It seems that this may be the best forum to ask such a question as many are familiar with drive solutions. I found what appears to be a Colchester round head 14x40 or 15x50 which has a dead motor. Apparently one of the shop guys plugged it in wrong and fried the motor. The lathe is in good shape, but needs a power plant. What options are available in this situation? Are aftermarket DC motors available to circumvent purchasing a 3 phase and then VFD? I'd love to hear some insight on this.
The ONLY way you could afford DC re-motoring is to find a rebuilt or rebuildable motor of the right "type" for machine-tool use. New ones have been around US$ 12,000 each @ 5 HP, more-yet for larger, for many years. They are physically larger and seriously heavier than 3-Phase AC as well.
Even if a sub - $1,000 used DC motor was found - not easy with guys like me hoarding about a dozen already - that would make it only about three times as expensive as a 3-Phase motor plus RPC. And then? You have to find a place to PUT it if the machine-tool wasn't designed for it.
Example: .
My HBX-360-DC is around a 14" X 30", similar size to your Colchester.
- The OEM
7 HP 3-P motor weighs as little as
30 lbs Avoir. were I to strip the dual juice pumps off its arse.
The same shaft-size 180 VDC Reliance RPM III Type TR
5 HP I have handy weighs just under
400 lbs Avoir, had a MSRP of over $11,000 USD -
over 30 years ago!
So long as the Colchester still has all its gears & mechanical ratios in working order, it doesn't NEED a VFD.
New or used-but-good 3-P motor + purchased
or DIY'ed RPC is your least hassle and least-cost solution
for this lathe.
Not my area of expertise, but I'd guess it had 2 if not 3 "options" for motor.
Plenty of other PM members will know what those were, what you need, and what it takes to get it installed and running.