Thanks so much, you were able to dumb this down enough for a dope like me to understand and now I'm not near as intimidated at this venture. Keep up the great work.
Something that a lot of people do not think about: motor heat. With a VFD, the motor is doing the same amount of work at, say, 1/4 rated rpm as it is at full rpm. The internal cooling fan is only going at 1/4 speed and fans do not move 1/4 the air at 1/4 the speed. I worked with setting up VFDs for years. When setting one up for steady load service like a lathe, etc. it is a good idea to put a temperature sensor in the motor cooling air exhaust and kind of keep an eye on it. A small dedicated cooling fan can be put in there, or if the heat isn't too bad, just keep the lathe geared down so the motor is in the top 40% or so of it's rated speed range. Just something to think about, you seem to be very thoughtful on how you do your projects, just trying to help. I first saw you on your oil stove project. I am going to do one of those for NEXT winter here in Colorado (I'm just retired with a new shop out back). I am going to use a temperature Process Controller, probably from AD, good outfit, like your VFD.
Mike Jones great response/ info....On my 2x72 grinder.. I was all excited about adding a VFD...Till one night i thought of what you just explained...so i went with step pulleys instead...(Baldor l3510 tefc 1750 rpm)
@@johnsmith4630 Its not the power capacity of the VFD, its the motors built in fans optimal rpm that is. You are providing it full power but spinning the motor much slower than it would with a gear reduction system. That means that instead of running a constant RPM on the electric motor which has an intergral cooling fan made for that speed and changing spindle speed via gears or belts, you are running the motor itself slower which can cause the motor to overheat due to the slowed fan speed.
I know you said it’s easy, but it’s beyond my capabilities. That has to be the best drill press I've seen on UA-cam, it’s clean, solid and has all the modern technologies. In fact your entire setup is cool and I can imagine many engineers will envy you. You also have great wildlife too.
Thanks for this video. This has given me all the answers I had questions for on fitting VFD to lathe and other workshop machines. Short informative and all the important points covered in a few minutes. Cheers
Glad to know that Howard. Thank you! There were a few comments that made me feel this video was so so but they never specify why. Try very hard to present the important facts to be known.
because of your info. I can now hopefully run on 1 phase power. I bought one for my 230 volt 3 phase 1.5HP drill press hopefully it will be up and running in the next week.
Thanks I installed it yesterday now I just need a chuck and a DP vise and I'm set. I'm waiting in a friend to bring his MT2 and MT3 to see what fits. This is a New to me drill so we are learning as we go. Also got the shrader bellows air actuator working that turns the hand crank. Thanks for the reply.
Real nice setup! I have a milling machine with a variable speed motor on it, and I love it. Just like you said I've used it for both hole saws and for tapping too. I think it saves a little time opposed to constantly moving around belts for speed changes as well.
Hey thanks. Before I did this conversion, did a lot of research & no one had any good video's on this subject. Way too much stuff out there to choose from. I always thought the cost would be much more too! Did the drill press first. Liked it so much decided to do the other machines too! Sold the motors off the lathe & mill on Craigs list and gave the drill press motor to a friend.
Thank you very much Sir. For having the time to explain us your VFD, you don’t idea how much we learn and appreciate your time and effort, and in simple plain English, very straight forward, just one favor, May you please give me the part number of the chuck for the drill (German Made) Brand and model This is going to be my first project, converting my Delta Drill, and a soon as possible I will buy my G0602…thank you very much…blessings
At the time I purchased the chucks from Enco who no longer in business. Seems MSC Supply has bought them out. Perhaps look thru their sight. Sorry I can't find the P/N. I purchased those back in 2004 and it seems like yesterday! Good luck on your project.
Very nicely done video and useful too. As a machenist I know you should never run the Chuck in the lathe without anything chucked in the Jaws, they can scroll out and hit you where it might hurt.
Very good presentation. I just heard about this (VFD) speed control and have just ordered a motor and controller set for my Delta drill press. I mainly do woodwork and am tired of constantly changing the position of the two belts whenever changing from small to large bits. Seems The speeds I want always involve removing and repositioning both belts. Mine will be wired for 230 in but otherwise is similar to what's been shown here. Good, clear information on this site.
Hi jeff, I have also installed a vfd on my lathe. As yours vfd capacity is 2 hp and the motor is 1 hp. But on my vfd I had to setup the motor plate values such as power and rpm. I don't know whether it is required with your vfd or not but when these values are not set correctly you hear a hissing sound on low rpms and the efficiency you get from the motor decrease on low rpms. So depending on the vfd if needed it is a good practice to setup the motor variables to the vfd. Excellent video by the way. Mehmet
Hello Mehmet. Boy that is a VERY valid point you brought up! I didn't specify the motor setup in the video. I did set the VFD's to the motor specs of 1 HP at 1750 rpm. I just set the max rpm's (frequency) higher. I think them motors were rated to 5,200 safe maximum speed - a point I didn't bring up either. Another thing while we are on the subject the lathe VFD drive out of the box settings had to be changed on the ramp up speed settings. Due to getting more mass rotating when you would hit the run button shortly there after the drive would display OL. The tip in speed did need to be tweeked slightly. A point also to be known so someone don't think they got a defective unit or wired it incorrectly. That was very nice of you to bring this up! Thank You for your help Mehmet, Jeff
Glad you enjoyed the vid. When I first got the machines people were bringing me work and they weren't even set up yet! It's surprising how fast the word gets out. Unfortunately I'm my best customer :>) Yeah, Glen is definitely an original kind of guy. It's neat to see what they create.
If you need a new variable speed pulley or sheaves, Speed Selector makes pulleys that replace the Reeves, Hi-Lo, TB Woods and Lovejoy pulleys that went out of business or got bought. Most are in stock or Speed Selector will custom make if needed. They have an actual engineering department; very helpful.
Saved video, perfect just what I was looking for due to that I wanted to make my cheap chines drill press with variable speed. And even better that you included P/N too, keep up the good work and videos. Thanks from Sweden..................
Yep today if a guy can possibly afford it, adding a VFD and 3 ph motor is the way to go. When I used a VFD on my mill it was the first 3 ph machine I'd ever had in my shop. My lathe is a relatively cheap 11" x 27" off shore machine. It's already 110 single ph variable speed. I still want to rip all that out and go to the 220 v 3 phase. Smoothness of operation, obtainable metal finishes, motor quietness, pretty much programable everything for motor parameters. I worked in a remote mine in norther B.C. You could say we had almost unlimited 3 ph power. Just about all equipment in the mill had VFD's or PLC's on it. You have a great set up on your drill press now. The weak link accuracy wise on it is the table. Set up a D.I. on the outside of your table, zero it, then rest your thumb on the table, now start adding a bit of pressure. That's why I no longer own a drill press I could afford that's light enough to use with a wooden floor structure. I've got an 1100 lb baby Bridgeport clone that sure outperforms any non industrial drill press I've ever seen.
Thanks Jeff, For your quick response. It seems like the older I get, the slower I wont to go. Nice tight work on all your projects. I may need you for more questions. Appreciate any time you can give. Thanks again Eric
You absolutely can make a single phase AC motor Variable Speed. Like a VFD, if you vary the Frequency of the single phase via a controller, you can vary the speed of a single phase AC Motor.
I have done it with mixed results, it is kind of dicey with the start windings, etc. I did a few and it is much better for everyone involved to use a 3 ph motor. The single phase motors have a lot of heating problems if you slow them down much. It depends on the load. Pumps and fans respond better than heavy start loads. Mixed bag.
love my vfds. one thing I ran into is that is easy to overspeed the lathe chuck. Mine is rated for a maximum of 3600 r.p.m. and I wouldn't want to grenade it with me there to catch the chunks!
Killer vid, and nice clean installations on all the equipment! I've used those same drives for controlling fan motors and other stuff, its cool to see them installed on tools in a home shop. I really like those DRO units too, simple and cheap (just like me!). Thanx for sharing, nice vid :)
Hello, Good video. I have a Lathe exactly the same as yours, its run on 220 volts single phase. Is yours run on single phase or 3 phase? If single can you give some extra information on how you did it. I'm having trouble finding information on VFD for 220 volts single phase motors. Can it be done? Graham, many thanks.
I've already gotten a vfd from automation direct but the DRO & scales that u put on the lathe & mill is what I was talking about. I looked & couldn't find anything like that on automation direct like that.
Sorry - I had a overload of things going on here last week. The DRO is from this place. www.shumatech.com/ I was on his site a bit ago and learned that the units I have are obsolete now. Real happy with them but the new ones are probably for the better. As far as the scales I can't remember where those came from. IF I recall I will leave you another message.
Hi again 76verdee. I thought maybe I had a friend get me the scales years back where he was building a panel too. (couldn't find any paperwork) Got a hold of him and he said the scales came from this place. www.shars.com/ Just found out. Hope this helps you out yet. Jeff
What vfd drive did you get? I have a 3 hp 3 phase motor that I want to hook up to my drill press. Having problems deciding between dc or 3 phase ac. But I’d like to know the model of your vfd drive. Nice wildlife shots. Egrets? Thanks, Paul
Hi Jeff surely enjoyed your video on the variable speed unit/for the Drill press. “Was wondering is this workable for an old Rockwell Reeves drive drill press as well. "? My manual crank variable speed control is shot, and was thinking to bypass it and go the route your doing. Let me know. Thanks, R
Hi. Thanks for the info in the video. Do you know if the motors lose torque when you run them at low speeds? I am trying to get a wood lathe running but I wouldn't want to lose power when slow speed is required. Thanks again.
Single phase to single phase vfds most certainly do exist to allow speed control of single phase motors. Its the varied frequency that adjusts the speed
I was just curious as you mentioned that you had machined down the smaller pully for the motor drive to about 3". For example, if your drive pulley is 3" and the chuck pulley is 6", motor is turning at 1800 rpm, your chuck pulley might only be turning at 900 rpm, so the meter on the VFD would be incorrect since it has no way of reading what the chuck outlet is doing. Perhaps it's just telling you at what rpm the motor is turning? If there was a way to program the VFD with the proper ratio, you could conceptually have it show what the chuck is turning. Not trying yo rip you apart, just thinking out loud :) I'm still learning this stuff
hey Jeff! Just looking through your old video's, would love to see some new ones or even a shop tour. Also I've been thinking about looking for a 4x4 drive train for my 86 Ranger and then put my truck body on the 4x4.Any idea if our Ford rangers are still available and if so where can I look to find a drive train.Thanks Jeff and MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Hi there Dave! Have been working on how I started out in a 1 car garage and worked my way up to this point video. Also will include when I decided to become self-employed in 1982 and why. Keep getting different idea's on how to present this. Then will do a shop tour after that video. Like you were thinking and suggesting many would like that. No idea of a good place to send you for your project. Finding older things in good condition can be challenging for sure. I do know that I won't buy anything I can't hear run first. Been burned too many times trusting someone you don't know. Happy New Year to ya Dave, Jeff.
Very nice job done on these machinery. This is a dream in many respects! I like to take advantage of your knowledge if you may, by asking you, please, do you have any suggestion where could I find a soft start for a 2HP motor 115 V single phase, with brushes. This is for my table saw, which unfortunately the motor can't be changed? So far I can't find any one who understands about this type of device. Thanks for any help you could come up with.
Hi Paul. I needed a soft start a while back for the belt driven shop furnace. I ended up at an motor rebuild place. Seems they had to order it. However it was a brush-less type motor. The good part about going to those places is they will get you the proper one the first time.
Whoops, hit post too early. If a guy were to use a random sized pulley that might be available, is there a way to calibrate the RPM to match the ratio of the pulleys you setup?
Great video, I have the same VFD on my mill, but I am having trouble with the settings.. some times it OL..it runs fast and the slows down.. would you mind sharing some of the setting with me ? thanks
You might have to slow down the spin up. Totally know what your .... Had to do that on mine. I did mine back in 2004. Many projects since. Check with the Manuel, think that might tell you how to - de-tune spin up....
How does the VFD effect the feed rate on the lathe. I have a VFD on my mill for doing valve jobs. It works awesome and was thinking of adding it to the lathe but wasn't sure on it's effect on feed.
Leslie Secour Hello Leslie. Yes you are correct that as the chuck speeds up so does the feed rate as they both are driven by the same motor. If necessary you would have to change gearing on that separately. I love the VFD on the lathe where it is so easy to change speed for different tools or cuts & very seldom change gears. Sounds like you use your mill more than the lathe where it's just the opposite here.
Really good video. Great info. I have a pump 220v 1 Ph. I would like to run it at low rpm. Do you think they make a VFD 220v 1Ph output - so I can slow my pump motor down? How about this idea...use a VFD 220v 3 phase out, but only use two of the 110v wires. What do you think? Thx
Neat you brought that up. I have had that same thought in the past but don't believe that would work. The single ph motors usually have a start capacitor unless they are a soft start motor and some have start/run winding.
Phase one converting my 3/4Hp Jet drill press the motor and the VFD are on order. In your video you state that you have used a ratio of 3 to 1. If the motor only span at 1800 only the chuck speed would be 600, but you state that with the VFD motor can spin crazy fast. Any idea what the maximum may be. Also can the VFD display be configured to show chuck speed instead of motor speed? Your video and comments have been very informative thanks, phase two is going to be converting my Shopfox 1.5HP milling machine. While at it, I will go up to 2HP on the motor.
+grikor1 Seems they rated those motors safe to 5200 rpm. I have the drive frequency set to 140 max and then the motor is limited to 4000 rpm. The drive freq can be set to 400 which would far exceed the motor recommended max speed. It is rare that I ever run it to the 4000 rpm speed. Seems I wanted to have the chuck speed up there too but don't believe there is any way to do that. Hope this helps you out, Jeff
Jeff, your video inspired me to set up our Craftsman drill press with VFD. I ordered what you recommended from Automation Direct except I purchased a 1 hp motor. I believe I have everything wired correctly but get an "OL" error soon after firing it up. I noticed below you commented on tweaking the ramp up numbers to get it started. Could you share those numbers and any other settings you may have changed? Thanks
Hi Jason. Yes I did have that problem on the lathe due to the weight/mass of the chuck spin up. Man that setup was done years ago (can't remember) but if you look in the Manuel there was info on how to correct the OL cond by slowing the ramp up speed. BTW - after changing the lathe setting it has been working fine. Thought you would like to know that. Actually to date I still find the 3/4 sufficient for my needs here. If needed I bet they have a tech line where someone could walk you thru the correction quickly. Good luck on your venture, Jeff.
AutomationDirect's Support line is FREE and is at 1-800-633-0404. Their Videos are at www.automationdirect.com/videos - it has an awesome search - just start typing ...
I should have replied back sooner. I made the mistake of "assuming" instead of reading. I had left the motor wired at the higher voltage setting. After I fixed my mistake, the VFD and press have been performing flawlessly. Now I have to save up enough to convert the other press in the shop! Thanks
Very slick and clean. Just received a 16 South Bend lathe and ordered the correct units for my lathe. Did you make the brackets or brought them somewhere?
Hi Bobdeham. Yes I did make the key pad brackets. The one on the lathe is a piece of thicker tin which was cut out of a sheet. I cut a 1-1/2" hole saw hole in it so the extension cord will easily fit from the rear. To mount the tin to the lathe without drilling this 3M 2 sided 7/8 sticky tape can be used. 3M P/N 06383. To mount the key pad to the tin I only used the upper hole on the key pad to hold it in place so it could be easily removed if necessary. Could of used both but then it would have to be mounted up higher & didn't want that. The whole setup is quite rigid with no flexing. For the mill I used the L bracket that came with the machine which the stop/run switch was mounted on. Did re-locate it too. Hope this gets helps you out, Jeff
I'm not going to say this to be a critic just something I heard from an old machinist. He said never to run your lathe with an empty chuck. One should put something in the chuck and normally tighten.
Thanks so much for your time and effort showing us your variable speed machines. I just bought a used 15" Buffalo drill press from Craigslist. Apparently, previous owners were too lazy to change speeds so they had the V belt set at its lowest speed and it wore it out considerably. The only concern I have about VFD is torque. Do you lose much of it in low speed?
GnosisMan50 Hello Gnosisman50. Yes you do loose some torque when you go below 10 Hz. Most of the time I am in the area of 12 - 25 Hz. Always had adequate power for what I use it for here. The one thing where I will run it at 5 - 6 Hz is for tapping threads. To give you an idea of what to expect is I can stop the chuck with a glove on. This setting will stall then before you would bust a tap off. I will run it in and tag reverse non stop. Works great. If you need a lot of power for what you will be doing then maybe leave the center jack shaft in to reduce it to a 4 to 1 or 5 to 1 ratio so you could run the Hz higher and you should be fine.
Jeff, one more question for ya. The RMP meter of the VFD, is that pretty accurate? Have you checked the accuracy of it? I assume it's programmable in the VFD? The reason I ask is because of the pully you made.
How bout this, rather then using two different sized pulleys, use two of the exact same size pulleys across the motor shaft and chuck shaft. If there are both 6", or both 1", or both 24", it wouldn't matter. The motor rpm would be read On the VFD, which would be the same as the chuck speed too right?
Hi jlm - Ah to keep things simple you should run with a mag tach. Yes I'm aware of the RPM difference - but actually after you run machines a bit you will find there is a sound and a feel to everything. It is rare now that I even look at the display. Just tweek the speed knob & go! By watching & listening you learn a lot quickly. Where you sound new at this don't get so nevus. It will all seem simple once you get things going!
The Rotor of the motor still may brake due to the high freqeuncy, when its rated rpm is at 60hz and it is running more than 110..... always rember that. Cooling is quite the easy part as long the motor has a lot reserve in terms of its power, usual these are made for permanent drive at full power.
Hi, I calculate based on your setup that if you want to run your drill press at say 25rpm, you have to have like 0.8Hz input on your VFD. Can you run it that low? Does it work ok with good torque at that speed?
For that low speed operation I would recommend leaving that center jack shaft in to gear things down more. You are correct on your thoughts where that wouldn't work good as shown.
Nice clean installations Jeff! Wish I'd have found your video before I reinvented the wheel. I chose a little bit different way with my mill because I was worried oils and sharp chips on my finger tips might damage the Automation Direct panel's thin flexible plastic cover. I used industrial control buttons. VFDs will bring innovation and manufacturing back to this hemisphere as they re-power older 3-phase machines that have been sitting idle, putting them in the hands of creative people for low costs. (I'd say country, but I suspect you're a Wisconsinite right?)
Hello. Ya got me going on your ending comment. Aah like big time! Very nice on your writeup! I always thought it would cost thousands to do 1 machine. After some research to find out how inexpensive it was I did all the machines. I couldn't find any good video's on this so that's why I made this to help others interested. I 'm not one for returning things or inconvenience anyone so to research big before purchase is common practice. The design and quality of their products can't be beat! If more people new of this I bet they would sell tons more of product!!! I did purchase an extra panel to store just in case of....But ya there hey there Thank You for your comment, Jeff :>)
Great video, I have the same drive on a vertical mill, and I having issues of OL1 when drilling, did you have that experience? and you mind sharing some parameters so I can program it properly... thanks
Never had that issue. Have worked it quite hard on the lathe at times one can tell by the sound. The only thing I can contribute is I had to adjust the spin up speed on the lathe only when first starting it or would get OL. That was a long time ago now, I cant remember what I did , seems it wasn't a big deal tho. I did purchase the oversized drives to avoid problems in the future. Bigger is better in that deal and hope you went that route too where if only under load sounds like perhaps a possibility.
When setting up most VFDs, you tell the VFD what the locked rotor amps of the motor is and it calculates when the alarms will show. This can be tweaked by several means, some VFDs have a torque boost that will up the voltage output when it starts to load up. You can just up the locked rotor amps setting (at your own risk, it's not actually as bad as a nickel under the fuse, lol). Sometimes the intermediate frequency of the VFD can be adjusted to help the load. Different VFDs have different ways of adjustment.
Great video. I am a beginner at this so I have a question,,, On my Central Machinery Milling/Drilling Machine I have a Model 818320 , 1 1/2 HP motor 3450 RPM 120/240 volt motor that screams with speed ! Can I use with the GSP-11PO to get my speed down or do I need to get a 3 phase motor like yours ?.
Hi Jim. Yes - you will need a 3 ph motor if controlling the speed is desired. Make sure to get a 1725 - 1750 RPM motor to have low end power. Those drives can scream that slower motor to the recommended top speed of 5,200 RPM if desired by turning up the Hz.
Jeff, great video! Simple and to the point! Quick question, what lathe are you using? It looks very similar to my buddy's lathe and he is quite satisfied with it! I'm replacing my vintage bench top drill press with one I recently won at an auction, and will be following your method to setup VFD. I've found I'm too lazy (or it's too cumbersome) to change belts between bit sizes, and I think VFD will aid me in utilizing the right speeds. Thanks again!
Hi jmlcolorado. I bought the Lathe at Harbor Freight in ~04. It's done a lot of work & been quite satisfied too. A - FYI for you to mention to your friend. A customer told me some of the Lathe's had sandy dabre in the gear case. I pulled the top cover that night. Mine was ok. NOT wanting to scare ya just something that came to mind from a while back. I did have a seal start to leak on the side where the external gears are under that side cover. We have a local bearing & seal vendor, not a big deal. On the drill press I don't know what you would call it but I'd never change the speed when you should either. The VFD makes you want to have a job to do! :>)
Thanks for the heads up Jeff! I'll pass the info over to my buddy. Now that you mention it, I think I've heard similar stories. I know he's turned quite a bit of material on it over the years.
Jeff, Now that you have had these machines running for a while is there anything that that you would do differently? How is the low end torque.... I think thats the biggest concern that most of us that are considering this have ?/// Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us, yours is the most helpfull vid that i found on this subject!!!!
+David Fields Hi David. Before purchasing anything I'll spend a lot of time researching things. Always like to avoid those - I wish I would of's when ever possible. I would do everything the same as I'm extremely satisfied with everything. I like to keep things looking good which can be deceiving where they do get used a lot. For the low torque thought I do use the lathe and drill press for taping. I just leave them in the same gear setting and turn the VFD way down to where the chuck barely turns. I keep hitting the fwd/rev button with no stopping. Yes - then the chuck will/has come to a stop. The good news is never snapped a tap yet with no motor heat up. Never tried like - 50 holes in a row tho. :>) I never wish for more power at normal machining/drilling jobs, things are just fine even with a deeper cut. I also like when you are working the machine a bit hard you can tell by the sound is slightly different. Never have changed the gearing on any machines since the drives have been on. Possibly on the lathe doing a knurl would be necessary - haven't done one since the conversion. On a final note make sure to oversize the drives as recommended in the video. On the lathe because of the mass to get rotating even on the oversize drive it would show OL on the display upon spin up and stop. NO biggie. Slow the spin up time slightly in one of the settings (book was included) and all has been just fine! I look forward to using the machines just because of how nice these drives are. Love the speed control knob right out in front of the panel too. Gets changed a lot after switching bits/cutters. Great questions you had here David. Hope this helps you out even more, Jeff
Hello jeff, i got an old drill press with a 2 speed motor 3 phase 380v with a rotary cam switch that switch between 2 speeds. the rotary cam switch is not working and i can't find a replacement. is it possible to make a vfd run the motor in instead of the rotary cam switch ?
Possibly. Wiring things are hard to do/explain thru the key board. I think that company that sells those drives might have a tech line and be able to help you on your needs.
hi there what kind of cable did you use to connect the GS2 to the machine? I cant find it anywhere on the internet to buy.. great video, greetings from Slovenia :)
Hello. I used 12 gauge wire for automotive wiring harnesses which I have in the cabinet. It was single leads (on a 100' spool, seems like 10' spools were available too where you wouldn't need much) with multi copper strands inside. It comes in many different colors and then covered it with that black plastic wire loom (it is slit so the wires can be tucked in after being installed) that was for automotive use, to finish with a clean looking job. Hope this helps out and nice to have folks from so far away stop by!
I have that same lathe and I'm tired of replacing those cheap magnetic contactors. I'm going with a VFD and was wondering if it is possible to still use the fwd/rvrs handle on the apron or would that be pointless?
Great question. I wanted to do that too but for some reason didn't. Not sure but it seems if one wanted to connect to those external setup terminals one had to discontinue use of the main control panel had to hook everything up. If anyone else has any thoughts on this please chime in!
Thank you for the great video! How is the torque on the low end with the VFD? The trick with the soldering iron is fantastic!! I've been going nuts with everything being magnitized!
Hey Jeff I was wonder if this would work for like stepping down from 220 volts to 110 volts. I have a milling machine that run's on two 220V's and it to run on 110v.
I recently purchased a Delta DR 40 wood lathe and none of the parts are available. It just stopped and solenoid clicks but that's it. It has a 1 1/4 hp brush dc 90v motor. Do you know if I have any chance of finding a unit like on your drill press that would work on this motor? Also it is single phase.
Sorry - I don't know of anything you could use for a drive. Perhaps a motor rebuild shop might be able to recommend something that would be helpful. Good luck.
Thanks so much, you were able to dumb this down enough for a dope like me to understand and now I'm not near as intimidated at this venture. Keep up the great work.
Something that a lot of people do not think about: motor heat. With a VFD, the motor is doing the same amount of work at, say, 1/4 rated rpm as it is at full rpm. The internal cooling fan is only going at 1/4 speed and fans do not move 1/4 the air at 1/4 the speed. I worked with setting up VFDs for years. When setting one up for steady load service like a lathe, etc. it is a good idea to put a temperature sensor in the motor cooling air exhaust and kind of keep an eye on it. A small dedicated cooling fan can be put in there, or if the heat isn't too bad, just keep the lathe geared down so the motor is in the top 40% or so of it's rated speed range. Just something to think about, you seem to be very thoughtful on how you do your projects, just trying to help. I first saw you on your oil stove project. I am going to do one of those for NEXT winter here in Colorado (I'm just retired with a new shop out back). I am going to use a temperature Process Controller, probably from AD, good outfit, like your VFD.
Mike Jones great response/ info....On my 2x72 grinder.. I was all excited about adding a VFD...Till one night i thought of what you just explained...so i went with step pulleys instead...(Baldor l3510 tefc 1750 rpm)
I guess that is one reason to get a VFD that is oversize compared to your motor
Makes sense, I like the dedicateded cooling fan idea...cheap and cheap insurance
@@johnsmith4630 Its not the power capacity of the VFD, its the motors built in fans optimal rpm that is. You are providing it full power but spinning the motor much slower than it would with a gear reduction system. That means that instead of running a constant RPM on the electric motor which has an intergral cooling fan made for that speed and changing spindle speed via gears or belts, you are running the motor itself slower which can cause the motor to overheat due to the slowed fan speed.
@JB Love to hear how it wrong
I know you said it’s easy, but it’s beyond my capabilities. That has to be the best drill press I've seen on UA-cam, it’s clean, solid and has all the modern technologies. In fact your entire setup is cool and I can imagine many engineers will envy you. You also have great wildlife too.
Thank you very much Mark! Much appreciated.
Thanks for this video. This has given me all the answers I had questions for on fitting VFD to lathe and other workshop machines. Short informative and all the important points covered in a few minutes. Cheers
Glad to know that Howard. Thank you! There were a few comments that made me feel this video was so so but they never specify why. Try very hard to present the important facts to be known.
Best accent on UA-cam. Cool! Great video, I’m ordering one today for an old General press that Irefurbished.
great tech tip with the soldering gun.
because of your info. I can now hopefully run on 1 phase power. I bought one for my 230 volt 3 phase 1.5HP drill press hopefully it will be up and running in the next week.
Hi Justin. Once up and going you should be very happy with having that setup! Feel free to stop back and let me know how you like it!
Thanks I installed it yesterday now I just need a chuck and a DP vise and I'm set. I'm waiting in a friend to bring his MT2 and MT3 to see what fits. This is a New to me drill so we are learning as we go. Also got the shrader bellows air actuator working that turns the hand crank. Thanks for the reply.
The soldering gun like demagnetizer was genial. Thank you.
Real nice setup! I have a milling machine with a variable speed motor on it, and I love it. Just like you said I've used it for both hole saws and for tapping too. I think it saves a little time opposed to constantly moving around belts for speed changes as well.
Hey thanks. Before I did this conversion, did a lot of research & no one had any good video's on this subject. Way too much stuff out there to choose from. I always thought the cost would be much more too! Did the drill press first. Liked it so much decided to do the other machines too! Sold the motors off the lathe & mill on Craigs list and gave the drill press motor to a friend.
Wow! Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge. I most definitely will install your set-up on my mill first and lathe second.
Thank you very much Sir. For having the time to explain us your VFD, you don’t idea how much we learn and appreciate your time and effort, and in simple plain English, very straight forward, just one favor,
May you please give me the part number of the chuck for the drill (German Made) Brand and model
This is going to be my first project, converting my Delta Drill, and a soon as possible I will buy my G0602…thank you very much…blessings
At the time I purchased the chucks from Enco who no longer in business. Seems MSC Supply has bought them out. Perhaps look thru their sight. Sorry I can't find the P/N. I purchased those back in 2004 and it seems like yesterday! Good luck on your project.
Very nicely done video and useful too. As a machenist I know you should never run the Chuck in the lathe without anything chucked in the Jaws, they can scroll out and hit you where it might hurt.
Very good presentation. I just heard about this (VFD) speed control and have just ordered a motor and controller set for my Delta drill press. I mainly do woodwork and am tired of constantly changing the position of the two belts whenever changing from small to large bits. Seems The speeds I want always involve removing and repositioning both belts. Mine will be wired for 230 in but otherwise is similar to what's been shown here. Good, clear information on this site.
Just found your channel and subscribed. Very nice work
Hi jeff,
I have also installed a vfd on my lathe. As yours vfd capacity is 2 hp and the motor is 1 hp. But on my vfd I had to setup the motor plate values such as power and rpm. I don't know whether it is required with your vfd or not but when these values are not set correctly you hear a hissing sound on low rpms and the efficiency you get from the motor decrease on low rpms.
So depending on the vfd if needed it is a good practice to setup the motor variables to the vfd.
Excellent video by the way.
Mehmet
Hello Mehmet. Boy that is a VERY valid point you brought up! I didn't specify the motor setup in the video. I did set the VFD's to the motor specs of 1 HP at 1750 rpm. I just set the max rpm's (frequency) higher. I think them motors were rated to 5,200 safe maximum speed - a point I didn't bring up either. Another thing while we are on the subject the lathe VFD drive out of the box settings had to be changed on the ramp up speed settings. Due to getting more mass rotating when you would hit the run button shortly there after the drive would display OL. The tip in speed did need to be tweeked slightly. A point also to be known so someone don't think they got a defective unit or wired it incorrectly. That was very nice of you to bring this up! Thank You for your help Mehmet, Jeff
Jeff
Great video and very clean installations, like the quick tip on the magnet issue...
Chuck
Oh, nice trick with that de-magnification !
Hi & Thank You. When you have a bunch of chips hanging on a drill bit tip it's hard to view the center punch mark!
Glad you enjoyed the vid. When I first got the machines people were bringing me work and they weren't even set up yet! It's surprising how fast the word gets out. Unfortunately I'm my best customer :>) Yeah, Glen is definitely an original kind of guy. It's neat to see what they create.
If you need a new variable speed pulley or sheaves, Speed Selector makes pulleys that replace the Reeves, Hi-Lo, TB Woods and Lovejoy pulleys that went out of business or got bought. Most are in stock or Speed Selector will custom make if needed. They have an actual engineering department; very helpful.
I now want a drill press like that ..I have been researching VFD's and have found I can buy a vfd and motor very reasonably priced
Nice equipment makes any job so much enjoyable. Once you have one - I don't know - I always wonder why I didn't per sew it sooner!
Saved video, perfect just what I was looking for due to that I wanted to make my cheap chines drill press with variable speed. And even better that you included P/N too, keep up the good work and videos. Thanks from Sweden..................
Yep today if a guy can possibly afford it, adding a VFD and 3 ph motor is the way to go. When I used a VFD on my mill it was the first 3 ph machine I'd ever had in my shop. My lathe is a relatively cheap 11" x 27" off shore machine. It's already 110 single ph variable speed. I still want to rip all that out and go to the 220 v 3 phase. Smoothness of operation, obtainable metal finishes, motor quietness, pretty much programable everything for motor parameters. I worked in a remote mine in norther B.C. You could say we had almost unlimited 3 ph power. Just about all equipment in the mill had VFD's or PLC's on it.
You have a great set up on your drill press now. The weak link accuracy wise on it is the table. Set up a D.I. on the outside of your table, zero it, then rest your thumb on the table, now start adding a bit of pressure. That's why I no longer own a drill press I could afford that's light enough to use with a wooden floor structure. I've got an 1100 lb baby Bridgeport clone that sure outperforms any non industrial drill press I've ever seen.
Hi thks for your videos may i ask where you buy the VFD please and the elec motor for the brill press and chuck thks
Thanks Jeff, For your quick response. It seems like the older I get, the slower I wont to go. Nice tight work on all your projects. I may need you for more questions. Appreciate any time you can give. Thanks again Eric
Good video! Thanks for the part numbers.
Excellent video
I Thank You for viewing and your comment Pete, Jeff
Mrpete222 is absolutely fantastic also
Great video, I like how ya break for dem cranes too.
Hi Abraam & Thank You! Yeah it makes you look forward to be able to run the machines and create something!
Yes a nice drill press is expensive! I gave 1200 for my Clausing 20 inch variable speed. It’s worth every penny!
Totally agree!
Good assembling of this VFD.
Many thanks! I want to do this but was worried about power loss when slowing it down.
The de-magnetize tip is great 👍
Great video, Thanks, I learnt a lot in a short time. Very well presented. Also never knew about the soldering iron, I'll definitely use that.
What a great video, thank you Jeff! I'll purchase the same components for my own.
You are welcome Aaron. Once setup one wishes would of done that sooner!
this is exactly what i was looking for thanks a lot
Wow Jeff what a awesome machine shop! Love the tech tip I never heard that one before!
You absolutely can make a single phase AC motor Variable Speed. Like a VFD, if you vary the Frequency of the single phase via a controller, you can vary the speed of a single phase AC Motor.
I have done it with mixed results, it is kind of dicey with the start windings, etc. I did a few and it is much better for everyone involved to use a 3 ph motor. The single phase motors have a lot of heating problems if you slow them down much. It depends on the load. Pumps and fans respond better than heavy start loads. Mixed bag.
love my vfds. one thing I ran into is that is easy to overspeed the lathe chuck. Mine is rated for a maximum of 3600 r.p.m. and I wouldn't want to grenade it with me there to catch the chunks!
Nice vid, love the de-magnetising trick, thanks heaps and all the best.
great stuff ! You really make things work for you ! Thanks for the great ideas !
Killer vid, and nice clean installations on all the equipment! I've used those same drives for controlling fan motors and other stuff, its cool to see them installed on tools in a home shop. I really like those DRO units too, simple and cheap (just like me!). Thanx for sharing, nice vid :)
Never thought about the soldering to demag a bit. I use an old video tape demagnetiser, it works great oo!
Old ac motor casing with the shaft and moving parts removed, really any ac coil will do it. The more amperage it pulls the faster it demagnitizes.
Hello, Good video. I have a Lathe exactly the same as yours, its run on 220 volts single phase. Is yours run on single phase or 3 phase? If single can you give some extra information on how you did it. I'm having trouble finding information on VFD for 220 volts single phase motors. Can it be done? Graham, many thanks.
I've already gotten a vfd from automation direct but the DRO & scales that u put on the lathe & mill is what I was talking about. I looked & couldn't find anything like that on automation direct like that.
Sorry - I had a overload of things going on here last week. The DRO is from this place. www.shumatech.com/ I was on his site a bit ago and learned that the units I have are obsolete now. Real happy with them but the new ones are probably for the better. As far as the scales I can't remember where those came from. IF I recall I will leave you another message.
Hi again 76verdee. I thought maybe I had a friend get me the scales years back where he was building a panel too. (couldn't find any paperwork) Got a hold of him and he said the scales came from this place. www.shars.com/ Just found out. Hope this helps you out yet. Jeff
What vfd drive did you get? I have a 3 hp 3 phase motor that I want to hook up to my drill press. Having problems deciding between dc or 3 phase ac.
But I’d like to know the model of your vfd drive.
Nice wildlife shots. Egrets?
Thanks,
Paul
Got a 1 hp 3 ph 17 inch delta floor stander for 75 bucks because it was 3 phase. Put a Teco vid on it. I love it.
Hi Jeff surely enjoyed your video on the variable speed unit/for the Drill press. “Was wondering is this workable for an old Rockwell Reeves drive drill press as well. "?
My manual crank variable speed control is shot, and was thinking to bypass it and go the route your doing. Let me know. Thanks, R
Great video! Lot of of good information!!!
helpfull video including comments and response. I wish I live in usa, more freedom for diy
+georgio jansen Thank you Georgio. Sounds like things are a bit harder to obtain/perform where you live.
Do you have the VFD connected to a separate circuit? I see they draw quite a bit of current (about 19 Amps) for a 1 HP motor @ 115 Volts. Thanks.
Thanks I subscribed today. Hope I can order the motor and drive from your specs. looks confusing. Better use a link.
I have a 0.75 kW drill press. Should I get a 0.75 kW VFD or go a size up and get a 1.5 kW drive?
great video. thanx for taking the time.
Your welcome!
nice setup. do you have information for the VFD, motor and chuck that you bought? thanks.
LOL. I see it towards the end of the video.
Hi.
Thanks for the info in the video.
Do you know if the motors lose torque when you run them at low speeds?
I am trying to get a wood lathe running but I wouldn't want to lose power when slow speed is required.
Thanks again.
Single phase to single phase vfds most certainly do exist to allow speed control of single phase motors. Its the varied frequency that adjusts the speed
I was just curious as you mentioned that you had machined down the smaller pully for the motor drive to about 3".
For example, if your drive pulley is 3" and the chuck pulley is 6", motor is turning at 1800 rpm, your chuck pulley might only be turning at 900 rpm, so the meter on the VFD would be incorrect since it has no way of reading what the chuck outlet is doing.
Perhaps it's just telling you at what rpm the motor is turning?
If there was a way to program the VFD with the proper ratio, you could conceptually have it show what the chuck is turning.
Not trying yo rip you apart, just thinking out loud :)
I'm still learning this stuff
Just saw this video. Is there a reason why you went 120v vs. 240v?
hey Jeff! Just looking through your old video's, would love to see some new ones or even a shop tour. Also I've been thinking about looking for a 4x4 drive train for my 86 Ranger and then put my truck body on the 4x4.Any idea if our Ford rangers are still available and if so where can I look to find a drive train.Thanks Jeff and MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Hi there Dave! Have been working on how I started out in a 1 car garage and worked my way up to this point video. Also will include when I decided to become self-employed in 1982 and why. Keep getting different idea's on how to present this. Then will do a shop tour after that video. Like you were thinking and suggesting many would like that. No idea of a good place to send you for your project. Finding older things in good condition can be challenging for sure. I do know that I won't buy anything I can't hear run first. Been burned too many times trusting someone you don't know. Happy New Year to ya Dave, Jeff.
Very nice job done on these machinery. This is a dream in many respects!
I like to take advantage of your knowledge if you may, by asking you, please, do you have any suggestion where could I find a soft start for a 2HP motor 115 V single phase, with brushes. This is for my table saw, which unfortunately the motor can't be changed? So far I can't find any one who understands about this type of device.
Thanks for any help you could come up with.
Hi Paul. I needed a soft start a while back for the belt driven shop furnace. I ended up at an motor rebuild place. Seems they had to order it. However it was a brush-less type motor. The good part about going to those places is they will get you the proper one the first time.
I have one that I have no use for but I will have to look at specks on it to see what hp and such
What are the brand and model numbers for motor and VFD?
Did you change the motor on the drill press to 3 phase , I think you said you did.
Whoops, hit post too early.
If a guy were to use a random sized pulley that might be available, is there a way to calibrate the RPM to match the ratio of the pulleys you setup?
How about some mfg info on motor and vfd drive…nice setup and exact drill press as mine but no idea of how to convert as he gives no info
Great info! Thanks.
Good job Jeff...Thank You.
So glad you enjoyed the video, Jeff!
Great video, I have the same VFD on my mill, but I am having trouble with the settings.. some times it OL..it runs fast and the slows down.. would you mind sharing some of the setting with me ? thanks
You might have to slow down the spin up. Totally know what your .... Had to do that on mine. I did mine back in 2004. Many projects since. Check with the Manuel, think that might tell you how to - de-tune spin up....
How does the VFD effect the feed rate on the lathe. I have a VFD on my mill for doing valve jobs. It works awesome and was thinking of adding it to the lathe but wasn't sure on it's effect on feed.
Leslie Secour Hello Leslie. Yes you are correct that as the chuck speeds up so does the feed rate as they both are driven by the same motor. If necessary you would have to change gearing on that separately. I love the VFD on the lathe where it is so easy to change speed for different tools or cuts & very seldom change gears. Sounds like you use your mill more than the lathe where it's just the opposite here.
nice video. Could you accurately identify the speed control you used.
Nice machines sir!
Link to vfd would be nice
Really good video. Great info. I have a pump 220v 1 Ph. I would like to run it at low rpm. Do you think they make a VFD 220v 1Ph output - so I can slow my pump motor down? How about this idea...use a VFD 220v 3 phase out, but only use two of the 110v wires. What do you think? Thx
Neat you brought that up. I have had that same thought in the past but don't believe that would work. The single ph motors usually have a start capacitor unless they are a soft start motor and some have start/run winding.
Phase one converting my 3/4Hp Jet drill press the motor and the VFD are on order. In your video you state that you have used a ratio of 3 to 1. If the motor only span at 1800 only the chuck speed would be 600, but you state that with the VFD motor can spin crazy fast.
Any idea what the maximum may be. Also can the VFD display be configured to show chuck speed instead of motor speed?
Your video and comments have been very informative thanks, phase two is going to be converting my Shopfox 1.5HP milling machine. While at it, I will go up to 2HP on the motor.
+grikor1 Seems they rated those motors safe to 5200 rpm. I have the drive frequency set to 140 max and then the motor is limited to 4000 rpm. The drive freq can be set to 400 which would far exceed the motor recommended max speed. It is rare that I ever run it to the 4000 rpm speed. Seems I wanted to have the chuck speed up there too but don't believe there is any way to do that. Hope this helps you out, Jeff
+2jeffs1 Yes thank you very much.
Jeff, your video inspired me to set up our Craftsman drill press with VFD. I ordered what you recommended from Automation Direct except I purchased a 1 hp motor. I believe I have everything wired correctly but get an "OL" error soon after firing it up. I noticed below you commented on tweaking the ramp up numbers to get it started. Could you share those numbers and any other settings you may have changed? Thanks
Hi Jason. Yes I did have that problem on the lathe due to the weight/mass of the chuck spin up. Man that setup was done years ago (can't remember) but if you look in the Manuel there was info on how to correct the OL cond by slowing the ramp up speed. BTW - after changing the lathe setting it has been working fine. Thought you would like to know that. Actually to date I still find the 3/4 sufficient for my needs here. If needed I bet they have a tech line where someone could walk you thru the correction quickly. Good luck on your venture, Jeff.
AutomationDirect's Support line is FREE and is at 1-800-633-0404. Their Videos are at www.automationdirect.com/videos - it has an awesome search - just start typing ...
I should have replied back sooner. I made the mistake of "assuming" instead of reading. I had left the motor wired at the higher voltage setting. After I fixed my mistake, the VFD and press have been performing flawlessly. Now I have to save up enough to convert the other press in the shop! Thanks
What amp circuits are you running those machines on?
Very slick and clean. Just received a 16 South Bend lathe and ordered the correct units for my lathe. Did you make the brackets or brought them somewhere?
Hi Bobdeham. Yes I did make the key pad brackets. The one on the lathe is a piece of thicker tin which was cut out of a sheet. I cut a 1-1/2" hole saw hole in it so the extension cord will easily fit from the rear. To mount the tin to the lathe without drilling this 3M 2 sided 7/8 sticky tape can be used. 3M P/N 06383. To mount the key pad to the tin I only used the upper hole on the key pad to hold it in place so it could be easily removed if necessary. Could of used both but then it would have to be mounted up higher & didn't want that. The whole setup is quite rigid with no flexing. For the mill I used the L bracket that came with the machine which the stop/run switch was mounted on. Did re-locate it too. Hope this gets helps you out, Jeff
I'm not going to say this to be a critic just something I heard from an old machinist. He said never to run your lathe with an empty chuck. One should put something in the chuck and normally tighten.
Thanks so much for your time and effort showing us your variable speed machines.
I just bought a used 15" Buffalo drill press from Craigslist. Apparently, previous owners were too lazy to change speeds so they had the V belt set at its lowest speed and it wore it out considerably. The only concern I have about VFD is torque. Do you lose much of it in low speed?
GnosisMan50 Hello Gnosisman50. Yes you do loose some torque when you go below 10 Hz. Most of the time I am in the area of 12 - 25 Hz. Always had adequate power for what I use it for here. The one thing where I will run it at 5 - 6 Hz is for tapping threads. To give you an idea of what to expect is I can stop the chuck with a glove on. This setting will stall then before you would bust a tap off. I will run it in and tag reverse non stop. Works great. If you need a lot of power for what you will be doing then maybe leave the center jack shaft in to reduce it to a 4 to 1 or 5 to 1 ratio so you could run the Hz higher and you should be fine.
Jeff, one more question for ya.
The RMP meter of the VFD, is that pretty accurate? Have you checked the accuracy of it?
I assume it's programmable in the VFD?
The reason I ask is because of the pully you made.
How bout this, rather then using two different sized pulleys, use two of the exact same size pulleys across the motor shaft and chuck shaft. If there are both 6", or both 1", or both 24", it wouldn't matter. The motor rpm would be read On the VFD, which would be the same as the chuck speed too right?
Hi jlm - Ah to keep things simple you should run with a mag tach. Yes I'm aware of the RPM difference - but actually after you run machines a bit you will find there is a sound and a feel to everything. It is rare now that I even look at the display. Just tweek the speed knob & go! By watching & listening you learn a lot quickly. Where you sound new at this don't get so nevus. It will all seem simple once you get things going!
The Rotor of the motor still may brake due to the high freqeuncy, when its rated rpm is at 60hz and it is running more than 110..... always rember that.
Cooling is quite the easy part as long the motor has a lot reserve in terms of its power, usual these are made for permanent drive at full power.
Hi, I calculate based on your setup that if you want to run your drill press at say 25rpm, you have to have like 0.8Hz input on your VFD. Can you run it that low? Does it work ok with good torque at that speed?
For that low speed operation I would recommend leaving that center jack shaft in to gear things down more. You are correct on your thoughts where that wouldn't work good as shown.
Nice clean installations Jeff! Wish I'd have found your video before I reinvented the wheel. I chose a little bit different way with my mill because I was worried oils and sharp chips on my finger tips might damage the Automation Direct panel's thin flexible plastic cover. I used industrial control buttons. VFDs will bring innovation and manufacturing back to this hemisphere as they re-power older 3-phase machines that have been sitting idle, putting them in the hands of creative people for low costs. (I'd say country, but I suspect you're a Wisconsinite right?)
Hello. Ya got me going on your ending comment. Aah like big time! Very nice on your writeup! I always thought it would cost thousands to do 1 machine. After some research to find out how inexpensive it was I did all the machines. I couldn't find any good video's on this so that's why I made this to help others interested. I 'm not one for returning things or inconvenience anyone so to research big before purchase is common practice. The design and quality of their products can't be beat! If more people new of this I bet they would sell tons more of product!!! I did purchase an extra panel to store just in case of....But ya there hey there Thank You for your comment, Jeff :>)
Great video, I have the same drive on a vertical mill, and I having issues of OL1 when drilling, did you have that experience? and you mind sharing some parameters so I can program it properly... thanks
Never had that issue. Have worked it quite hard on the lathe at times one can tell by the sound. The only thing I can contribute is I had to adjust the spin up speed on the lathe only when first starting it or would get OL. That was a long time ago now, I cant remember what I did , seems it wasn't a big deal tho. I did purchase the oversized drives to avoid problems in the future. Bigger is better in that deal and hope you went that route too where if only under load sounds like perhaps a possibility.
When setting up most VFDs, you tell the VFD what the locked rotor amps of the motor is and it calculates when the alarms will show. This can be tweaked by several means, some VFDs have a torque boost that will up the voltage output when it starts to load up. You can just up the locked rotor amps setting (at your own risk, it's not actually as bad as a nickel under the fuse, lol). Sometimes the intermediate frequency of the VFD can be adjusted to help the load. Different VFDs have different ways of adjustment.
Great video. I am a beginner at this so I have a question,,, On my Central Machinery Milling/Drilling Machine I have a Model 818320 , 1 1/2 HP motor 3450 RPM 120/240 volt motor that screams with speed !
Can I use with the GSP-11PO to get my speed down or do I need to get a 3 phase motor like yours ?.
Hi Jim. Yes - you will need a 3 ph motor if controlling the speed is desired. Make sure to get a 1725 - 1750 RPM motor to have low end power. Those drives can scream that slower motor to the recommended top speed of 5,200 RPM if desired by turning up the Hz.
Hi Jeff, is the motors on your drill press 220V? Will this drive work with 110v single phase motor?
No, must have a 3 phase motor, for sure...
WHAT VFD DO U GET AND WHERE DID U GET IT FROM ?
Jeff, great video! Simple and to the point!
Quick question, what lathe are you using? It looks very similar to my buddy's lathe and he is quite satisfied with it!
I'm replacing my vintage bench top drill press with one I recently won at an auction, and will be following your method to setup VFD. I've found I'm too lazy (or it's too cumbersome) to change belts between bit sizes, and I think VFD will aid me in utilizing the right speeds.
Thanks again!
Hi jmlcolorado. I bought the Lathe at Harbor Freight in ~04. It's done a lot of work & been quite satisfied too. A - FYI for you to mention to your friend. A customer told me some of the Lathe's had sandy dabre in the gear case. I pulled the top cover that night. Mine was ok. NOT wanting to scare ya just something that came to mind from a while back. I did have a seal start to leak on the side where the external gears are under that side cover. We have a local bearing & seal vendor, not a big deal. On the drill press I don't know what you would call it but I'd never change the speed when you should either. The VFD makes you want to have a job to do! :>)
Thanks for the heads up Jeff! I'll pass the info over to my buddy. Now that you mention it, I think I've heard similar stories.
I know he's turned quite a bit of material on it over the years.
love the tool tip with the soldering iron. Hey, what is your indexing hardware for your DRO?
Shumatech is their name. I built them in house with his design. He has some newer design I seen a while back those panels I have are obsolete now.
I looked up Shumatech. That's for the reference, he's using openDRO, which is cool. Thanks for the info.
Jeff, Now that you have had these machines running for a while is there anything that that you would do differently?
How is the low end torque.... I think thats the biggest concern that most of us that are considering this have ?///
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us, yours is the most helpfull vid that i found on this subject!!!!
+David Fields Hi David. Before purchasing anything I'll spend a lot of time researching things. Always like to avoid those - I wish I would of's when ever possible. I would do everything the same as I'm extremely satisfied with everything. I like to keep things looking good which can be deceiving where they do get used a lot. For the low torque thought I do use the lathe and drill press for taping. I just leave them in the same gear setting and turn the VFD way down to where the chuck barely turns. I keep hitting the fwd/rev button with no stopping. Yes - then the chuck will/has come to a stop. The good news is never snapped a tap yet with no motor heat up. Never tried like - 50 holes in a row tho. :>) I never wish for more power at normal machining/drilling jobs, things are just fine even with a deeper cut. I also like when you are working the machine a bit hard you can tell by the sound is slightly different. Never have changed the gearing on any machines since the drives have been on. Possibly on the lathe doing a knurl would be necessary - haven't done one since the conversion. On a final note make sure to oversize the drives as recommended in the video. On the lathe because of the mass to get rotating even on the oversize drive it would show OL on the display upon spin up and stop. NO biggie. Slow the spin up time slightly in one of the settings (book was included) and all has been just fine! I look forward to using the machines just because of how nice these drives are. Love the speed control knob right out in front of the panel too. Gets changed a lot after switching bits/cutters. Great questions you had here David. Hope this helps you out even more, Jeff
Hello jeff, i got an old drill press with a 2 speed motor 3 phase 380v with a rotary cam switch that switch between 2 speeds. the rotary cam switch is not working and i can't find a replacement. is it possible to make a vfd run the motor in instead of the rotary cam switch ?
Possibly. Wiring things are hard to do/explain thru the key board. I think that company that sells those drives might have a tech line and be able to help you on your needs.
Excuse me I forgot, where to buy the brackets for the VFD, etc. please..,.thank you ç
hi there what kind of cable did you use to connect the GS2 to the machine? I cant find it anywhere on the internet to buy..
great video, greetings from Slovenia :)
Hello. I used 12 gauge wire for automotive wiring harnesses which I have in the cabinet. It was single leads (on a 100' spool, seems like 10' spools were available too where you wouldn't need much) with multi copper strands inside. It comes in many different colors and then covered it with that black plastic wire loom (it is slit so the wires can be tucked in after being installed) that was for automotive use, to finish with a clean looking job. Hope this helps out and nice to have folks from so far away stop by!
I have that same lathe and I'm tired of replacing those cheap magnetic contactors. I'm going with a VFD and was wondering if it is possible to still use the fwd/rvrs handle on the apron or would that be pointless?
Great question. I wanted to do that too but for some reason didn't. Not sure but it seems if one wanted to connect to those external setup terminals one had to discontinue use of the main control panel had to hook everything up. If anyone else has any thoughts on this please chime in!
Maybe you explained it, but if so i missed it. Does the drill press already have a 3 phase motor ?
No - one must purchase one of your choice.
Where I bought the drive from automation direct they sell those and can help you for advice.....
Thank you for the great video! How is the torque on the low end with the VFD? The trick with the soldering iron is fantastic!! I've been going nuts with everything being magnitized!
Yes it is less but totally acceptable for what I do.
Great video sir
Hey Jeff I was wonder if this would work for like stepping down from 220 volts to 110 volts. I have a milling machine that run's on two 220V's and it to run on 110v.
Hi Barry. Never heard of a device as such not to say if there might be one for that use, Jeff.
Great setup How far up nort are you? I am on the big lake.
Hello 57WillysCJ Thanks man! I'm in the fox valley - central Wisconsin.
Ah southern culture. ;)
I recently purchased a Delta DR 40 wood lathe and none of the parts are available. It just stopped and solenoid clicks but that's it.
It has a 1 1/4 hp brush dc 90v motor. Do you know if I have any chance of finding a unit like on your drill press that would work on this motor? Also it is single phase.
Sorry - I don't know of anything you could use for a drive. Perhaps a motor rebuild shop might be able to recommend something that would be helpful. Good luck.
Thanks for getting back to me. Great video.