Will this motor work for a VFD on a column mill?

[Tomzo]

Greetings,

Changing belts all the time is driving me nuts on my HF 33686 column mill, so I want to move towards a VFD. The motor on there is single phase so I have been on the lookout for a 2HP 3 phase motor. I found this one on Craigslist for a good price and from what I know of these things I think it will work, but I was hoping some of you that are smarter than I am could weigh in on this.

Thanks

Tom

 

[den-den]

The only issue I would expect is frame size. Many Chinese tools do not have NEMA frame motors so the bolt pattern, shaft height and shaft diameter may not match. That may not be a deal killer but it is something to watch for.

 

[ttabbal]

It'll work with a VFD fine. Mechanical adapters might be needed, but you can make them with the existing motor.

 

[Tomzo]

Thanks - for $80 I figure it is a low risk situation - and an opportunity for a fun project!

 

[epanzella]

That should work although the 1425 rpm rating will hamper your high speed somewhat. Good price. I have the same mill and used a 1725rpm 2 hp Baldor on mine and love it. I kept the stepped pullies on mine and with a VFD range of 30 -120hz I can get 60 to 5000 rpm spindle speeds. I still change belts to get the motor in it's happy range but it's much less frequent than before the VFD. I extended the the motor mount bracket to make it longer and have more travel. This made belt changes much easier.

 

[Tomzo]

Thanks for the pictures - super helpful. As part of this project I am going to ditch the belt cover system as well. That clearly added flexibility in your motor mounting.

 

[epanzella]

That cover has been gone so long from my machine I had forgotten it was ever there. Changing belts was like building a ship in a bottle.

 

[Tomzo]

Looks like we had the same idea on the installation of the quill DRO....

 

[epanzella]

Looks like we had the same idea on the installation of the quill DRO....View attachment 397271

HA! At first glance I thought it was MY mill. There's also the round column problem and a really slow head lift. I f you haven't solved these yet on your mill I can share what I did on mine.

 

[Tomzo]

Those are on the list for future upgrades for sure! I did see you post some images on a thread that I started when I first got the machine. Is there a thread with additional details?


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