New shop equipment 3ph help

J

John G

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Hello folks, it's been a while since I visited here. So a short story. We sold our home in NE Georgia. And ended up selling my crappy 13x40 enco lathe and Millrite mill. Now we have relocated to Florida and it is time to replace my old equipment. It's my plan to purchase a pm 1440tl and pm 949 mill. So obviously I will need 3 phase. I'm wondering which would be better, a rpc or vfd. Any thoughts or advice.
 
VFDs work well, but you'll want one for each 3PH machine. An appropriately sized RPC will allow you to run multiple machines at the same time, though most hobbyists don't do that. RPCs can be noisy and take up more space. You'll have to consider these things and likely other things for how you set up your shop. I have a VFD on my BP clone, and it works great. I am replacing it with my recently purchased Lagun, and I am contemplating running an RPC because I want to plug it in and not have to tap into the switch. My mills have step-pulleys, so the VFD adds the advantage of variable speed -to minimize moving the belt around. It's likely when I finally get the Lagun in place, I'll change my mind and keep the VFD. I hope this helps.
 
Consider a Phase Perfect. It is similar to an RPC, only better.
 
I love my American Rotary smart rotary phase converter. I do not like the small inconvenience of having to walk over to turn it on and off.
Also, there is the noise issue.
I could spend the money to get the remote start kit but I don’t want to spend the money.
If you can put the RPC in an outside shed, that would be a win win.
 
Thank you for the reply, I had a vfd on my milrite mill it was fine
But like you I'm not really fond of the idea of carving up a new machine. And I would want to use all the features on the lathe. So I'm kind of leaning towards a Rotory Phase converter.
 
Phase Perfect is a digital 3 phase generator (basically generates the 3rd leg and L1 and L2 is a pass through). Cost wise they are close in cost to what a new turn key RPC would cost. There idle power is very low (70-100W), they have a very high efficiency and leg to leg voltage is maintained within 2% (no wild leg). Since they are solid state, they are much quieter than an RPC, and the newer models are quieter then previous models (hum). You do not indicate which PM-949 you are purchasing, if it is a pulley head I would opt for a VFD, if a reeves drive then an RPC or Phase Perfect. BIIB did a nice thread on converting his TL-1440 for use with a VFD, there are benefits to using a VFD, but if one wants to keep the machines stock then I would recommend something like the 3 or 5 Hp Phase Perfect.

www.phaseperfect.com

Phase Perfect Simple | Single to Three Phase Power Converter | Variable Frequency Drives and Digital Phase Converters | Phase Technologies

Three-phase power from a single-phase source anywhere you need it. The Simple line of digital phase converters uses trickle-down technology from our Phase Perfect® Performance and Enterprise converters.
www.phaseperfect.com www.phaseperfect.com
 
What is a Phase perfect?? Is it a static phase converter
 
The PM 949 variable speed mill. I had not heard of phase perfect. May be another option. Anything to think about as to wiring or sizing? Where to inquire about one?
 
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