# How hard is putting a VFD on a 3phase 1440 GT ?



## Spotshooter (Feb 19, 2019)

Kind of last minute stuff, I should be ordering my lathe from Matt in the next month or so...    Matt sells the VFD’s but doesn’t install them at last check so I going to have to do it.

I have electrical background but haven’t done stuff like this for years, so I have to ask ... how much fun an I in for ?

Mike


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## Winegrower (Feb 20, 2019)

Pretty easy, Mike.   That’s exactly the design center for a VFD.   The main issues arise if you are not willing to use only the controls that are part of the VFD, but want to use the existing lathe buttons.   Not hard exactly, but more thinking and planning is necessary.   You will also need to read a manual to configure the VFD for your motor.  If you can, say, set up a router and WiFi, your brain is big enough.


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## dpb (Feb 20, 2019)

My electrical knowledge consists of basic household wiring, but I successfully converted my 1440gt.  I just did a basic conversion, using the stock contactors.  I don’t have a proximity stop, but all original function is there, plus infinite speed control, resistor braking, etc.
MKSJ has outlined the basic process, somewhere on this forum.  
It wasn’t terribly difficult, took me between 10-20 hours, and I was moving SLOW.  Has worked fine since, a bit over 2 years.
Do it!


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## pstemari (Feb 20, 2019)

Yep, it's pretty straightforward. Effectively the VFD replaces the contactor.

Getting the controls exactly the way you want is more complex, but basically you just hook the switches to the VFD and set up the VFD registers to recognize them. 



Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## Spotshooter (Feb 20, 2019)

Thanks guys- That’s good -  From reading threads, the new nomenclature (terminology) is going to be a bit of an issue, but hopefully not to bad.
I was somewhat concerned on reading / finding the right terminations on the lathe for the rewire, especially if the control boards inside the lathe change from time to time.  

I have seen the MKSJ posts ..  WOW..   he knows his stuff, those and will a huge asset.
   I’ll see if I can get the model number of the Hitatchi VFD Matt recommends / sell so I can do some research on the setting / connections and terminology.     I think it’s the WJ200 ?

After waiting a couple years before getting the lathe, then waiting to order it...   having to do some custom wiring before using it...  I’m just a tad anxious.


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## kb58 (Feb 20, 2019)

There are cheaper VFDs, but most PM users appear to use the Hitachi WJ200. Besides the group knowledge, it has an excellent and thorough manual. I've seen complaints on other forums about users struggling to comprehend how to set up Chinese VFDs, because the manuals were so poor, so the WJ200 is a good one to go with.


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## mksj (Feb 20, 2019)

The posted basic 1440GT VFD install is pretty straight forward, I have made a few updates so send me your email and I can send the revised files. They are guidance documents as far as suggested wiring changes and programming parameters for the 1440GT with the WJ200 VFD, but you assume all risk/liability for any mods you make to the machine.

The lathe will operate the same as if it was on an RPC, but with the added features of controlled acceleration/ deceleration, braking, speed control, etc. The design is built around the WJ200-022SF sold by QMT, cheaper VFDs do not work well for the lathe nor support the input controls of the WJ200. I primarily use the Hitachi WJ200 and Yaskawa V1000 VFDs which are mid-price, support a wide range of programming features and have very good reliability. They also come with tech support (minimal) and a warranty. You can get an inexpensive (under $20) tachometer on eBay but will need a small 12VDC power supply to run it.

The basic 1440GT install strips out the motor high voltage wiring to the forward/reverse contactors and just uses a set of their contacts T1 to switch the VFD input for the particular forward/reverse command. Contactors are not ideal for low voltage (24VDC at around 10mA) used for the VFD signalling, but seem to be OK if the contactors are new. Using used contactors/rotary switches does not work. You do need an external braking resistor and you will need to replace the brake switch to a dual pole type, one side uses the existing wiring (NC) which goes open when the brake is applied and the other side (NO) sends a free run command to the VFD. Although there are variants on the internal wiring, those to the Forward/Reverse contactors does not change. I have seen them come with both single phase and 3 phase coolant pumps, last I saw they are single phase 220V so that needs to be checked if you plan on using it.

You will need to build a VFD enclosure, I have a guidance document as far as parts needed and some basic wiring schematics as to suggested connections. The VFD cabinet can be mounted behind the lathe on a wall or some people mount it to the outer side of the headstock cabinet. You need to meet all applicable electrical code requirements, so if you are unsure have an electrician check out you final wiring.

The 1440GT is a very nice lathe, so enjoy.
Mark


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## Spotshooter (Feb 20, 2019)

Thanks Mark... I did see the thread you mention - seeing a completely uninstalled clontroller board (completely de wired) kind of scares me a bit... 
I’m hoping that’s not I have to do — (BTW- I would never attempt to tackle this without references like you are putting out there - so thank you !)
The fact that screwing with the boards / motor to any extent very probably voids the warranty...  of course puts one off.

Ok.. now for my terminology stupid questions...

RPC ?  - is that what a 3 phase lathe comes with in terms of control boards ?
Contractors - are these the reed switches / toggle and other physical switches on the machine ?

things I do get... 
Mounting the VFD,  I do get the cabinet requirement - like you have in your picture I plan to mount the VFD on a L bracket in the cabinet.
220 single phase in - 3phase out to the motor
VFD inputs (forward reverse, brake, Jog).. Not sure what other ones are there -I need to read the manual. 

Things I’m still learning about but at least conceptionally get -
Brake resistors...   I know I want them to stop it faster -  where the heck do they go?
TAC / RPM meter - I assume there are output on the VFD ?
Speed control- I assume that’s a potentiometer that is an input for the VFD


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## dpb (Feb 20, 2019)

Regarding the warranty, I talked with Matt about this, prior to making my purchase.  He wasn’t concerned about it, and would honor the warranty regardless.  I have had to get one part under warranty, and there was no issue.  I don’t speak for QMT, I’m just relating my own experience.


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## Spotshooter (Feb 20, 2019)

I agree - Matt’s a great guy, but if I smoke a board because I did something stupid, I wouldn’t expect him to send replacement parts...  it’s a tricky business area.   Most of the piece parts are not at risk, but still.


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## jbolt (Feb 20, 2019)

On page 2 of my PM-1440GT thread I show what I did for my VFD conversion. Really not that hard using mksj's schematics as a guide. 









						The Pm-1440gt Has Landed
					

Well 6-1/2 months later it has finally arrived. It was supposed to have been delivered yesterday but UPS messed about and didn't deliver until today. They gave me a 4 hour window today and showed up 45 minutes late.  PM put the factory crate on another pallet so it sits really high. I had to cut...




					www.hobby-machinist.com


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## Spotshooter (Feb 20, 2019)

So what are “RPC’s” and “contactors” though


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## Kiwi Canuck (Feb 20, 2019)

I have also done the VFD install on a mill and lathe without too much previous experience, not easy but not difficult either. (with help from Mark Jacobs)

RPC's Rotary Phase Converter, converts single phase to 3 phase, normally used for higher HP machines or multiple machine off one device.

VFD's are perfect for this application.,

Contactors are the electrical switches that come with the lathe, they are not needed as you are no longer switching high voltage, but can be repurposed in the basic conversion if they are new.

The other option which is what I did was to buy new 24VDC relays and installed all new parts, added a few $$ but I wanted some of the extra options so went that route.

Good luck


David.


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## mksj (Feb 20, 2019)

Terminology is Rotary Phase Converter commonly used to turn single phase into 3 phase by essentially generating the 3rd phase through another motor and using capacitors to to phase/balance the voltage of the generated leg. It is probably the simplest approach if you do not need the additional features of the VFD.

As far as removing the control board that is your choice as to removing it or not, some people find it easier with it out. The wires are labeled as to the connections. The posted basic VFD install for the VFDis straight forward as to the pictures and detail, but if you do not have the machine in front of you it is a bit more difficult to follow.  Anyway you go you will have some wiring to do unless you decide to go with the single phase 1440GT.

A brake resistor connects to the terminals on the VFD and has wires to the brake resistor which helps dissipate the excess voltage generated when braking. It is usually mounted against a flat metal surface near the VFD.

The tach. is not outputted from the VFD because it needs to read the spindle RPM not the motor, so you can buy an inexpensive tach. that uses a hall sensor and a magnet. It is a stand alone unit, I usually mount it under the DRO and also put the speed pot in the same enclosure.

You only use the inputs you need on the VFD, they can be programmed to do many functions. Typically on the basic install you want forward, reverse, jog and probably single stage or 2 stage braking (there are two sets of programming parameters  for acceleration times and deceleration times.

There are many different ways to wire in the VFD, some better than others. But it is not a simple matter of connecting single phase into the VFD and connecting it directly to the machine.  Machinery/the lathe can be very dangerous if you do not have the proper safety and redundancy to prevent the machine from running unintentionally.

As mentioned, single phase version the the lathe is also an option.


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## Spotshooter (Feb 20, 2019)

Wow thanks Mark. (Sorry I called you Mike)...

I’m getting a 3 phase because they are less likely to chatter / vibrate or are smooth.

Looks like I’m off to buy some brake resistors and a tach (I like that). 
The lathe I’m getting will have the Easson DRO on it so it’s going to look a lot like that pic. 

I won’t have the lathe in front of me for a while, but I’ll download the doc’s from MKSJ’s thread...  
My plan is to pull off the old board wires replacing them with the new wiring until none are left... if and when that happens I’ll pull the old control board.


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## Spotshooter (Feb 20, 2019)

jbolt said:


> On page 2 of my PM-1440GT thread I show what I did for my VFD conversion. Really not that hard using mksj's schematics as a guide.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Jay - really nice work !!

   As I’m reading Marks and your work -

- it looks like you replaced the old controls with low voltage options ?


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## jbolt (Feb 20, 2019)

Spotshooter said:


> Jay - really nice work !!
> 
> As I’m reading Marks and your work -
> 
> - it looks like you replaced the old controls with low voltage options ?


The only original electronics I kept was the 5v/24v/110v power supply and the fwd/rev switch that sits at the end of the bed. Everything else was replaced. The forward and reverse commands to the VFD are through 24v relays. I have contactors with 110v coils for the main power and coolant pump. I kept the manual brake and have the VFD programmed to freewheel when the foot brake is used otherwise under normal use without the foot brake the VFD does electronic braking. I have braking time set to a few seconds. I occasionally get VFD faults with electronic braking from speeds over 1200 rpms and a heavy chuck. I'm sure that could be tuned out.


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## uberdag (Feb 20, 2019)

Will the kbac 27d work? i used one for my grinder as it was nema 4x and didnt have to worry about dust and water.  Sorry for thread stealing


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## Clock work (Feb 21, 2019)

I'll be the one who goes against a tribal norm, so I'm just going to selectively paste from something much more in depth I wrote in another setting. Executive summary... if don't design electrical products all day every day, and if you value your ass, don't start on this. 

Pasting..

_Reluctant to post this... I like my anonymity but I will offer I am "qualified" to comment on how electrons move in a conductor.. what ground/bonding ACTUALLY is... and how to diagnose/isolate nontrivial electrical problems which I will add I spent almost 4 decades doing for others. Further, the entire back half of my career was finding crappy technical decisions made by guys who design all day every day which fail in ways even these educated practitioners either could not imagine or more commonly, because they just phoned in some important decision (a design is just a huge collection of interrelated technical decisions. So.. let me put something out there just once. 

Tribal knowledge about lots of things is great. Tribal knowledge about mechanical and in particular electrical/electronic things can be  insanely poor... and is insanely wrong in the expected case. Since the beginning of 2017, I have had 9 people [up to 13 as I paste this]... not crack addicts... not pill heads.. people successful in life most who know me and what I did for decades LECTURE me on how electricity works and why I just had to be 180-degrees wrong about something which, in all 9 cases, they asked for my opinion. None had ANY actual training in anything electrical. None were practitioners of anything that involved electricity, or had any saddle time as actual designers. Their 0 hours to my multiple 10's of thousands of hours. All were armed with "tribal knowledge" (e.g. forums and email lists). Nice guys... and also idiots... as most humans become post-financial success (look up the OK Plateau). All could be characterized "Google smart" (i.e. unskilled and unaware). Do NOT bet your ass on something you read online. Do NOT make it more wrong and more deeply held by parroting it for tribal participation points. Make your default assumption for how someone tells you (insistently.. authoritatively) how to deal with something electrical to be "idiot". There is zero up-side to any other strategy. No LIKE buttons down at the morgue.

...

I'm starting to shotgun here... let me try to stick to the point.. tribal electrical "knowledge". It is massively likely you don't have the ACTUAL big picture in mind when you contemplate electrical or decide something you read from someone you don't know "sounds good". You aren't qualified to say so is a stochastically true statement. So please do yourself and your friends and the guy on the next boat (next owner of your machine tool) a huge favor and leave it alone. There are more things in heaven and earth... AND... the human mind has some really serious mechanisms hard wired right in to the standard-issue human mind to drag you off the path to the right answer. Not trying to pick on people... just our species. The human mind is not a mysterious thing.. stupidly predictable. It's your ass... for the same reason you aren't going to jump in and take a swing at spinal chord surgery on your spouse, don't think the world of correct and (and MORE CRITICALLY) failing electrical system behavior is accessible to you if you don't do it all day/every day. The failures are stochastic.. you aren't guaranteed to kill someone. Just more likely. You create the vulnerability and that is compounded by the fact you have no idea what the set of vulnerabilities even are. 

Gaussians are scary real. Rigor lives WAY over in the thin tails on the right side. The value of rigor is that it defends YOUR ASS from things you very likely aren't aware of or have the neural connections to even imagine. If you don't design (things that affect other people) everyday... don't design such things on ANY day. And "affect" = not just during routine operation but in the presence of less common environmental and component and operational issues. _

End paste... 

Pick anything... all Porche forum members "can drive". All Harley forum members are God's gift to riding. Every soccer mom is a brilliant solutions designer particularly in those areas where their solution design strategy is uncontaminated by training/experience (Mothers Against 3-Digiti IQ's)...  Just invoke the ridiculous concept of "common sense" (sense without actual skilled thought) and count on tribal politeness to coast unhindered from there. Doing something because everyone else in the virtual club house does it is ENTICING. That's in large measure how all this tribal stuff works. It's awesome in that it gets you moving forward on things you might not otherwise do....  But that doesn't always work... not all domains should be screwed with by rookies and again... design is a skill set to begin with..  You aren't GUARANTEED to kill yourself or your family or a visitor to your shop of those around the next owner. You want to take a swing and improving your surface finish with a new tool grind? Swing away. You want to DESIGN and build something that affects others who didn't sign up for the risk you are creating? Please do not. 

The hard part isn't feature implementation but that's THE thing on which every rookie seems to enter. No thoughts around the second and third order design considerations that drive operator and machine safety. With a much deeper than average electrical/electronic design background, I spent 3 months doing mine, though I have learned not to expect most would be willing to build something they would have been willing to sign off on to release to market (other than one single component I regret including). Take away all the "design elegance" stuff and the safety stuff at both the system architecture and implementation levels still was good for 2 months. I've seen a lot of designs on line and all I ever seem to notice is feature-centric decision-making. 

I don't like pouring cold water on enthusiasm. Generally. And doing it for free.. vastly less so. I prefer infinitely to learn interesting new things rather than to teach/advise. But bad technical deciding in the face of small high-consequence opaque risk (my field) abound.. are the norm...  and unfortunately I've already harmed one good guy in my world by being politely quiet at the wrong time. Buy off the rack those things you can't afford to screw up. 

Capt. Wet Blanket


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## Winegrower (Feb 21, 2019)

Clock work, you may have a good point, perhaps you would identify the specific safety issue(s) you are concerned about?


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## Spotshooter (Feb 21, 2019)

the “you could die point” or the. -  Kids today only know what they find on “google search”.

LOL.. gotta love an old salt getting tired of book smarts with no experience...     

no need to wax poetic for me Clock, I know “lectricty” ...    used to install piece parts in the military before I got out and finished my BSEE...   I may be one of the only Engineers with humility though...   you can’t replace experience with reading / academics.. Not to mention Google & Alexa ! LOL


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## jbolt (Feb 21, 2019)

Winegrower said:


> Clock work, you may have a good point, perhaps you would identify the specific safety issue(s) you are concerned about?


I'm with Winegrower. 

I'm not an EE or ME or any other E. I am a construction professional with 35+ years of experience who started at the ground level and now do consulting work. I understand safety more than most and have seen my share of tragic accidents that could have been avoided. That doesn't mean I h never have or ever will again take a risk. Life is a risk with no guarantees.  Because something is potentially dangerous doesn't mean I should never try but It doesn't mean I should go about it blindly either.  I would rather share my experience and knowledge to help someone understand the risks and the potential pitfalls so they can make an informed decision for themselves than simply shut them down from learning and experiencing something out of their current knowledge base. 

Obviously there is a terrible story behind this but honestly my eyes glazed over by the third paragraph. I don't care to read between the lines so please, be specific. We are all here to learn and share.


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## Clock work (Feb 22, 2019)

I can't add much to what I wrote without detracting from the desired effect of keeping yippie tribal newbies (generically expressed.. not specifically expressed) from killing their asses by overdosing on enthusiasm on the wrong things without the requisite saddle time / domain knowledge. Excuse the pretentious terms.. like I said, I do (did) this stuff for a living.


CW

Note to myself on both my training bikes:


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## jbolt (Feb 22, 2019)

wow.... LOL


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## Winegrower (Feb 22, 2019)

So I guess no specifics come to mind, huh?


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## Cadillac (Feb 22, 2019)

I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on???
I just bought a vfd To hook up a machine I saw this guy using on YouTube to make these cool motorcycle parts. Motorcycles are cool I like them ever since watching chips as a kid.


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## Boxster9 (Feb 22, 2019)

Not being an electrical engineer, electrician or a machinist, I purchased a three phase  1440 GT last year from Matt and thought I was way over my head, Mark Jacobs (MKSJ) walked me through the process and provided excellent notes and step by step procedure for making the switch.  Against his better judgment, Mark agreed to design a replacement Control Board, Switches, Proximity Stop, Bi-directional jog and Tach.  I learned to program the Hitachi VFD and learned the difference between NC and NO on switches among other things. It was an enjoyable learning experience for a novice and the results is a great lathe and fun to use.  

My advice is go slow, think through what you are doing and don' t be shy in asking questions from Mark or other knowledgeable sources on this site if not sure of what you are doing.


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## Spotshooter (Feb 22, 2019)

I love reading manuals.... 
Still digg’n


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## INTJ (Feb 22, 2019)

Maybe I am all wet, but best I can tell is clockwork is saying you shouldn’t attempt anything unless you are a highly experienced expert.  This appears to be a possible jab toward Mark Jacobs who, as an enthusiast, has developed a very nice control board for these lathes and will patiently walk you through step-by-step until you achieve success.  He will also help someone build their own.

I think there is a conflict between a couple different viewpoints here.  One view assumes that it takes years of experience to gain proficiency at a task.  People holding to this viewpoint invariably prioritize experience above all else.

The other view is that a person with a systematic deliberate approach will gain more and greater proficiency than the person who has learned solely by experience.  I lean more toward this view because I have seen in play out repeatedly over my nearly six decades.  I saw it when I was a USAF pilot, I see it as a competition shooter, and I see it as a trumpet player.

Now it is sometimes disheartening when we find someone with less experience has exceeded us, but a deeper analysis shows the two viewpoints I presented as conflicting aren’t really in conflict.  The key to success is engaging in a lot of “deliberate practice”.  Chances are the amount of deliberate practice between the highly proficient new guy a highly experienced old guy is similar.  The reason the 29 year old kid half my age—from whom I take lessons—is a better trumpet player than I am is because he has more deliberate practice on the horn.  Even though we have about the same number of calendar years on the horn, he has much more deliberate practice time under his belt.

When it comes to non electricians and wiring in a lathe VFD, there is a clear parallel.  Mark’s previous occupation required a very disciplined and deliberate approach.  He took that same approach to lathe VFDs and has developed a high level of skill and expertise as an enthusiast.  Then of course, there is that final criterion that an INTJ prioritizes above all the theory and everything else.  What Mark does WORKS..........


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## bitpool (Feb 22, 2019)

TLDFR
Take a look on YouTube at VFD videos by Clough42. He does a great job of clearing up many of the technical details.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk


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## Spotshooter (Feb 23, 2019)

I just checked those out - Clough42 is extremely good at that...   Thanks !

   The way he explains the latching power button is really done well, and it’s also in the Hitachi VFD manual...


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## Clock work (Feb 24, 2019)

Winegrower said:


> So I guess no specifics come to mind, huh?



My apologies..









						Death - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org
				




cw


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## jbolt (Feb 24, 2019)

Clock work said:


> My apologies..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not helpful. Really.

Spotshooter, please fell free to ask any questions about your conversion. I believe I still have some wiring diagrams I did to help me keep things straight. Not necessarily how you will put things together but might give you some ideas. Full suite of bubble wrap and crash helmet not required.


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 24, 2019)

knowledge can be a burden.
if you carry too much knowledge, you soon think that nobody else has any.

we inherently learn things by screwing it all up.
[if you are afraid to make mistakes, sit on your hands and let life pass you by]- that is *BS*

if you are doing things right, you are constantly evolving and learning, regardless of what you think you know.
making mistakes is a part of human existence.

i have seen countless examples through my whole life of seemingly highly educated professionals screwing up and costing peoples lives, money and property.
if you ask the professional that screwed up, he tries to baffle you with a BS explanation and blame everyone but himself for the disaster.

if you are so inclined to travel a path, 
let no dragon in your mind or any man stand in your way.
you have the power to achieve any end you set.

the difference between fail and succeed is commitment.


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## Clock work (Feb 24, 2019)

INTJ said:


> Maybe I am all wet, but best I can tell is clockwork is saying you shouldn’t attempt anything unless you are a highly experienced expert.  This appears to be a possible jab toward Mark Jacobs who, as an enthusiast, has developed a very nice control board for these lathes and will patiently walk you through step-by-step until you achieve success.  He will also help someone build their own.
> 
> I think there is a conflict between a couple different viewpoints here.  One view assumes that it takes years of experience to gain proficiency at a task.  People holding to this viewpoint invariably prioritize experience above all else.
> 
> ...



First... .ZERO... Read that with the utmost of clarity... ZERO jabs at anyone and my (this time, sincere) apologies if anything was taken at jabbing at Mark. I know nothing about his work.

Again... zero intent to insult any individual at all. To insult the tribal approach and the wired-in cognitive faults of most... all day. How can I make it more intentional? But above all.. I dig people being safe from the things they don't/can't understand.


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## Clock work (Feb 24, 2019)

jbolt said:


> Not helpful. Really.



I really provided all the specifics anyone at the tribal level needs. I'm not going to replace decades of diverse hands on experience and training and turn some guy with none of it into someone who should be forging ahead screwing with things he doesn't understand. I might help kill him by encouraging him to just do it cuz here are the 14 things you need to worry about. You have NO use for specifics. And I'm not going to provide a finite list of things not to do with an associated implication you're all set if you don't do those 14 things under the umbrella of the carefully crafted terms/conditions or business insurance that make me willing to take the risk of providing my thoughts and risking my wealth for unknown-quantity people, let alone known-quantity people. With respect... You... some guy on the internet... ONLY need to know you can die and for a 1000 reasons you won't even know existed as you or a loved one starts to smoke. If you think the internet is where you get the answer, you're not doing yourself any favors. Believe me... don't believe me. I did my job.


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## pstemari (Feb 24, 2019)

All knowledge is effectively tribal. Best practices come from experience and accidents. Sometimes they get codified, sometimes not.

Regardless, simply asserting that anyone who touches something electrical is going to die unless they have a contractor's license or a BSEE is not useful.

These conversions do take some amount of time, and you need familiarize yourself with the relevant standards. A big part of that is learning enough to recognize when you haven't learned enough. If you see something wrong, by all means point it out.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## Spotshooter (Feb 24, 2019)

When i get the lathe, and the VFD in hand I could very well have questions -
 I appreciate the offers and schematics (sharing actionable knowledge) from Mark, Jay and some other gent’s .. I may take you guys up on it.

   I’ver Still got some reading to finish up before I get to questions.


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 24, 2019)

Tesla was not born with a BSEE, nor was he born an electrician
if he had not experimented with electricity, our collective understanding of the subject would have taken another path, not for the better.
i seriously doubt his lack of understanding prevented him from learning from mistakes he undoubtedly made, in fact they made him wiser.


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## Spotshooter (Feb 25, 2019)

WOO-HOO...    I just ordered my PM-1440GT, and a PM-30MV Bench mill...    

My next thread will be something like -  Lathe & Mill landed.


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## wrmiller (Feb 25, 2019)

Ulma Doctor said:


> Tesla was not born with a BSEE, nor was he born an electrician
> if he had not experimented with electricity, our collective understanding of the subject would have taken another path, not for the better.
> i seriously doubt his lack of understanding prevented him from learning from mistakes he undoubtedly made, in fact they made him wiser.



This...

OK, I haven't visited in a couple of days, but who pee'd in who's Cheerios?


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## Spotshooter (Feb 25, 2019)

A bit tongue in cheek - but the short answer....

Clockwork got caught in a Electrocution and Die Warning label mode about newb’s not doing thier research or hiring a proffesional...
Kind of like reading all the 1,000+ warning labels in the VFD manual...  that is if it were on a skipping record.

The guys who did VFD’s and aren’t buying that they are dead, so they somewhat objected to the “you will surely die” principle.

:O


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## kb58 (Feb 25, 2019)

I typed up a snappy comeback to the manifesto, but hesitated to send it, a sure sign that doing so would be a bad idea. Somehow, most of us seem to get by just fine by simply being careful.


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## wrmiller (Feb 25, 2019)

kb58 said:


> I typed up a snappy comeback to the manifesto, but hesitated to send it, a sure sign that doing so would be a bad idea. Somehow, most of us seem to get by just fine by simply being careful.



Yea, I have to be careful with my responses to some things. A while back a gentleman told me that he knew more than I because he'd been doing something for (insert large number here) years. When I replied with a comment that while he'd been doing something for X number of years, that didn't mean he'd been doing it correctly all that time. The sparks started flying shortly after that. 

Some people learn things easily, some don't. And some never learn much of anything beyond the basics. It's all good.


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## f350ca (Feb 25, 2019)

Is that like working at a job for 20 years and having 6 months experience 40 times over.

Greg


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## Clock work (Feb 26, 2019)

I've had no ability during my time here to ascertain the quality of the environment from which input on machinist matters flow here, given I'm stupid low hours and training. I'm deep left on that particularly Gaussian. But fortunately for me not on all of them, and this was enlightening. I regret choosing to participate in this question given the dominant level of decision quality this subject has attracted, and to serve as a foil to from-the-hip platitudes that might sound compelling to subsequent zero-hours/training new guys clicking around and wondering. No desire to further contribute as that foil and in turn establish more vulnerable things/beliefs. 

I might quite gently suggest understanding all the words and any uncommon-to-you concepts they were assembled to convey before mapping it in to one's limited experience and training and deciding real-time you're "good enough". But DEAR GOD... the lack of immediately produced death is simply not how people who think for a living judge decision result quality. I swear and support this by invoking the obvious analog that emerging research seems to indicate that wearing lemon juice on your face could be less effective than some hold. 

Above all, I'm very sure this place in stocked with mostly nice guys. The enlightening encounter is simultaneously depressing because of that. It's clearly time to move my own quest to learn more rigorously elsewhere. Too old to learn anything new as well as I'd wish to anyway. My apologies for distracting "what is done here" here and for failing to lift the decision quality even slightly on an important matter, which ironically is likely the only thing I could ever speak to as an actual very-high-hours practitioner and scholar. Do have fun.

CW, out


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## mkbuildit (Wednesday at 5:50 PM)

Did you finish the VFD install on your lathe? I am trying to read through as many threads as I can in designing a conversion for my used 1440 3phase lathe. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## B2 (Today at 1:26 AM)

@mkbuildit 


mkbuildit said:


> I am trying to read through as many threads as I can in designing a conversion for my used 1440 3phase lathe



Did you come across the 1440GT conversion?  See the attachment "PM1440GT Part 2 VFDDescription..." plus the photos etc.



B2 said:


> VFD conversion using solid state electronic components.



If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please let me know at that thread.  Thanks.

Dave L.


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## Winegrower (Today at 1:03 PM)

mkbuildit said:


> Did you finish the VFD install on your lathe?


Or maybe died trying?   

This is not in as bad taste as it might seem if you’ve followed the whole thread.


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