Another Pm1340gt Build

[bss1]

Tim, the space taken up in z axis travel appears to be about the same either way the scale is installed. I went with the upside down approach as it allowed for a more protected installation of both the scale and the reader. The 3/16" thick angle covers both of them. If mounted on their side, the only protection would be from the sheet metal cover. I used aluminum angle, but you could have just as easily used steel.

Your compound does look thicker/higher allowing more clearance over the new handle for the cross slide lock. On the pm 1340 even the compound and the cross slide handles collide when the compound is positioned perpendicular to the ways.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bss1]

Progress continues. I have been making slow progress on evenings and weekends, but I am taking my time and enjoying the process. I finally got the machine backed into its permanent home which was the prior location of my old South Bend lathe. It was a tight fit but it'll work for now. Its the proverbial 10 pounds in an 8 pound sack scenario. I connected the wires from the lathe to the VFD, programmed the VFD from the keypad and it fired up worked on the first try. I have previously installed VFD's on a mill and a 2 X 72" belt grinder, both were very simple compared to removing and reinstalling the entire lathe electrical system. However, Mark really makes this process simple. His instructions are clear and he numbers the connections and the wires. Its basically a simple connect the dot process. He does all of the hard work. The rewire was the easiest part of this entire process.

I got the ebay tach mounted and wired. It worked perfectly after Mark helped me straighten out a minor wiring glitch on my end.

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Then I began working on a rack to hold the tool holders, chuck wrenches, and various other accessories. I used a piece of 80/20 like others have done. The hangers for the tool and chuck holders were made from 1.5" and 2" aluminum angle.

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I still have a few adjustments to the location of the accessories on the rack, but it seems like it is going to work pretty well.

A question for those with the proximity stop affixed to the micrometer stop. Do you run the wire under the chip pan to keep it away from hot swarf or around the headstock under the gears? I currently have it under the chip tray and tuck the assembly down below on the shelf when not in use.

I have it rough leveled, but now need to dial it in and check alignment of the headstock. Then I need to eventually make a spider and modify the gear cover.

 

[jbolt]

That's a sweet setup! I love the accessory tray on the stand. Nice job!

 

[zmotorsports]

Great looking setup. I love your stand, going to build one similar in the new shop.

Mike.

 

[bss1]

Thanks for the comments guys. I have not had a chance to use the tray in the use of the lathe, but I can say it has been really useful for the set up. I am always looking for a place to set something down. During the set up process, the tray has been a very convenient place to set tools and parts. It fits in a receiver so its removable and the drawers underneath are still functional with it in place. So far it has not gotten in the way at all. I had some other ideas for the other receiver, but have not had a chance to work on that yet.
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[mksj]

Looking really nice. The P sensor cable I normally recommend running under the pan, but you could also loop it around to the left just under the pan front lip. The cable is very tough and durable, but still do not like it sitting in oil. One thing to consider for the other right tray is to use it for your oil cans for lubrication, coolant, and things like a chip brush. Great place for everything to be handy. Firestopper (Paco) welded up a tray that I use for this, and did penetration welds so any leaking oil stays in the tray.

 

[MaritimeFlies]

Great job on your lathe- the stand looks fantastic!

I'm planning on getting this machine in the near future, and the 3-phase/VFD functionality is very attractive. The smooth operation, soft start and minor speed variation are the features that I'm most interested in (just the basics). The dynamic breaking/proximity stop seems really slick, but that's probably not something I'd be able to tackle right now. For my current needs (and electrical inexperience), a very basic VFD installation/conversion would be ideal.

With that in mind, I'd like to pick your brain a bit:

1. On your lathe, did you generally stick to the conversion process outlined in Mark's thread (Basic Conversion Using Stock Controls-- I am not currently allow to post links), or did you use a different strategy?
2. Could you provide any additional details about what components you built into your wall-mounted VFD enclosure? I've seen some builds where fuses were added to the single-phase 220v lines, but I haven't seen that in any of the schematics I've seen floating around these forums.

Thanks!
Cleve

 

[bss1]

Mark, another tray on the right side is a good option. My existing tray is definitely not liquid tight. I just tack welded the 1/8" bottom plate to the angle iron frame. I may consider a sheet metal tray with welded corners for the next one that would be leak proof/resistant.

Cleve, the electrical conversion process on my machine was a full replacement of the control panel. The entire board in the electronic control box on the back of the lathe was replace with new components. I have done a few simple VFD installations before, but this level of installation was definitely over my current skill level. Mark who posted above built the on-board system for me. All I did was make the final connections and as I said before, it fired right up and worked on the first try. Mark is a great resource on not only the electrical side of the machine, but in machining knowledge in general.

I did assemble the VFD enclosure and it's components. My enclosure contains the VFD (obviously), a main power switch, 30A fuse, and the 500W 50OHM braking resistor. I installed an intake fan and exhaust vent, but in retrospect, I think just two passive vents would be adequate. I didn't pay enough attention to realize the Hitachi VFD has its own fan with thermal switching. I don't have enclosures on my other two VFD's. They were very basic installs and their enclosures had NEMA ratings for dust exclusion, etc. All of the connections were made inside of the Actual VFD unit which had seal tite connections on the bottom, so a dedicated enclosure was not necessary. The size of the enclosure for the lathe installation is driven by the depth of the Hitachi VFD (+/-7") and the length of the braking resistor (+/- 12") . This put me into a 14" x 12" X 8" enclosure. It takes up a lot of real estate, but those two components need a lot of length/width. You may be able to get away with a 12" tall enclosure, if you can find one that is 8" deep.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I am happy to help if I can.

 

[sanddan]

Thanks for the comments guys. I have not had a chance to use the tray in the use of the lathe, but I can say it has been really useful for the set up. I am always looking for a place to set something down. During the set up process, the tray has been a very convenient place to set tools and parts. It fits in a receiver so its removable and the drawers underneath are still functional with it in place. So far it has not gotten in the way at all. I had some other ideas for the other receiver, but have not had a chance to work on that yet.
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Looking good!

I love that welding table. Could you also give some details on the organization thingie I see on the table? It looks like a very handy tool for keeping the loose items in one place.

I wish I was better at the details for keeping organized in the shop. All my best ideas I've gotten from others on the web [/URL]

 

[bss1]

Dan, A friend on mine who is in the oilfield service industry gave that table to me. It is cast Iron and used to be a base for some type of big drill press or other machine tool. It weighs a ton. I have no idea how old it is. It's been a centerpiece of my shop for years. On the organizer, its just a bunch of scraps tack welded to a 1/4" base plate. The one you see in the pictures has a handle on it so I can move it out of the way when I need use of the full table.

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It works great. I even made one for my desk at work.

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