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This isn't a retrofit machine. It came from Bridgport as a CNC. Anilam 3000M controler.
 
Way cool, congrats!

As others have said, there are pros and cons to both a VFD and rotary phase converter.

My shop space is limited, and I’m only running one 3-phase machine.

If you’re in a similar boat, a VFD is a no brainer. And they’re quite a bit cheaper than a goood rotary setup. And virtually dead silent, save for a little PC fan.

If you’ve got more than a few 3-phase machines and some extra space, rotary may be more appropriate.

Don’t let ‘hooking/setting it up’ scare you away. If all you need out of it is 3-phase power, it’s essentially just plug-and-play.
 
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Also, a VFD has basically zero maintenance.

I only use mine to get a 3rd phase, don’t need any of the other fancy stuff it can do. 2 wires plus ground in —> 3 wires plus ground out. That’s all.

I’ve got mine shut away in the electronics cabinet of my mill and literally haven’t even so much as looked it in over a year.
 
JRaut: Thanks for the input. This is my only three phase machine (for now). Does the motor operate at the same Hp with the VFD?
 
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Chipper5783 said:
Get a Phase Perfect. You get all the benefits listed above for an RPC, except the voltage balance from phase to phase is right on the supply voltage (and it is quieter than most RPCs). The PP is similar to an RPC in that it is only generating the L1-L3 and L2-L3 (the L1-L2 flows through). Obviously the current is still out of phase with the voltage - that's just life with phase converters.

I ran my shop on a 5 HP RPC for about 35 years. The 5 HP air compressor had no trouble. The 5 HP lathe would only give me one or two starts before tripping the overloads in the RPC. The change to the PP was triggered by purchasing a 15HP VMC. Now the whole shop runs on a 20HP PP - the machines are all happier.

The only down side, and it is a big one, is the cost. Buy once, cry once. I spent two years looking for a used one - trolling all the usual sites. They never seem to come up for sale as used. Now I know why - they are awesome.
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I second the Phase Perfect, used one for many years. Very clean power, phases are matched with <1%. To add to the above, If you are running a CNC with expensive industrial circuit boards the Phase Perfect is the only way to go. I sold my PP less then 2hrs on Craigslist for just about what I paid for it originally.
 
I have a 1.5HP motor, and my VFD is rated for 2HP.

I did a fair amount of research before buying it. My recollection is that it's good to oversize by a little bit, bad to oversize by a lot.

Anyway, there's a 3HP version of the one I linked above, which seems like it'd be a good fit. Only $110+tax, delivered from Amazon. Of course, do your own due diligence to make sure.
 
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