated for 5HP, but not both things at the same time; they tell you in the manual that if you use it for single phase input, it is only rated for 2-1/2HP. Then when you go to return it, they ignore you until their website disappears and pops up again under a different name.

There are a few 5HP VFD's rated for single phase input, the Yaskawa CIMR-VUBA0018FAA is frequently used as a mid price, there is also the Invertek OptiDrive ODE-3-320153-1042 or ODE-3-320153-104A. I haven't used the latter, should work for your application but I do not use it because I find it too limited programming wise too few inputs. I had 2 recent installs with 5 Hp motors and went with 3 phase input WJ200-075LF upsized for single phase input. On derating a 3 phase VFD you need to check the manufacturer specs. as some require a DC choke and some require even higher deratings, like 3X.With derating there are a few other install requirements that need to be factored in.

There are a few other 5 Hp single phase input VFD', I believe ABB has one but it is over 1K.

I just completed the installation of a Hitachi WJ200 VFD on my 7.5HP gear head lathe. Hitachi has a bulletin that states their WJ200 drives can be used with single phase input, but you need to double the size of the drive. In your case you would need a 10HP drive for your 5HP motor.

Wiring and programming was fairly straight forward. The only thing to remember is you really need to mount the drive in an enclosure to keep chips and dust out. I spent as much money on the enclosure, disconnect, and wiring as the drive cost.

I still am glad I went with this setup instead of a rotary converter though.