7x lathe brushless motor upgrade kits: any experience with these?

[Supergleep]

The Custom Crafter store on eBay might save you some time if you don't want to re-invent the wheel. I've never purchased from him, but everything he sells is for the mini lathe. So he's got all the pulleys and stuff pretty well figured out. Prices seem reasonable.

I purchased the 900W (1.2hp) motor kit from the Custom Crafter last December. I've been very happy with it on my 7x14 Vevor lathe with upgraded angular contact bearings. I went with the direct drive kit here:

Mini Metal Lathe 1.2 HP Servo Motor 115 V 900 Watt Kit upgrade conversion | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mini Metal Lathe 1.2 HP Servo Motor 115 V 900 Watt Kit upgrade conversion at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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He was great to work with and has spares and replacements for all his stuff from what I can tell.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

I purchased the 900W (1.2hp) motor kit from the Custom Crafter last December. I've been very happy with it

Thanks for that info.

 

[rwm]

I am running one of these from Custom Crafter on my 18" drill press. It is excellent. Great torque. Go for it.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

I am running one of these from Custom Crafter on my 18" drill press. It is excellent. Great torque. Go for it.

I'm thinking about it, but the cost is quite high - probably $550-600 CAD by the time I got it here, assuming he will ship to Canada.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

Update: I decided to order a brushless kit from China. The deciding factor was the ability to have the lathe (Micromark 7x14) something like the stock setup. I like having a rotatable control for speed, and a Fwd-Neutral-Rev switch, and didn't want push-button controls.

I ordered the kit on May 16 and it arrived on my doorstep May 26. Excellent packing, and the parts were pre-wired with connectors. Connectors were all different (type & number of pins), so it would be almost impossible to make a mistake.

I made a new motor mount with material I had on hand, and fabricated a new control box. The brushless controller board is too large to fit in the stock plastic electronics housing on my lathe, partly because of the box size and also because of the control layout. I added a heat sink to the controller which has a substantial aluminum plate on the bottom.

I changed the power cord retainer to a plastic gland style to give a bit more room under the motor cover. It's a tight fit but everything fits OK.
The controller has 5V DC output available, so I was able to power the stock tach (which uses a pickup and a notched disk inside the headstock) from that. My Micromark is an older model which has a separate 5V power supply in the enclosure.

Total cost was about $380 CAD or $275 USD. This includes the $55 CAD in tax and brokerage charges, which I paid to DHL online before the delivery date.

I haven't done any serious work with the lathe since I finished the upgrade earlier today, but the low speed torque/performance is definitely a lot better.

 

[RJSakowski]

When I did a DIY brushed DC motor conversion on my lathe, I added a pilot light to the top of my control panel. It is in a "in your face" location and serves as a visible reminder to cut the power to the motor control circuitry. If I happen to forget to cut the power, I will see it the next time I walk by and hit the eStop.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

When I did a DIY brushed DC motor conversion on my lathe, I added a pilot light to the top of my control panel. It is in a "in your face" location and serves as a visible reminder to cut the power to the motor control circuitry. If I happen to forget to cut the power, I will see it the next time I walk by and hit the eStop.

Good point!
It's pretty hard to miss the 'old school' bright red 7-segment tach display, so that's a good reminder for me to turn off the power before I leave the shop.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Why limit yourself?

ROTFLMAO

 

[Road_Clam]

Update: I decided to order a brushless kit from China. The deciding factor was the ability to have the lathe (Micromark 7x14) something like the stock setup. I like having a rotatable control for speed, and a Fwd-Neutral-Rev switch, and didn't want push-button controls.
View attachment 449636
I ordered the kit on May 16 and it arrived on my doorstep May 26. Excellent packing, and the parts were pre-wired with connectors. Connectors were all different (type & number of pins), so it would be almost impossible to make a mistake.
View attachment 449637View attachment 449638
I made a new motor mount with material I had on hand, and fabricated a new control box. The brushless controller board is too large to fit in the stock plastic electronics housing on my lathe, partly because of the box size and also because of the control layout. I added a heat sink to the controller which has a substantial aluminum plate on the bottom.
View attachment 449639View attachment 449640View attachment 449641View attachment 449642
I changed the power cord retainer to a plastic gland style to give a bit more room under the motor cover. It's a tight fit but everything fits OK.
The controller has 5V DC output available, so I was able to power the stock tach (which uses a pickup and a notched disk inside the headstock) from that. My Micromark is an older model which has a separate 5V power supply in the enclosure.
View attachment 449643View attachment 449644
Total cost was about $380 CAD or $275 USD. This includes the $55 CAD in tax and brokerage charges, which I paid to DHL online before the delivery date.

I haven't done any serious work with the lathe since I finished the upgrade earlier today, but the low speed torque/performance is definitely a lot better.

Nice job, I purchased a "universal" 2hp kit from CC . Reason that I did NOT want to deal with a cheaper Aliepress is the fact that "if" you have an issue your dealing with someone 8000 mi away who has terrible communication effectiveness. Been there several times and always a negative outcome at my end. I spend a little more with USA based CC and sure enough when I had many questions and a few minor issues that Dan from CC immediately helped with clear concise communications and resolve. I'm amazed and the added torque and smoothness from the brushless upgrade. Here's a link to my G9972 upgrade

G9972Z DRO and Brushless VFD mods

So been very busy the past 4 weeks with my 11x29 lathe. Lots of cool upgrades going on ! First is the Little Machine Shop magnetic DRO kit. After much research I opted to buy the LMS "universal" kit so I could custom configure the whole system. You get a 40" long scale and you cut it to...

www.hobby-machinist.com