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Rotary Phase Converters.

Lilyota

RIP 7/22/2023
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
26
Messages
1,221
Loc
Bolivar MO
Bought a decent sized LeBlond lathe and I need a phase converter.

I talked to one guy and he was a lot of help and got me lined out on a few things and I'm quite savvy with the electrics end of things.


I definitely want to go the rotary route...A drive isn't necessary( not to mention I need would need more drive than with a rotary) seeing as all the original controls work and a drive can't run multiple 3 phase machines at the same time.

A rotary however can run multiple machines and it can be used in conjunction with VFD's.

So is anybody running a rotary?

Did you build it or buy it?

If ya bought it would you use the same company again?

Any regrets with the one you have?


Three phase power isn't an option in my hood and I have 2 three phase machines now. The mill is a 2 hp and the drive for that was cheapish.

I have no interest in swapping the motor on the lathe out to single phase. I feel it is not the best route.

I really don't want to build one...Don't get me wrong. I could and can, but I would much rather just buy one and plug it all in persay and get to using my new toy/tool.
 
Rotaries are fine. I have 2 in my shop both I bought a panel and found a surplus 3 phase motor as the idler. I have a 10hp one that runs my little lathe Bridgeport bandsaw and hbm. I only wished it was a 20hp so I could run my big lathe with it.

make sure you oversized the single phase wires that feed the rotary. They pull some amps firing up a large motor.
 
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the practical machinist has a lot of info on building one
 
For that price I'll just buy that one.



I was looking at a 20 for a hundred less.
 
I bought a 40hp from American rotary to run a 20hp monarch lathe. Its hook to a 3 phase panel which runs all my other machines, which are smaller than the lathe. Works well and American rotary was easy to deal with. I got 5% off because I mentioned the guy from vintage machine on YouTube.
 
I mount my upstairs for the room and the noise, but it is fairly quite

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I buy the panels off of eBay. If you buy square D get the guts used and buy the back box new so you don’t have a lot of extra holes. Grainger is a good source for factory part numbers for square D but even with the discount they are to expensive.

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A lathe can be run simply by wiring a capacitor and a heavy duty momentary switch from one of your single phase line side to the third on the machines load side. Depress switch when you hit the start button and release after its spooled up. Done super cheap and easy. This makes a rpc out of the lathes own motor. It only works for machines that have low start up loads like lathes, bridgeports, etc. My 10hp turret lathe is done this way if you would like pics or cap specs.
 
Rotaries are fine. I have 2 in my shop both I bought a panel and found a surplus 3 phase motor as the idler. I have a 10hp one that runs my little lathe Bridgeport bandsaw and hbm. I only wished it was a 20hp so I could run my big lathe with it.

make sure you oversized the single phase wires that feed the rotary. They pull some amps firing up a large motor.

This.

Also they're noisy so don't mount it in the same room as your shop if you can avoid it.

If I had the $$$ I would get one of the digital static phase converters.

A RPC is generally a lot cheaper to build than to buy.
 
American rotary ADX10 here. Setup similar to cj3a above, but with smaller panels. Expensive, but one and done. First it was for my leblond lathe and bridgeport, but now i've got a 10x72 belt sander and a 18scfm air compressor running on it too.
 
Pulled the trigger on the 30 HP

that seller is in northern Oregon and it comes with a 10 year warranty.

Might have it by next week:smokin:

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Is it a business? 10 year warranty doesn't mean much if the guy doesn't exist in a year or two.

That said, they're not terribly complicated machines to diagnose and repair.
 
Is it a business? 10 year warranty doesn't mean much if the guy doesn't exist in a year or two.

That said, they're not terribly complicated machines to diagnose and repair.

Yes, he's a buisness.
 
I've been powering my 20hp CNC turning center off a 40hp American Rotary AD for years trouble free. I use a VFD for my 3hp knee mill, but keep it set at 60hz and use the variable speed head the way it was meant to be used.
 
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