Reliability, replacement and alternatives replacement

[starr256]

I am thinking of acquiring a PM1030V lathe and a PM27V mill. My one point of hesitancy is with the electronics. Where as I can get or build most of the "iron" parts of the lathe and mill, the electronics are an unknown with respect to long term availability. I have found that Asian consumer electronics are fine out of the box, but tend to flake out after a number of years. Not only do they go south, but replacement parts are either not available or crazy expensive. So, my question is, how easy is it to switch to an alternative motor control system on these two machines, what ever that may be? What kind of experience have others had with this issue? Especially interested in folks with machines >5 years. I am a firm believer in well build things that do their primary job well and reliably and have few bells and whistles. (Yeah, these two machines may violate that idea, but contradictions are part of human nature.)

 

[brino]

Interesting question.
Sorry I have no experience with those machines.
108 views, but no responses. Hopefully someone that does know will be here soon.
-brino

 

[pstemari]

Can't speak to those machines in particular, but the electricals in my erl-1340 from PM were pretty much top notch: Schneider Electric contactors & switches, all wires neatly labeled, etc.

I wound up mostly gutting it for the VFD conversion, but I kept everything I could use. The only issue was the pilot light, which was an incandescent, not an LED, and drew too much current to use with the 24VDC provided by the VFD. Had I used a seperate 24VDC power supply that would not have been an issue.

The control voltage in the original was 24VAC, which is why I didn't just use the existing transformer.

 

[Stonebriar]

I have two PM machines. If I were you I would call
Matt Nadeja
Quality Machine Tools, LLC
701 Parkway View Dr.
BLDG #7
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
Ph# 412-787-2876

He will give you the right info you need. I trust him.

 

[T Bredehoft]

A lot of us trust Matt. If he says it, its so.

 

[mksj]

Both of these models use a DC motor with controller board, the PM-727V is a relatively newer model, but both the designs have been around for a while. Based on previous postings on these machines, they have been quite reliable. There was a posting on the 1030V of the tach going out (this might have been due to a power surge) and this was replaced by Matt. Another on the posting on the fuse popping for the 1030V, which was replaced. The DC control boards are fairly simple, I see no issues with getting replacements from QMT in the future at reasonable prices. If it is of great concern, you could always buy a spare control board for each machine. These designs seem to be unchanged for many years, and I can't see the boards not being available in 5-10 years. QMT has always been very reasonable in addressing any of their machines issues and cost of replacement parts.
Fuse holder failed: https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/new-pm-1030v-lathe.49156/page-4

The cost of a replacement drive system (other than factory) would be a tough call, but in general you could get a something like a KB DC controller board for the 1-1.5Hp DC motors and these would be in the $80-130 range, like the KBIC-240D/KBMM-225D/KBMG-212D which could easily be adapted. The tach component could be replaced for around $20 if needed.
https://www.kbelectronics.com/Variable_Speed_DC_Drives.html

I use an industrial surge suppressor at my service entrance and also the distribution panel to my machines. Some form of surge suppression can help protect sensitive electronic components from power distribution/lightening spikes.

 

[phazertwo]

Like others, I don't have that machine, however EVERYTHING in my PM-940-CNC mill is standard off the self electronics. I could probably find a replacement for anything off Amazon in a few minutes. Only thing that might be a question is the DC drive, you probably can't find an exact match but you could find one that will work. With all that said... Call Matt. I have worked with him on spare parts before and the response was nearly instant, with pricing. The price was good to boot, but the shipping was a little rough all the way from the Land of China.
PZ