New Toy

[Powerstrokinit]

The other week me and a friend of mine went down to his parents house to pick up a mill that he sold me. It is a Supermax with a Mitutoyo DRO. It is a step-pulley head, 2HP 3 Phase, so I think I am gonna get a VFD to power the motor. It does have a 1 shot lube system, but no power drawbar...yet.

http://www.basob.com/millmove.html

The mill was the cheap part, its the tooling that is adding up real quick. Got a Kurt Vise, some Bison collets, and a bunch of other goodies on the way for this thing.

Thanks,
Tobin

[Bryan L]

Very nice. My dream is to one day have a mill. I was looking at some used equip a while back and the price does not seem all that bad, But you are right when it comes to the tooling. I started looking at the cost of everything else a guy needs and its almost mind boggling the startup cost.

[precisionworks]

Supermax mills have earned a good reputation. And you'll love the DRO ... no more counting 200, 400, 600, etc.

Two VFDs you may want to look at.

Hitachi (http://www.hitachi-ds.com/en/product/inv/sj200/)

Teco (http://www.tecowestinghouse.com/Products/Drives/ma7200.htm)

Both are excellent units, both slightly different. Either one would work well.

[Powerstrokinit]

I think I am gonna go with a Hitachi VFD, as they are pretty inexpensive on Ebay right now. Since it is a 2HP motor, would you go with a 2HP VFD, or something a little larger?

Thanks,
Tobin

[kiwi]

Hey Tobin,
I really enjoyed the photos and the narrative! Thanks for sharing, and good luck with your new toy. :D :D
Nick

[Powerstrokinit]

Hey Tobin,
I really enjoyed the photos and the narrative! Thanks for sharing, and good luck with your new toy. :D :D
Nick

Thanks for looking. The photos and narrative were done by the guy I bought the mill off of. I will pass the thanks along.

Tobin

[lens42]

For home use, I see no reason why you would have to over-spec the VFD. I'd get a 2HP VFD for a 2HP motor. HOWEVER, one exception to the above is if you get a 3-ph INPUT VFD and plan on running it from single-phase 220. Then you should derate the VFD by 1/3 to 1/2 (at least a 3hp VFD for a 2hp motor). If you are buying new, this tip will be pointless since you'll get the right VFD for your input (prob 1-ph 220V), but if you are scanning Ebay, you can get very cheap deals on 3-ph input VFDs because home shop guys don't bid on them. If a model number is given, you can often find the manual on the web and see what the 3-ph to 1-ph derating is for a particular unit. BTW, I have converted 3 machines to VFD operation and it's a great upgrade.