Complete Newbie - Bridgeport 2J (Adcock-Shipley) - Wiring Questions

Thanks, again, Mike.

The more I look into this, the more I think that a 240 to 415 V conversion is either going to be very expensive, or a fairly shoddy solution. The cheap static converters seem to fudge two fake phases with an inductive circuit and a capacitor. The cheap rotary converters are not much better. These solutions seem to start at about £200 (the £ and $ are roughly at parity at the time of writing). A decent electronic unit with a step-up transformer is over £1,000.

I could pay an electrician to connect up the 3-phase supply in my garage, and run that out to the workshop, but that's going to cost a lot more than £1,000.

I think I probably need to completely re-wire the machine. If I'm right, the main motor can be reconfigured to run from 240 V - so a simple VFD would cope with that. The suds motor can be ignored initially: I don't think it would be too difficult to change it for a 240 V single-phase pump. The DRO will run from 240 V. The table drive is 110 V which is easy to supply from a small step-down transformer. While I'm at it, I'll convert the front panel controls to low-voltage. It looks like most of the existing innards are going to end up in the "interesting parts" box.

I'll be away for most of the week. When I get back I'll have a proper look at the motor and its switch to see if reconfiguration is feasible.

Kind wishes,

Nick
 
if the motors are tapped for 240v, you are golden!
you may also be able to re tap the transformers to 240v operation as well
a low voltage control system is not a bad way to have a go either.
a lot of the European equipment i service run 24v dc control systems and 120vac systems as well
the vfd will then do the job, as you wish

it sounds like you got a plan
let me know if i can help out
all the best
 
Hi Nick, just seen ur post ......did u ever get sorted........?.........
had to do a partial repair to the wiring on my J Head, 3phase, 440 volt, UK machine.......standard wiring is a bit of a disaster........I have a good conversion that I'll start as soon as poss......it will eliminate all the original crap and contactors........
happy to pass on any details of the original wiring or what the mods will be........not that far away, just across the channel........
Don't know if u can private message me on this site............
Clogs.............
 
Thanks, Clogs.

My main problem is the motor which looks as though it's 415V only.

I was back at home this weekend and managed to spend a couple of hours out in the workshop. I took off the motor - which was very easy - two nuts fastening to two handles and the whole thing simply lifted off.

There doesn't seem to be an easy way of configuring the motor for 240V: the only wiring is the forward-reverse switch - which is marked 2-1-0-1-2.

I thought I'd see if I could get the motor casing open, to see what field coil and stator wires might be accessible.
To begin to do this, I tried to remove the pulley stack:

I took out the two grub screws, from the side of the pulley stack,
I removed the circlip on the end of the shaft,
I warmed up the pulley stack with a blow-torch,
I used a gear puller.
I succeeded only in tearing out two pieces from the bottom flange of the pulley stack. Not good.

There's an electric motor specialist in Preston, not too far from my work. I think I might drop the whole assembly off there, explain the problem, and ask for a quote to convert it to 240V 3-phase. If they cannot help, or the cost is prohibitive, I'll have to mount a new motor.

I have seen 3-phase 380V generators (petrol) on eBay for under £200. I did wonder about buying one, taking off the engine and driving it with a big single-phase 240V motor. However, it's going to be noisy and inefficient: and if the original generator costs only £200, one does have to wonder how long the alternator is going to last under load.

Fortunately, this is a long-term hobby project, so there's no rush....

Kind wishes,

Nick
 
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