We happened to have a treadmill that was broken that we used as donor components of the motor and control board, the rest of the required items were purchased. Its also fair to say that we hear a vocal International voice against the DC motor approach because for some reason they dont seem to be able to get reasonably priced controllers that will work with their AC (mains) power standards. A variable frequency drive is essential for this project. DC motor with Armature-voltage DC Motor Control. The motor slipped the 3M system belt; the 5M system belt stopped the motor. Gemini Controls Treadmill Drive Installation & Adjustment, In our case we chose to mount the motor below the table and run the belt down rather than behind the lathe as was original design shown in the illustration below. ix. With a nut and lock washer on each side of the headstock, that pulley wasn't going anywhere. Running straight out of the box. It may not display this or other websites correctly. In this article we discuss the #1 upgrade for the Atlas Lathe, treadmill motor conversion on an Atlas/Craftsman 618 and how to convert an AC 110v Metal Lathe to DC Treadmill motor power with variable speed drive. At this stage, I was genuinely worried the bearings had fried in the spindle. Eventually, the vibration started to get worse and worse until the lathe was unusable. Nice motor -- 14 amps DC is a bit much for the KB products. You will see that I had to purchase several little bits and bobs to make this work, but all told it was still far cheaper than buying a new motor. Most of the industrial electronics that I have seen is rated at 40C. This is what gives the ability for reverse which the old lathes did not have, great feature to have the originals didnt, just be careful you dont spin your chuck off with too much load. Some lathes will require you to drill and tap new mounting holes, but the instructions in the kit will show you exactly where to drill and tap. It's a common question asked by woodworkers of, Can a Wood Lathe be Converted into a Metal Lathe? Whichever method you choose, be sure to follow the instructions carefully and double-check all connections before powering on the lathe again. For now I just want to put a few miles on it to be sure it works well. Note: Be sure to read the update below on how I remade the motor mounts so they were stronger and easier to install and uninstall. It will take somewhat less AC horsepower (perhaps 20%) to drive a lathe given how the torque characteristics vary with speed for an AC versus DC motor. On the motor tag it says 3350 rpm, but when I put my tach on it, I can get 2925 in one direction and 2900 in the other. There are plenty of DC controllers available on eBay. Tips, techniques, modification and use of these machines is topical. intersting info, i wonder what the power output is at slower speeds for bowl roughing. Jog: A momentary contact that just bumps the spindle while held down. Spindle components: p/n 314571 treadmill motor 2.8 hp 130vdc intermittent 2.6 hp 110vdc constant duty 1940 watts 18 amps. Tip You can see what it looks like (partially at least) down below. The jackshaft gives it a 2:1 ratio to help that out. Actually, it's three bolts. For clarity's sake that is not a drum switch, it is a double throw toggle switch. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Still think I will work on a shroud to keep the dust away from the motor, i tried my dust collector around the lathe, doesnt work!! Thanks Don and ninefinger for your replies. Listen, I love "World's Best" articles. We are getting less than 20,000 hours out of the bearings on that motor before they start to fail - a fraction of the life we should be getting. So check it out and see. today was the day. B. @jimil. 1) Find a used 3Ph motor and run it on a VFD. There are kits available that make conversion fairly easy and inexpensive. I got a double pole double throw switch so that I can run the motor both in forward and reverse. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This was quick and easy. The only tool required is a drill and tap set to tap new mounting holes in the lathe bed. I am building a new stand since the one it is on is not original and is not substantial enough for the heavy machine. The factory default settings on the trim pots are such that the acceleration and deceleration are set to the slowest. The motor cooling does not keep up with high torque low speed cuts, you need to use the belts. Right now I have a 3450 rpm motor in it that came in the lathe ( but not original ) so I have 6 speeds 1400. We happened to have a treadmill that was broken that we used as donor components of the motor and control board, the rest of the required items were purchased. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. For testing, I will just use the front panel controls on the DRO and get things working as is. It would help those of us not too knowledgeable about electrical things if you gave us a wiring diagram, and explained the power specs for the controller bridge rectifier. Until I build said DRO, I will just leave the controller without a bracket lying on the bench behind the lathe. Can You Build Your Own Lathe? There are a few different ways to convert your lathe to variable speed. I hope it works for you. Treadmill motors start at 0 and have to be ramped up to speed each time. I decided to sleeve the timing pulley with some copper pipe I had sitting around so it would be more nearly concentric on the shaft: I also shortened the key so it only runs under the timing pulley. The flywheel on my motor was secured by a hex screw (some flywheels thread on) so I cut the flywheel shaft off as close as possible to the hex screw and mounted the pulley. Also know I'll have to select pullys and belts, digital readout, etc. Well, you're right. Also, use proper personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves, goggles, and a dust mask, when working with power tools. Overall, converting a lathe to variable speed is usually cheaper than purchasing a new lathe with speed controls. I cut the female end off of a spare computer power cord I had, ran it into the bottom of the controller box, tied a knot in the cord for strain relief (would hate to pull the terminals lose and have live AC current bouncing around inside that case! CNC Spindle Control Upgrade Kit, Mini Lathe and Mini Mill. The first pic just showed the control propped up using an out feed roller against the lathe stand. It currently has a 1/3hp motor with 5 step motor>intermediate>spindle pulleys to give 250-900rpm and 3000-5000rpm. 4000 seemed a bit much, so I scaled that back a bit too. Moving a lever opens and closes the width of the pulleys to change the diameter of the pulleys, and thus the speed. This can be helpful in achieving a more precise cut or in making adjustments for different materials. Drilled with a #7 prior to tapping the 1/4-20 threads with my piloted tap, Finished motor with machined pulley spacers and dust covers. All times are GMT-5. By this time, I now owned a mill instead of just a drill press, so improving the situation was going to be straightforward. After drying, I could apply a wrench to the nuts in order to tighten the studs into the lathe frame. 7x12MiniLathe@groups.io Topics Converting 7x12 Lathe to Power from Treadmill Motor Date 1 - 5 of 5 I really think getting fine rpm control at the twist of a know will make it easier to, Before I get too much further, let me say I was really inspired by all the, It will take somewhat less AC horsepower (perhaps 20%) to drive a lathe given how the torque characteristics vary with speed for an AC versus DC motor. That's much easier for me than trying to figure it out from the pictures. This kit bolts straight to the Unimat 3 lathe (fixings included) and includes custom pulleys to run on either the lathe or milling spindles. If the lathe is already expensive, it may not be worth converting it to variable speed. I have an Optimum TU2506V, (V: read VFD) which has this setup and find it excellent. You'll need to retain the treadmill control gear and power supply as that's a 180v DC motor. Motor Speed Controller. You can see what it looks like down below. Variable Speed Lathe Motors. We will cover the conversion of a larger Atlas 1236 model 3996 lathe in a later article. Things You Should Know to, Can You Really Build Your Own Lathe From Scratch? The Reeves drive just needed lubing and a new control handle. #7. My goal is to use this to replace the old vintage motor still attached to my Atlas TH54 lathe. The same bracket will be set up to eventually accomodate a DRO. The tachometer kit comes with the tach, sensor and magnets. I took the electronics, wiring, and, of course, the motors. The maximum current on the motor rating plate will give you full power. A treadmmill motor is usually rated at a speed that is way to fast for a metal lathe - I'll guess 5000RPM. There is a big black terminal black near the center of the circuit board, and a series of three smaller brown blocks along the bottom: Wiring for Start/Stop/Jog uses these three: Once the various power in/out and control connections are made, there are a number of jumpers to consider in order to configure the controller properly to our application. I swapped the flywheel pulley to the other end of the shaft and used a v-belt pulley in its place. The link belt is easy to adjust size as necessary and it also does not hold a set like regular v-belts which cause machine vibration and chatter in small lathes. If not done correctly, it is possible to damage the motor while attempting to convert the lathe to variable speeds. Answer Is there a quick and dirty way to estimate how many watts would be used by the 3hp motor running at 130V? Another option is to use a different type of motor, such as a brushless DC (BLDC) motor. We did this conversion on a very old but recently restored Craftsman 618 lathe which is the brother to the Atlas 618 made by the Atlas Press company. As such, I pay attention to what other people post in their efforts to do the same.One thing that shows up over and over again is, pulley systems run smoother than do direct drive systems, and the pulley systems can be made even more smooth by swapping standard belts for link belts.HOWEVER, the link belts cannot be ran in reverse, so are not a good solution for your reversing lathe, or my DC, reversible grinder.For my lathe, I may not opt for the reverse option because sanding or applying finishes has been the only time I MIGHT have wanted to reverse the lathe, but it hasn't been enough of an issue to worry about. It is connected to the motor through a 4 way switch (green wires in the lower left of the circuit board). The control board motor output wires run up to the box to the center terminals of the three-way switch. password. 37041918 tender for conversion of 110kv sc line to dc line from mudhol 4 pole structure to 110kv mudhol ss by using 110kv narrow based towers . Leo Van Der Loo Member Join Date:May 2007 Posts:10830 Variable Speed Conversion Kit (Universally Designed for Lathes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSMGOP01ulw, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFVuJ0hwNnw&t=194s. Would the controller's specs of 20-220V and (probably) 5KW at 130V be good enough if someone had, say, a 3hp 130V dc motor? if you can install the origanal 4 speed motor pulley on the dc motor, you can mount the motor rigidly. At this stage its really easy to test the motor, and I must say I was very gratified when it fired up. ;)I fell in love with variable speed motors long ago. Industry: Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing , Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance , Other Miscellaneous Retailers , Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services , Scientific Research and Development Services See All Industries, Measuring and controlling devices, nec, Repair services, nec, Direct selling establishments, Testing . Lathes are one of the most versatile and widely used machine tools in the industry. How cool is that? 2. I hadn't considered the problem with running link belts in reverse, but it makes sense. The only other tool you'll need is a drill and tap set. JavaScript is disabled. Depending on some details, actually free. Above that temperature they want to see some type of air conditioning for the equipment. 2. Post As a temporary measure, I machined these pieces using just a set of washers and an ordinary shaft collar to hold the timing pulley in place: Temporary rig to machine the pulley spacers with. This page was generated at 07:45 AM. They have said on the FB dig conv group that the smaller motors aren't powerful enough to do heavier work in a SS. This conversion kit is universally designed to fit most lathes on the market. At the same time, I wanted it to be easier to get the motor on and off the lathe as well. $289.00 . Still fishing for a treadmill motor that KB Electronics supports with a PWM controller. This is a pretty cheap mod when you buy the parts from surplus or eBay. I measured the drive shaft on the dc motor and there is room in terms of length, but the diameter is weird. Motor on and off the lathe ) which has this setup and Find it excellent of DC controllers available eBay! Width of the add-ons on this site are powered by spindle pulleys to change the diameter weird! Control board motor output wires run up to eventually accomodate a DRO easy inexpensive. Using an out feed roller against the lathe is already expensive, it is possible to the. 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