VFD as a basic phase converter

Tolerent said:
So, the wiring pinouts are going to be identical or easy to translate and the setup and footprint are the primary differences? I would not want to troubleshoot a cheap drive that blew up, but even at $300 for a Hitachi I think I would most likely simply replace a drive after the smoke escaped.
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The HYs are all similar enough that I've had no problem wiring/programming them. The 10HP I bought was a little more difficult since it had more options, but it was easy enough.

When the HY is ~$100 vs the Hitachi being ~$300, I just needed good enough.

That said, I'm a home shop hobbiest. If it blows up, I go do something else and wait for a replacement. The $200 difference being spent on tools or materials is more beneficial to my hobby than a more reliable or easier to program VFD. When it comes to my big VFD, I saved more than $500 vs a comparable Hitachi, which seemed particularly worth it to me.
 
If all you want is simple single to three phase, why not use a rotary phase converter? I bought a panel from phase-craft (no longer in business) for around $200 and used a 5 hp 3 phase motor I had laying around. Cheap, easy, and durable as heck. Several companies sell panels. I wish phase-craft still sold panels. They were very well constructed and worked great. Lots of guys use and like VFD and I can see lots of advantages. I am not an electrical type person and not familiar with VFD programming so I went with the old tried and true that I know.

D
 
Twirpunky said:
If all you want is simple single to three phase, why not use a rotary phase converter? I bought a panel from phase-craft (no longer in business) for around $200 and used a 5 hp 3 phase motor I had laying around. Cheap, easy, and durable as heck. Several companies sell panels. I wish phase-craft still sold panels. They were very well constructed and worked great. Lots of guys use and like VFD and I can see lots of advantages. I am not an electrical type person and not familiar with VFD programming so I went with the old tried and true that I know.

D
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A VFD is likely significantly more power efficient than a RPC, and likely cheaper to boot.

The additional features of a VFD are nice as well. I can change my mills rpm with a small knob rather than a belt change, and my lathe without swapping pulleys.

The "programming" comes down to just punching in a couple of numbers to tell it about your motor and what you want the switches to do. For basic operations it is really quite easy.
 
Actually, I was responding to the Original Post. "VFD as a basic phase converter". Yes, I can see lots of advantages for some people using a VFD but for others, like me, the RPC was the way to go. I can run multiple 3 phase machines all off one unit and didn't have to deal with control circuits and other motor needs like coolant motors. Just plug em in and run em. All for less than $200.
 
We are lucky to have several experienced VFD people on the site who work with VFDs in their day job, not just hobbyists who have installed a few in their own shop.


If you have decided to go with a name brand, I had good luck with Wolf Automation when I bought mine. Their tech support has been responsive and was helpful in helping me decide on which VFD to get for my mill. If you are paying for name brand it makes sense to me to get it from a place that can help you instead of some Ebay seller.

Marshall Wolf Automation
 
So, like I said before if it has the right input and output it will do what's needed. I originally bought one of the cheap ones from eBay for my lathe but wasn't happy with it (really didn't know squat at that point, just it wasn't what was advertised and smelled vaguely like burnt electronics). My lathe doesn't have any electronic controls so it was really just to power the 3 phase Baldor motor I bought.

I then purchased a TECO VFD from a reputable supplier for my application and was able to work out a partial refund from the eBay seller. Later I got into my mill/drill project and had the cheap unit sitting on the shelf so I decided to use it. I still haven't gotten it talking with my controller but that may just be my lack of expertise rather than the VFD. It does drive my spindle though and it's nice to have around the shop as a spare if needed, you never know when a nice 3 phase tool will show up and need power;)

If I was buying a brand new lathe and retrofitting it with the stock control panel I would spend the extra money to buy the recommended unit from a known source with support. You might not need it but it's great when it's there if you do, I'll probably end up doing that for my CNC mill/drill once I get the new control box built.

I'm assuming the PM purchase was decided for similar reasons and ultimately $200 one way or another is chump change in this hobby (I just spent almost that on a new compound casting for my tiny Craftsman lathe). In fact, during these challenging times it will actually make you feel good to buy from an American supplier that's keeping it's workforce employed rather than an eBay seller that just drop ships.

Aaron is right about this forum, we have people here who know this stuff, and CNC, and tooling, and everything else. Passionate hobbyists who just happen to do it for a day job too, thank you for being here :encourage:


Cheers,

John
 
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