# Erl-1340



## pstemari

Plunked down my deposit and placed the order for the PM High Precision Lathe with taper attachment a couple weeks ago. Sold my Craftsman/Atlas 12" to make room for it.







The electrician is coming out next month to install the electric. In the meantime I'm moving stuff around to make room and preparing that corner of the garage.

Really looking forward to having a nice, new solid lathe that doesn't chatter at the drop of a hair.

I am suffering from chip withdrawal, though.  Need to make some stuff on the Taig to tide me over.  Going to finish my grinder rest and try making a 1/2" turner's cube.


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## wrmiller

Wow...now that's a lathe! Just a 'bit' larger than my little PM1340GT (lathe envy?).

My 1340 doesn't chatter at the drop of a hair, but I suspect yours might not even notice someone dropping a Volkswagen bug nearby... 

Of course we need pics when you get it, and welcome to the PM club!

EDIT: I sure wish Matt would get his new website done so we can feast on all this eye candy! And it might just help with my next mill purchase. Matt, you listening?


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## pstemari

Dimension-wise it's about the same size as the 1340GT. The bed is wider and its about twice as heavy, though.

I was mulling over the two for about two weeks before making up my mind. The closed gear box and the weight are what pushed me to this. Going from a Taig and an Atlas to this is going to be quite the change.

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## tmarks11

nice move!



wrmiller19 said:


> I sure wish Matt would get his new website done so we can feast on all this eye candy! And it might just help with my next mill purchase. Matt, you listening?


+++1

I knew Matt carried the RML, but I didn't realize he carried the ERL.

http://www.sunmaster-cnc.com/lathe_erl.htm


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## wrmiller

Wow, pretty impressive specs on that puppy!


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## jeff_g1137

Hi
very very nice


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## mksj

Beautiful machine, I had been looking at the ERl and RML for some time. Had I known Matt carried these, I might have sprung for one over my PM1340GT, but it does everything I need it to do. One sweet bad ass machine.


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## brino

Congratulations!
All I can say is.....




-brino


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## maker of things

Nice!  I really like the two tone gray.


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## pstemari

I prefer plaid for my machine tools, maybe with a purple argyle base, but I suppose two-tone gray is OK


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## wrmiller

There's something about you guys up in that corner of the country...


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## zmotorsports

Nice lathe.  I considered that one for a bit as well as one of Matt's 1440 Taiwanese lathes (same factory as 1340GT) but couldn't push my budget any further with the 935TV.  The PM1340GT has done everything I have thrown at it thus far and no regrets but that ERL is a sweeeeeet lathe.  Congrats.

I am happy for ya and look forward to seeing pics when you take delivery.

Mike.


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## Navy Chief

Sweet lathe, I am going to have to look into those when I am ready to move up the food chain from my mini lathe.


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## Dan_S

wrmiller said:


> I sure wish Matt would get his new website done so we can feast on all this eye candy! And it might just help with my next mill purchase. Matt, you listening?



He can pay me to do it, all he really needs is a WordPress set-up with some basic categories, I'll even give him the friend rate of $35/Hr.


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## Pb57

What is the difference between a RML and ERL lathe?


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## mksj

Pb57 said:


> What is the difference between a RML and ERL lathe?


About a 1000lbs. The ERL/TRL is "lighter" duty usually is available in a 1330 or 1340 size, the RML is for heavier work with a heavier cast base, wider bed, etc. and usually is in a 1440 and 1640 size.
http://www.sunmaster-cnc.com/lathe_erl.htm
http://www.sunmaster-cnc.com/lathe_rml.htm
http://www.kentusa.com/lathes-2/manual-precision-series/rml-1440vt-precision-engine-lathe/


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## Pb57

Thanks mksj. I ordered a RML1660V from Matt in late June and it has arrived at Matts location. I cant wait to get it now. I just didn't know the differences other than they were all  top notch in quality. Paul


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## mksj

Hi Paul,

Monster of a machine, they are very impressive and top notch. Had I known that Matt carried these machines, I would have considered the buying the ERL/TRL version, but I am happy with my PM1340GT. The RML is way over the top. Please post pictures when it arrives.


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## coolidge

Pb57 said:


> Thanks mksj. I ordered a RML1660V from Matt in late June and it has arrived at Matts location. I cant wait to get it now. I just didn't know the differences other than they were all  top notch in quality. Paul



DROOL...(sigh) (Coolidge wanders off half discombobulated)


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## maker of things

Agree with coolidge


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## zmotorsports

Yes, the ERL and RML are nice machines.  I also looked at the 1440ET and the 1440TS when talking with Matt prior to purchasing my 1340GT.  Both of them are from the same factory as the 1340GT with the same fit/finish and attention to detail.  I just couldn't justify the extra cost for the minor gains over the 1340GT. 

I used my lathe last night for the first time in about three weeks (been busy doing automotive repairs lately and no machining jobs have come in the shop), and I must say I have to grin to myself every time I use it.  It just makes me smile to run that machine.

Mike.


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## pstemari

Starting to get itchy. Just had the electrician in yesterday to install power. Need to get a vfd.

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## zmotorsports

pstemari said:


> Starting to get itchy. Just had the electrician in yesterday to install power. Need to get a vfd.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk



Have you looked around or priced them.  When I was setting mine up Matt had as good of pricing as anyone and he sent me one earlier than the lathe so I could get it installed prior to the lathe showing up.

Mike.


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## pstemari

Matt didn't mentioned that he sold them when I asked about them.

Looking at either Hitachi or Polyspede.

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## mksj

Matt sells the Hitachi WJ200, his price is as good as most other vendors. I guess the question is what machine you want to use the VFD on? The machine you ordered should have 16 speeds, so pretty much would not need a VFD. They also sell the lathe in a 2 speed 1340V which comes with a VFD if that is what you wanted?  If you want to run the lathe 5Hp 3 phase motor off of single phase, it really limits your VFD choices and significantly increases the cost. Hitachi WJ200 (and most othe VFD makers) single phase units only goes to 3Hp, beyond that for some you can use the 3 phase model, but you probably need ~8-10Hp 3 phase VFD run using 2 legs for single phase input. I do not trust the eBay Chinese one that say 5Hp on single phase and they are often missing the braking unit.  Polyspede if I recall does not run sensorless vector motor control, which gives a it more control over the motor and feedback to the VFD. Most people would probably use an RPC with this size motor with single phase in, especially if you have other machines that run 3 phase. Also to note is a 3 phase VFD can be run off of a RPC.


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## pstemari

Yeah, looking at the 10HP Hitachi vs the 5HP Polyspede.

Reason I went with the 16 speed model, per Matt's suggestion, is that the factory overprices the variable speed version by at least $1k. 

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## Dan_S

I'll never understand why they do that, 16 speeds with a vfd is better than 2 speeds with a vfd. It lets you keep the motor in a decent frequency range, and it give you a finer control of the rpms.


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## pstemari

And the grand total for 16 speed lathe and vfd is about $1,000 cheaper than the 2 speed lathe with factory vfd. It's absurd. 

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## mksj

Do you know what size motor this unit is coming with, as I have seen different motor options which include  3HP, two speed 2.5/5Hp and 5 Hp versions. There is a lot more to the VFD conversion then just adding a VFD as seen in their control panel, but then you will have a lot more gears which can optimize the sweet spot.


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## pstemari

5HP

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## Dan_S

The thing i see about vfds is that they are portrayed as a silver bullet by a large segment of the general population.

Take this graph for a 60 htz  (base motor speed) set up. If you slow the motor way down, you loose all your HP, and if over speed it up you lose all your tongue. This ignores the issue of if the motor can thermally handle really low hertz (low cooling), or physical handle high hertz (high rotational intertia).


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## pstemari

That's a bit misleading, because HP is just torque × speed. Torque is limited in the low end by the current carrying capacity of the windings (torque is proportional to current), and in the high end you wind up being power limited.

That curve is actually a bit optimistic, since the motor loses efficiency the farther away you get from the design frequency. 

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## wrmiller

Probably get bitten for this, but since many hobbyists I've met seldom, if ever push their machines hard enough to require full hp or torque, I suspect that most don't care if their motor is running at 100% optimization or not. (I'm not counting the folks who buy a 3/4 hp bench mill and try to push a 1" end mill...)

Or is this just a theoretical conversation? 

Given that the OP is buying a 3000 lb. lathe I suspect that he may want max hp and torque to make those tank driveshafts or whatever he's making. RPC? But don't you have to buy 2x the motor's rated hp as a minimum? Apologies, as I don't know much about RPCs.

EDIT: Just read where the OP's lathe is a 16 speed. Wouldn't it be better to go VFD in this case as you then have the option to vary the motor frequency to fine tune your spindle rpm?


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## pstemari

Exactly so. 

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## tmarks11

Dan_S said:


> The thing i see about vfds is that they are portrayed as a silver bullet by a large segment of the general population... If you slow the motor way down, you loose all your HP...


Too true.

A lot of people want to direct-drive their spindle off a motor with a VFD or just use a simple belt drive with no speed selection choices.

That is all good until you try to drive a 3/4" drill through steel at 800 rpm.  Good possibility that you will stall with the amount of torque available at the low speed on a VFD.


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## wrmiller

tmarks11 said:


> Too true.
> 
> A lot of people want to direct-drive their spindle off a motor with a VFD or just use a simple belt drive with no speed selection choices.
> 
> That is all good until you try to drive a 3/4" drill through steel at 800 rpm.  Good possibility that you will stall with the amount of torque available at the low speed on a VFD.



Been there, done that. Got the t-shirt.


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## Dan_S

wrmiller said:


> Or is this just a theoretical conversation?


The graph is just the theoretical best. you can read more here http://www.pumpsandsystems.com/topics/pumps/motor-horsepower-torque-versus-vfd-frequency

As pstemari alluded to, its actually worse in a real world situation, some times a lot worse.


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## mksj

Dan_S said:


> As pstemari alluded to, its actually worse in a real world situation, some times a lot worse.


And sometimes not. Inverter rated 4P motors are designed to provide flat torque down to a few Hz and usually maintain full Hp up to 2X their base speed. Also  manufactures often increase the Hp of their VFD models to compensate for decrease torque or Hp depending on if you are above or below the base speed. Sensorless vector VFDs can  momentarily compensate for some of the apparent losses and this can be set by the overload restriction level which is usually around 150%.  If VFDs were so bad, then you wouldn't see this level of machines using them. In the setting of this discussion and use, it is very unlikely the a VFD machine would even flinch at the loads/workload that they would see in a hobbyist situation.

In any case, whether you purchase the ERL, TRL or RML, they are all very fine machines and will probably last a long, long time. A VFD is just icing on the cake.


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## wrmiller

Which may be why I can drill a 3/4" hole in steel at about 650 rpm.


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## pstemari

mksj said:


> And sometimes not. Inverter rated 4P motors are designed to provide flat torque down to a few Hz and usually maintain full Hp up to 2X their base speed. ...



Which is what that ideal graph shows—constant torque at low Hz (hence declining HP), constant HP (and hence declining torque) at high Hz.

As I understand it, getting flat torque on a real-world induction motor at low frequency is tricky because you aren't inducing current in the armature to the extent you would at higher frequency.


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## Dan_S

pstemari said:


> As I understand it, getting flat torque on a real-world induction motor at low frequency is tricky because you aren't inducing current in the armature to the extent you would at higher frequency.



I think you are referring to is called cogging, and everything I have read says it becomes a real problem around 5hz, unless you get into real high dollar stuff.


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## wrmiller

I don't know the particulars, but when setting up my VFD on my mill there was a constant torque mode that I enabled. So far, I've had all the torque I needed. And I do a fair amount of milling down around 20-30 Hz.


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## pstemari

IIRC cogging is when the armature slips and doesn't make it to the next pole on the stator, similar to losing steps on a stepper motor. 

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## Dan_S

wrmiller said:


> I don't know the particulars, but when setting up my VFD on my mill there was a constant torque mode that I enabled. So far, I've had all the torque I needed. And I do a fair amount of milling down around 20-30 Hz.



20-30hz is well into the safe zone, it's when you get down into the single digit range that stuff starts to get dicey.


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## wrmiller

Cool. I have no need to go that low.


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## pstemari

Got some photos from Matt of my machine. Should be on its way from Pittsburgh to Renton now.


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## wrmiller

Nice hunk of machinery dude!


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## MonkMan

Great, Enjoy!


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## tmarks11

nice!  I will be right over to check it out....


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## pstemari

And I just got a tracking number for the penultimate leg of the journey. Woo hoo! Getting close!

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## pstemari

And finally, it's here.  Some shots from the delivery process:











Been going at the shipping grease with Wypalls and WD-40.  Got the bulk of it off, but still a bunch of the back of some of the shafts and on the underside of the ways.


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## wrmiller

So you had the lathe drop-shipped to a rigger? Pretty impressive hoist on that rig. 

What's the weight on that lathe? Looking forward to you getting it operational and hearing your impressions of that bad boy.


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## tmarks11

congrats.  How much did the rigger charge?  

Not worth messing around with something that expensive that weighs 3000#.


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## pstemari

Weight's about one ton. 

Shipping it directly to the rigger was the easiest way to handle it, especially since it's too heavy for a lift gate and the shipping company only had a rough delivery date. Total charge for the rigger was $600, pretty fair for unloading it off the truck, hauling it from Mt Vernon to Renton, and placing it in the garage.

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## NoobCanuk

Dang am I drooling.  But I totally agree.  When you have that kind of money invested into a machine that size $600 seems cheap to ensure it gets placed in one piece and not several busted pieces for less $$.  I sure hope you post some youtube videos of that baby in action.  I'd love to see it and hear your impression of it.   GRATZ!!!


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## pstemari

Started pulling out the contactors for the VFD conversion. The Hitachi is a wee bit too big to fit in the electrical cabinet, and the front panel lacks enough room for adding a key switch, jog direection, and speed pot, so I bought a Bud NEMA 4 enclosure from Amazon to house everything.

Plan is to put a frequency meter, key switch, e-stop, jog button, jog direction switch, indicator lamp, coolant switch, and speed pot on the front of the added cabinet, and keep the existing front panel controls wired in series (e-stop) or parallel (jog button, coolant switch) as appropriate.

A few pics of the cabinet and stuff removed:


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## wrmiller

Let me go get the popcorn...


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## mksj

I have built control box extensions for the cover panel when the VFD did not fit. I had some phenolic impregnated CE board that I used, but just about anything will work. Probably want to extend it to around 8". You could probably dump the big transformer for a more compact 24VDC unit if you choose to go that route and plan to use smaller control relays. Surprised you do not have enough room on the front panel, did a recent build on a 1440 lathe, and was able to fit everything in, but the speed readout was put up above under the DRO.  I like thisposition, as it is easily seen when operating the machine. You can combine functions, so the power on light can be in the E-Stop or use a lighted Jog.Have been using a joystick for individuals that want forward/reverse jog feature.

One awesome machine, will be a monster once you add the VFD. A perfect combination.


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## pstemari

The front panel is constrained by the casting—you can't add anything on the sides because the gap in the casting is about five inches narrower than the panel.

The transformer also runs the coolant pump (1ph 120VAC). I considered connecting that directly to the mains, but decided that the isolation provided by the xfmr was a desirable safety feature.

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## pstemari

Getting the cabinet extension for the vfd set up. There's nuts on the back side of the mounting panel—I'm mulling over the option of tack welding then to the panel to make it easier to unmount/remount things. I don't think solder or epoxy would work very well. Another option would be to put the screw heads in back and add an extra nut to hold the screws in permanently.


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## Steve Shannon

You could use PEM insert nuts or rivet nuts. No welding needed.


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## pstemari

Wow, those things are fantastic. I've never used them before. Picked up a Marsten setter at Tacoma Screw and they went in w/o fuss or bother. 

Thanks!

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## pstemari

Lots of holes in the extra control cabinet this weekend. Those rivet nuts really worked well.

Rivet nut setter, rivet nuts, and installed on panel:










Front panel holes, drilled with a Lenox step drill:




Wiring holes between the boxes. I used a step drill to make the pilot holes and then used Greenlee punches to make the final holes. This made it easy to line them up with the existing knockouts on the original lathe wiring cabinet. I'm using insulated conduit nipples to join the boxes. They have a nylon inner sleeve to protect the wires.




And attached to the lathe. The oil plug interferes with the door a bit, but I can always just unscrew it. Adding a spacer under the box would be another option, but probably not worth the bother.


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## NoobCanuk

Wow, I've never even heard of  rivet nuts.  I learned something new today.  But do those things ever look super handy.  I could've used those on a few occasions. 

Beautiful job so far though on the new control box.  Truly professional looking work.


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## qualitymachinetools

Looking great!


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## pstemari

It would look better if I had a PM logo on the front of the box 

Not yet totally satisfied with the control layout. Top row is power/vfd ok light, jog direction, jog button, speed pot (still on order); lower row is master lockout, e-stop, and coolant pump. Maybe swap the coolant pump switch and the ok light?

Alternatively I could put the e-stop over the key switch, then the ok light, jog dir, and speed pot, and then put the coolant switch and the jog button on the bottom row. About the only thing I'm certain of is that the key should be on the lower left and the the speed pot on the upper right. The upper right quadrant will get a panel meter; I just cut the hole for that w a Lenox hole saw.


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## wrmiller

Are you putting a frequency display on the box?


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## pstemari

Yes, analog panel meter in the upper right quadrant. Can't put anything in the upper left because the vfd doesn't have a lot of clearance; maybe an inch or so between the back of the door and the front of the VFD..

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## pstemari

A few more holes. The pilot on the hole saw bent when it went though the front panel, so there's some scratches, but nothing the panel meter won't cover.  The disconnect switch went in without a hitch.


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## pstemari

Finally got the revised schematics drawn up in Eagle. This is the original wiring:


With the VFD added, these are the power circuits:


and the control circuits:


Finally, adding in the terminal and rearranging by cabinet, I have the lower original cabinet:


and the added upper cabinet:



X6 doesn't have the terminals arranged strictly in physical order, but it was a bit easier to draw with 8, 14, and 15 pulled over to the side.

Next up is printing wire labels on heat shrink and then a whole bunch of crimping and wiring.


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## wrmiller

Nice!


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## pstemari

Some more electrical. The legend plates came out real nice in the Epilog Zing at work:


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## jeff_g1137

Hi
I love the speed adj, legend plate, the + & -, great job.
Does the 0 line up with the motors 60 Hz running speed, or 50 Hz. ???
If not can it be adjusted.

Jeff


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## pstemari

jeff_g1137 said:


> Hi
> I love the speed adj, legend plate, the + & -, great job.
> Does the 0 line up with the motors 60 Hz running speed, or 50 Hz. ???
> If not can it be adjusted.
> 
> Jeff


The VFD can be programmed to any range. My plan is to set the range to ±50%, from 30Hz–90Hz, so 0 on the dial gives 60Hz and the speed shown on the gear box. 

Easy enough to engrave a new plate if that range doesn't work out, though. It's stuck on with some VHB transfer adhesive, but that will come off with a heat gun.

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## jeff_g1137

Hi
Nice


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## pstemari

Added terminal blocks, relay, and wire ducts today.











Also got the cord ready. I wasn't expecting the plug to be quite that big:











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## wrmiller

That is a huge plug! Who makes that?


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## tmarks11

Looking good. Smart move to fasten everything to a back plate rather then trying to wire it up inside the bottom of an enclosure.  Looks way more professional as well.

I generally prefer to use L6-30 twist lock plugs for everything.  Not nearly as huge.


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## pstemari

wrmiller said:


> That is a huge plug! Who makes that?



It's a Hubbell NEMA 14-30.  Hubbell's plugs are very solid: nylon block, set screw cage clamps on the conductors, and beefy strain reliefs.



tmarks11 said:


> Looking good. Smart move to fasten everything to a back plate rather then trying to wire it up inside the bottom of an enclosure.  Looks way more professional as well.



The backplate and mounts came with the enclosure, which made the decision pretty easy 



tmarks11 said:


> I generally prefer to use L6-30 twist lock plugs for everything.  Not nearly as huge.



The NEMA 6 stuff doesn't have a neutral :-(. The L14-30 would have been cheaper, but I didn't think to have the electrician install that on the lathe outlet.  I did have him put an L14-20 on the opposite wall for an eventual mill install.


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## tmarks11

My lathe has a 240-120V transformer in it, so I didn't need a neutral. My lathe uses 120v for control power.

What are you using 120V for? DRO?

Looking at your schematics, I don't actually see your neutral wire going anywhere except maybe "Power Feed"?  what is that?


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## pstemari

I've got that same sort of xfmr, but I'm only pulling off 24VAC for the light and 120VAC for the coolant pump. I thought about using 120VAC direct from the wall for the pump, but decided i liked the idea of having an isolation xfmr for a pump that's sitting in water.

The original control circuitry used the 24VAC, but the VFD requires 24VDC on its inputs. At the moment I'm planning on pulling that from the VFD itself, but I might wind up dropping a little power supply in there if the current consumption is too high for the VFD to source. A relay coil, a LED, and max of four VFD inputs should be OK, though. 

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## pstemari

Some more wiring. Using heat shrink in a Brother label maker to tag each end of the wires, and then putting a ferrule on:




























Then it's just following the numbers:











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## wrmiller

Ok, WAY too professional looking. Makes mine look like a rat's nest.


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## sanddan

tmarks11 said:


> Looking good. Smart move to fasten everything to a back plate rather then trying to wire it up inside the bottom of an enclosure.  Looks way more professional as well.
> 
> I generally prefer to use L6-30 twist lock plugs for everything.  Not nearly as huge.



I use this same type plug on all of my 220V equipment except the 50 amp Tig welder. Make it easier as I can plug in anywhere in the shop.


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## pstemari

Making more progress on the wiring:






Ran out of heat shrink and had to use label tape wraps for a few wires. About ready to mount the panel in the box and start connecting to the existing wiring.


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## pstemari

Been slacking on posting pictures. The wiring is coming along, slowly but surely:

Initial setup on the added top cabinet:











Routing connections between the cabinets. Trying to keep the power away from the signals:






Front panel wiring:





Rearranged connections from the original front panel. I replaced the cable with one that had more conductors. The original had a common to most of the switches, but I needed direct connections with the added panel and split between 24VAC and 24VDC control circuits.





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## pstemari

Still need to move a couple of the existing connections from that barrier block to the DIN block on the right.

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## dlane

Tap talk pics are the dreaded red x's ,


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## pstemari

Grrrr...I can see them ok in the edit window, but they disappear on the edit page. Frustrating.


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## ronboult

Hi pstemari
Would love to see your latest pics.
Can you please post again by uploading to site= tapatalk no longer seems to work
Ron
Ps the problem goes right back to Post#72


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## pstemari

The pictures should be fixed now.

Here's a vid of running the spindle for the first time:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1df_dSspL_tD-YZyk-pHK9wJl1wKVgMxjbA/view?usp=sharing


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## ronboult

Congratulations pstemari - Lovely machine. Quite jealous actually when I compare the quality of the ERL to my Sieg Runnmaster. The electricals are a work of art, topnotch stuff. 
Do you think there is any problems having the controls split between two locations?
Do you know if its possible to install a remote digital speed readout off the Hitachi or other VFD's?
When you get the time is there any chance of a grand tour of the mechanicals so us poor mortals can drool a little more?
Ron


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## pstemari

There's a number of options for speed readouts, ranging from an analog meter to interfacing to the VFD with a PLC.

So far so good on the controls—the new panel actually had much shorter wire runs than the original.

Here's a shot of it making chips:

https://goo.gl/photos/WvrZH99EqfvDoitt9

DoC is 0.1", feed is 0.004"/rev. Material is 1144 cold-rolled steel. For a fast and heavy feed the finish is spectacular.

I think this has the annoying diameter reading on the cross-slide instead of direct reading, but I haven't verified that.

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## jbolt

Awesome! Now we need the full video tour!


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## ronboult

Hi pstemtari

Consider putting a DRO on this machine ( this machine really deserves a quality lathe specific one with magnetic scales) and use a 1 micron scale on the cross slide. You can then switch between radius and diameter mode on the fly!!
Keep an open mind and you may actually grow to like diameter mode. Dont take my word, try it and see for yourself.
Ron


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## 6061T6

Necroposting on an old thread. I'm seriously considering this lathe as my next one after looking at a few old American machines and 
Unfortunately Precision Matthews no longer sells this one -- they said so when I contacted them. 
Is there any other reputable dealer for this product in the US?


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## davidpbest

The ERL 1340 is special order.  Mark Jacobs got one a year or two back. Here Is the link to his post:









						ERL-1340 Lathe VFD Control System and Additions
					

Ordered an ERL-1340 last year to replace my PM-1340GT that I had for 6 years. I was moving and I felt it was "easier" to sell the 1340GT and order an ERL-1340 through QMT to be delivered to my new address. It took about 4 months to get the lathe in and then setup delivery. Due to the weight of...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




I’d be surprised if PM can’t order one for you.

No one will have a machine in stock.  You might also try Eisen.  And the same ERL-1340 from PM could be called something different from Eisen.  

The PM 1440-TL is basically the same machine but with 1” larger swing and D1-5 cam lock spindle instead of D1-4.  Acra sells the same machine which they call 1440TE. https://acramachinery.com/product/1440te-precision-gap-bed-engine-lathe/


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## 6061T6

I got this response from PM just the day before yesterday.

_Hi, we do not carry that model and not able to order that one, sorry
about that! _

14x is too large for me, ideally I would like a 12-13x30 machine that weighs around 1-1.5 metric tonnes. I recently operated a monarch 10EE and I really like the size and feel of that size of machine.

Any opinions of kent usa machinery? They seem to carry the ERL (they call it TRL) size machine?


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## davidpbest

The brand name is less important than the county of origin and warranty IMO.  Most of the Kent machines I've seen are mainland China.  I would stick with a machine made in Taiwan.  If I were you, I'd talk to Eisen and ACRA about your specific needs.


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## 6061T6

davidpbest said:


> The brand name is less important than the county of origin and warranty IMO.  Most of the Kent machines I've seen are mainland China.  I would stick with a machine made in Taiwan.  If I were you, I'd talk to Eisen and ACRA about your specific needs.



In speaking to the Kent representative last week, I was assured that all their machines were Taiwan made and so were the accessories including the chucks.
However Eisen was clear that while their machines were Taiwan made, all chucks that came packaged with the machines were made in China.
Does anyone have experience dealing with Kent directly? There were some negative posts I saw and that gives me pause. However the sales rep I spoke to was very knowledgeable and was able to explain very well some of the nuances of the features.
Precision Matthews appears to have a good reputation -- enough that I bought a Taiwan made mill from them. But their reps seem to not be too knowledgeable about things that aren't basic.


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## mksj

Acra sells that lathe, it is available in a 1340C and 1440C size with a D1-4 spindle mount. I have had the ERL-1340 for around 2 years, it is a very nice lathe. If you are interested in the Acra version, I recommend contacting them directly (Tom usually does the sales) and you can usually get better pricing then through a distributor, below is links to the description/specs. Acra may have it in a 1340 version, really no difference between the 1340/1440 version other than headstock height is slightly larger. Kent also sells the same lathe but they call it the TRL-1340, they are all made by Sunmaster in Taiwan. The advantage of the QMT 1440TL is the 2.5" spindle bore and the one piece cast iron base, it is also 1000lbs heavier. I run BXA tooling on mine, because it is what I had, but both 1340/1440 really are sized for CXA. If you have some specific questions you can PM me. I modified mine so it is not stock, but they sell it in a standard 3 phase version (single speed or 2 speed motor) and a 2 speed VFD version.





						1440C Precision Gap Bed Engine Lathe – ACRA Machinery
					






					acramachinery.com
				











						Acra 1440C 14" x 40" Precision Engine Lathe (MADE IN TAIWAN) - ATEL1440C
					

Offering a huge selection of industrial tool sales online. Find over 100,000 metalworking products, precision measuring tools, power tools & accessories.




					www.penntoolco.com


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## ddickey

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/sun-master-erl-1330v.84827/


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## 6061T6

Heard back from sun master in Taiwan.  They recommend kent usa as their dealer. Will keep this thread posted on updates.


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## mksj

Sunmaster only sells through US distributors, and then some only have specific models that they sell. It comes down to availability and pricing at the end of the day.  They are all good and reliable vendors. The machines are basically the same for a particular series (the the distributor model names are different then the Sunmaster listings), but different vendors may only stock certain models/configurations. I purchased mine w/o chucks because I already had them from my previous lathe and also I prefer Set-Tru types on my 3J and collet chucks, I also have a Bison 4J combination and a Taiwanese 4J independent. Before I bought mine, a friend in Tucson purchased a 1640TE from Acra, and I helped him set it up. May be worth reviewing his thread, although he is no longer a forum member.









						NEW ACRA 1640TE
					

The machine was ordered mid December of 2017 from ACRA Machinery. The machine took a few weeks to arrive from Taiwan and was shipped to the port of LA, then onto Ranch Cucamonga where ACRA is located. The machine was then delivered to my location via flatbed. The machine sustained a fair amount...




					www.hobby-machinist.com


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