Setup and Continuing Saga of the Charter Oak 12Z

To change the rotation of a three phase motor you just switch any two wires and it will run the other way.

I have not heard of people running backwards but it is so easy to change rotation perhaps no one said anything.

If your used to the switch flipping one way to go one way then stay with that and flip the wires.
 
Does it hurt the motor to leave it the way it is, i.e. does the motor have a preferred rotation? Thanks.
 
Wrmiller19,

How heavy was the gear head when you removed it from the column? Is this something that can be done without a hoist or overhead crane?
 
I am getting excited to add a belt conversion to my pm45 CNC. I ordered a nice baldor 3hp motor last night and I am now I am looking for a good easy replacement for my delta 2hp vfd for a 3hp vfd.
 
Wrmiller19,

How heavy was the gear head when you removed it from the column? Is this something that can be done without a hoist or overhead crane?

I didn't remove the head to do the belt drive conversion. Paul at Charter Oak suggested I just lower the head to the table and use a step stool (wife had one handy that she uses in the kitchen) to get high enough to work. Wasn't sure that was possible as I had CO add 4" of height to the stand when they built it. Actually though, I did most of the diss-assembly while standing on the floor. It wasn't until I had to lift the top plate clear of the spindle that I climbed up on the little step ladder.

If you want to remove the head though, I suggest something similar to the method Paul described to do the one-shot oiling mod for the head carrier:

Stack two 4x4s on either side of the quill and lower the head until all load is taken off the Z-axis screw. Strap the head down to the table using two eye bolts with 1/2" threads to a couple of t-slot nuts. Unbolt the head from the column and use the Y-axis screw to walk the head away from the column. Reverse the process to re-install. This is what they do when putting the one-shot oiling system on their CNC and manual machines.

According to Paul the head of the CO mill weighs about 300 lbs. At that point I decided I didn't want to even think about removing that puppy. ;)

I will mention however that to reinstall the top plate with the belt drive and motor already installed and aligned I ended up literally standing on the mill's chip pan to do this. The assy weighed about 60 lbs or so and trying to balance it while getting it over the splines of the quill required that I get high enough to have some leverage/control. I'm not sure if your mill's stand will permit this but the CO stand is wide enough that I can get my 13EEEs on either side of the mill base and right over the legs of the stand. It was comforting to note that even with my largess up there, the mill and stand was as stable as if I was standing on the concrete floor of my garage. :))
 
thank you for the detailed response. I will just lower the head to the table and start my disassembly.

I didn't remove the head to do the belt drive conversion. Paul at Charter Oak suggested I just lower the head to the table and use a step stool (wife had one handy that she uses in the kitchen) to get high enough to work. Wasn't sure that was possible as I had CO add 4" of height to the stand when they built it. Actually though, I did most of the diss-assembly while standing on the floor. It wasn't until I had to lift the top plate clear of the spindle that I climbed up on the little step ladder.

If you want to remove the head though, I suggest something similar to the method Paul described to do the one-shot oiling mod for the head carrier:

Stack two 4x4s on either side of the quill and lower the head until all load is taken off the Z-axis screw. Strap the head down to the table using two eye bolts with 1/2" threads to a couple of t-slot nuts. Unbolt the head from the column and use the Y-axis screw to walk the head away from the column. Reverse the process to re-install. This is what they do when putting the one-shot oiling system on their CNC and manual machines.

According to Paul the head of the CO mill weighs about 300 lbs. At that point I decided I didn't want to even think about removing that puppy. ;)

I will mention however that to reinstall the top plate with the belt drive and motor already installed and aligned I ended up literally standing on the mill's chip pan to do this. The assy weighed about 60 lbs or so and trying to balance it while getting it over the splines of the quill required that I get high enough to have some leverage/control. I'm not sure if your mill's stand will permit this but the CO stand is wide enough that I can get my 13EEEs on either side of the mill base and right over the legs of the stand. It was comforting to note that even with my largess up there, the mill and stand was as stable as if I was standing on the concrete floor of my garage. :))
 
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