Jet 1340A

[Ceej0103]

Howdy,

Picked up a machine a while back and need to restore it. It's he machine pictured here. I'm finding sites with most of the mechnical stuff I need, but nothing in the way of contactors or electrical related parts. I'm not versed on contactors so not sure if there are just generic units in the machine that can be purchased at most electrical supply outfits. Anyone have a good source for something lie that?

Thanks!

 

[Cadillac]

Grainger,McMaster,mouser will have what your after.

 

[matthewsx]

Hi,

If you're replacing electrical on a lathe you have a great opportunity to change over to a VFD. You'll be eliminating some or all of the contactors anyway so no reason to replicate what was there in the past. Take a look at some of the PM1340 VFD conversion threads on here and design a modern control system.

Cheers,

John

 

[Ceej0103]

Hi,

If you're replacing electrical on a lathe you have a great opportunity to change over to a VFD. You'll be eliminating some or all of the contactors anyway so no reason to replicate what was there in the past. Take a look at some of the PM1340 VFD conversion threads on here and design a modern control system.

Cheers,

John

excellent, will do!

 

[Ceej0103]

Hi,

If you're replacing electrical on a lathe you have a great opportunity to change over to a VFD. You'll be eliminating some or all of the contactors anyway so no reason to replicate what was there in the past. Take a look at some of the PM1340 VFD conversion threads on here and design a modern control system.

Cheers,

John

John,

I completely forgot that the model I have is a single phase motor so the VFD conversion wont work. At least based on my surface reading on using VFDs for single phase applications.

So now I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. Do I try to understand the electrical circuit in this machine and have a game plan to replace components as needed or do I just get me a 3-phase motor and simplify and modernize this unit. I'm leaning towards option 2.

Question for you: I'm just cracking the surface on the VFD solution and stumbled upon stuff that Mark Jacobs has been providing to the community. Damn does it look complicated for someone that only has experience wiring electric in homes/panels. Are you able to describe the setup a little so that I can start to create a baseline understanding for what components are necessary and why?

For example, I know what the VFD does strictly from the perspective of running a motor. Turn on VFD, run motor. Now we want to make the VFD operate according to the on/off switch on the Lathe panel. What is required to integrate that? We also want the motor start lever on the apron to tell the motor to turn one direction or the other....whats needed for that?

Not looking for a detailed plan, but just some basics on what's happening in these scenarios would be extremely helpful.

 

[matthewsx]

Hi,

My lathe is a hundred years old and didn't have any electrical with it other than a switch for the motor so I can't give you specifics. I changed over to a 3 phase motor and now have speed control but am not really using any other VFD functions.

It looks like your lathe is a relatively modern design so I assume it originally had a power switch, reversing switch, E-stop, etc. All these functions can be programmed with a VFD and a little effort. Changing to a 3 phase really just requires a motor with the right frame size and power, you want a 220v unit, not 440v or anything strange and a VFD to match. There is much discussion about the cheap Chinese units vs. more expensive brand names but either will provide power and basic programming functions. Hooking one up does require "tuning" it to your specific motor and wiring some kind of control box but it really doesn't have to be more complex than a power switch and a potentiometer for speed control, you can even do this from the built in control panel on most units. An e-stop with a braking resistor is a good safety feature but won't keep you from using the lathe.

While it's nice to use the original switches it's not strictly necessary. You will need to discover any interlocks that need to be incorporated or disabled to use your machine so having an original wiring diagram will be helpful. Manufacturers put controls where they think most users want them but sometimes other arrangements might work better for you, if you're not familiar with basic lathe operations it's helpful to read the South Bend "how to run a lathe" book or another text so you can get a feel for what controls do what.

What happened to the controls that you are needing to replace stuff? Did someone burn them up or remove them before you got the machine? Post some pictures so we know what you're working with, it might be that you can fix what you have rather than replacing it. If you can wire a house you'll be able to figure this stuff out, just takes time.

All this presupposes that your machine is in decent shape to begin with, there's no sense in putting money and time into something so far gone that it'll never work right. Some history for your machine might give a better idea of where to start.

Cheers,

John

 

[Cadillac]

At first glance a vfd seems complicated to wire especially if not into electronics. After wiring one you would see it’s not complicated.
short version you have power coming in either 110 or 220 a switch to control that on/off. Then you can use your apron lever switches to give input to the vfd for either for or rev. All the switches do is give the vfd a input to tell what to do. You canwire a e-stop within the apron switches circuit to give that function. You need to program the vfd to how you have wired depending how you lay out the wiring. Some vfds have terrible directions for how to program and wire. I purchased four TECO l510 vfds and they have great directions easily understandable and have a great tech department which will get you through any problems you would have with wiring or programming. Once you do one it’s really not that hard. Yes you can add a lot more functions which do complicate the process but you just need on/off, for/rev, and e-stop for basic function and speed control if desired.

 

[pdentrem]

VFD, VFD and VFD and don't look back!

 

[Ceej0103]

@pdentrem, @Cadillac, @matthewsx Thanks for your replies. I think you're right, if I don't want to have an archaic electrical panel die on me and not have the slightest idea as to how to repair it, I should go to a 3-phase with VFD, install it myself, and learn how it all works. Give a man a fish...teach a man to fish....you know.

So I began the teardown today and think I'll start a new thread to cover that build. I'm already doing a Bridgeport restoration thread, but that's nearing the end and I'm waiting for parts, so why not get this lathe started. Here's the link:

Newbie and the Jet Lathe

Howdy everyone. So I'm 90% of the way homefree on the Bridgeport machine that I've been posting about in the Newbie and the Bridgeport thread. Should have the machine wrapped next week and move on to getting a VFD installed and will be ready to make some glorious chips. With some down time...

www.hobby-machinist.com