Shane.
Re the VFD. It all depends on what you get. You can get a reasonable priced (Huanyang) VFD from Aliexpress for less than $300 aud. You can also pay big money and get a real good quality brand. You also have to replace the motor with a 3 phase one. One that can be easily configured to star or delta is preferable. You can buy a new one for around $220 aud plus freight. The other option of course, is to keep an eye out for a good used motor. If its fairly recent there is a good chance it can be reconfigured to delta in the connection box. Older motors need to be opened up and the internal connection points brought out. I have not done this myself yet. From what I was able to pick up from reading on the net when I was converting my mill and then my lathe, the general consensus seems to be that older motors do not handle a vfd real well for a number of reasons. (most of which I can no longer remember). There are also places that sell motors and a suitable VFD as a package. eg https://cononmotor.com.au/
With my lathe I picked up the motor and the VFD for $125aud. The motor was from a four post car hoist. The owner had bought it new but didn't have 3 phase power. Bought the VFD but then decided it was easier to change out the motor for a single phase one. So the motor and vfd were basically new. (although the motor bearings where almost shot from new). The main problem I had was, this motor was a flange mount and I needed a foot mount. So I fabricated an adaptor for it. It worked out really well. Basically a weekends work. If you put an hourly rate on it though it would have been far cheaper just to buy a new motor that fitted out of the box. Having said that, whats the point of having all this gear if you don't use it?
I'll try to remember to get those measurements for you on the weekend.
Peter
Re the VFD. It all depends on what you get. You can get a reasonable priced (Huanyang) VFD from Aliexpress for less than $300 aud. You can also pay big money and get a real good quality brand. You also have to replace the motor with a 3 phase one. One that can be easily configured to star or delta is preferable. You can buy a new one for around $220 aud plus freight. The other option of course, is to keep an eye out for a good used motor. If its fairly recent there is a good chance it can be reconfigured to delta in the connection box. Older motors need to be opened up and the internal connection points brought out. I have not done this myself yet. From what I was able to pick up from reading on the net when I was converting my mill and then my lathe, the general consensus seems to be that older motors do not handle a vfd real well for a number of reasons. (most of which I can no longer remember). There are also places that sell motors and a suitable VFD as a package. eg https://cononmotor.com.au/
With my lathe I picked up the motor and the VFD for $125aud. The motor was from a four post car hoist. The owner had bought it new but didn't have 3 phase power. Bought the VFD but then decided it was easier to change out the motor for a single phase one. So the motor and vfd were basically new. (although the motor bearings where almost shot from new). The main problem I had was, this motor was a flange mount and I needed a foot mount. So I fabricated an adaptor for it. It worked out really well. Basically a weekends work. If you put an hourly rate on it though it would have been far cheaper just to buy a new motor that fitted out of the box. Having said that, whats the point of having all this gear if you don't use it?
I'll try to remember to get those measurements for you on the weekend.
Peter
