I bought a nice old Heavy 10 with a 1 hp 3 phase Baldor motor. It looks to be an old motor, but ran well when I tested it. I will need to get a VFD and I wanted to run it by the more experienced guys here to make sure I get the right VFD. I know Hitachi makes one that works well for most and I believe Teco makes one that some have used. This is my first lathe and I have two things I am not sure about.
1) Since the Heavy 10 is a belt drive, is it worth getting a capacitor for VFD braking. I am guessing not, but to be honest am not sure. When I was looking at a gear head lathe it made sense. I am not so sure now. My thought is that a belt will slip if there is way too much torque put on the spindle for some reason and likewise if the motor would try to stop the spindle and it has a large mass moving, wouldn't it just slip as well. That's my feeble thinking, but not sure of the reality.
2) I thought I saw a Teco model with a potentiometer built in and that seemed to make some sense. I have the 12 speeds, but thought it could be nice to be able to dial in a speed if needed since I need to get a VFD anyway. Assuming cost is comparible, it seems like it would be nice to not have one more thing to have to interface/install. I would probably install something like a Machtach if I did that. To be honest, I am not sure I even need to worry about varying the speed, but if it doesn't cost much more, I also think why not.
Any help is appreciated. The lathe should be headed this way in a few days so I want to get my VFD ordered.
Thanks!
1) Since the Heavy 10 is a belt drive, is it worth getting a capacitor for VFD braking. I am guessing not, but to be honest am not sure. When I was looking at a gear head lathe it made sense. I am not so sure now. My thought is that a belt will slip if there is way too much torque put on the spindle for some reason and likewise if the motor would try to stop the spindle and it has a large mass moving, wouldn't it just slip as well. That's my feeble thinking, but not sure of the reality.
2) I thought I saw a Teco model with a potentiometer built in and that seemed to make some sense. I have the 12 speeds, but thought it could be nice to be able to dial in a speed if needed since I need to get a VFD anyway. Assuming cost is comparible, it seems like it would be nice to not have one more thing to have to interface/install. I would probably install something like a Machtach if I did that. To be honest, I am not sure I even need to worry about varying the speed, but if it doesn't cost much more, I also think why not.
Any help is appreciated. The lathe should be headed this way in a few days so I want to get my VFD ordered.
Thanks!