Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

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ClitheroeKate
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat 23 Mar , 2013 22:11 pm
Hardware/Software: Denford Easymill 3, 1984, i believe it is totaly origonal. The spindle motor is marked as 1 hp, 3 phase with four pulleys for speed changes. 3 phase coolant pump. 1 board in the control is marked as PNC3. There are a few buttons missing on the control box and the tape drive dosen't work. The previous owner ran it off 3 phase and as I haven't got three phase at home I'm looking to convert it to single phase and up-date/up-grade it in the process. I am however a complete newbie.

Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by ClitheroeKate » Sun 24 Mar , 2013 15:45 pm

Hello everyone. This is my first post and the first of many questions no doubt after I bought my Denford Easymill 3 last weekend.

The machine is a 3 phase 1984 model with a belt driven spindle driven by a 3 phase motor. If I connect the machine up to an inverter, will it work ok? The coolant pump is also 3 phase.

I ask because I had heard somewhere that cnc circuitry may not function correctly if it isn't fed by a "true 3 phase" supply i.e from an inverter.

The model number is TDS/E/M/CNC,
Serial number is EM12104 H.
Control voltage is 24 volts,
Main motor is 1hp, 0.75 kw, 3 phase.
Wiring diagrams are shown as A3.200011/50 and
A3.200030/39

I'm looking to get the machine up and running initially before I eventually convert it to Mach 3, single phase and update the electronics. As I'm also getting a 3 phase lathe for my home workshop I don't mind buying an inverter that I can swap between the two.

Thanks,
Andy.

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Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by angel-tech » Sun 24 Mar , 2013 17:29 pm

a rotary inverter may do the job ok, but if this is the machine that came from south wales i can verify that it should be in good working order. Allthough it has a 3 phase supply running it, most of the electronics are single phase, and a mach3 conversion is pretty straight forward.

ClitheroeKate
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat 23 Mar , 2013 22:11 pm
Hardware/Software: Denford Easymill 3, 1984, i believe it is totaly origonal. The spindle motor is marked as 1 hp, 3 phase with four pulleys for speed changes. 3 phase coolant pump. 1 board in the control is marked as PNC3. There are a few buttons missing on the control box and the tape drive dosen't work. The previous owner ran it off 3 phase and as I haven't got three phase at home I'm looking to convert it to single phase and up-date/up-grade it in the process. I am however a complete newbie.

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by ClitheroeKate » Sun 24 Mar , 2013 17:55 pm

Thanks for that Angel-tech. Yes, it is the machine that came from South Wales.

So if most of the electronics are single phase what could I (or an appropriatley qualified electrician) do. Would I be correct in thinking that I could separate the cnc side of the electronics and plug it into a 240v supply, then run the motors (main and coolant) through the inverter?

I've got to say I'm chuffed to bits with it and looking forward to get it going. Any info on the components I should get for the Mach 3 conversion would be very welcome!

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Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by angel-tech » Sun 24 Mar , 2013 18:00 pm

i've sent you a pm.

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Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by Denford Admin » Mon 25 Mar , 2013 10:16 am

i've sent you a pm.
Please post any progress on the conversion...too often people come on asking questions and getting what they need from the forum, but then disappear without letting anyone else know how they got on...what worked, what didn't, what problems they encountered etc..

ClitheroeKate
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat 23 Mar , 2013 22:11 pm
Hardware/Software: Denford Easymill 3, 1984, i believe it is totaly origonal. The spindle motor is marked as 1 hp, 3 phase with four pulleys for speed changes. 3 phase coolant pump. 1 board in the control is marked as PNC3. There are a few buttons missing on the control box and the tape drive dosen't work. The previous owner ran it off 3 phase and as I haven't got three phase at home I'm looking to convert it to single phase and up-date/up-grade it in the process. I am however a complete newbie.

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by ClitheroeKate » Mon 25 Mar , 2013 10:29 am

Denford Admin wrote:
i've sent you a pm.
Please post any progress on the conversion...too often people come on asking questions and getting what they need from the forum, but then disappear without letting anyone else know how they got on...what worked, what didn't, what problems they encountered etc..
Yep, will do.

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Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by Denford Admin » Mon 25 Mar , 2013 11:51 am

Thanks :)

ClitheroeKate
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat 23 Mar , 2013 22:11 pm
Hardware/Software: Denford Easymill 3, 1984, i believe it is totaly origonal. The spindle motor is marked as 1 hp, 3 phase with four pulleys for speed changes. 3 phase coolant pump. 1 board in the control is marked as PNC3. There are a few buttons missing on the control box and the tape drive dosen't work. The previous owner ran it off 3 phase and as I haven't got three phase at home I'm looking to convert it to single phase and up-date/up-grade it in the process. I am however a complete newbie.

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by ClitheroeKate » Tue 26 Mar , 2013 21:04 pm

Attached are some photos of the machine with info plates and some of its insides.
Attachments
Stepper driver connection board.JPG
Looking inside the control box at the board that the stepper drivers connect to.
Stepper driver connection board.JPG (397.7 KiB) Viewed 17992 times
Stepper driver.JPG
One of the stepper driver boards showing the manufacturers details.
Stepper driver.JPG (451.67 KiB) Viewed 17992 times
3 off stepper drivers.JPG
The three stepper driver boards removed from the control box.
3 off stepper drivers.JPG (487.07 KiB) Viewed 17992 times
NEE Power Distribution board.JPG
The North East Electronics Power Distribution board.
NEE Power Distribution board.JPG (428.47 KiB) Viewed 17992 times
PNC3 Board.JPG
The PNC3 board.
PNC3 Board.JPG (241.74 KiB) Viewed 17992 times
Coolant pump.JPG
The coolant pump motor plate.
Coolant pump.JPG (162.59 KiB) Viewed 17992 times
Spindle Motor plate.JPG
Main spindle motor plate. It looks like its been attacked around the edges with tin snips.
Spindle Motor plate.JPG (183.16 KiB) Viewed 17992 times
specs.JPG
Specs plate attached to the side of the machine.
specs.JPG (889.28 KiB) Viewed 17992 times
photo.JPG
This is my new Easymill 3
photo.JPG (118.92 KiB) Viewed 17992 times

vandal968
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed 08 Dec , 2010 11:21 am
Hardware/Software: EasiMill 3; Orac

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by vandal968 » Mon 03 Jun , 2013 3:04 am

I've got the same exact machine, also running Mach3 since the original firmware on the EPROM's deteriorated over time. Denford apparently hasn't saved any of the old firmware?! Had to replace a bunch of perfectly good boards in an almost-new machine. :evil: There is no reason to replace the drives, the original drives and power supply are perfectly fine, I did my conversion about 8 years ago and it's still running very strong. All you really need are a couple of breakout boards and a vfd for the spindle and one for the coolant. The original spindle motor is quite good too, I run mine from 10-180Hz NO problem. Denford really screwed the spindle lube though, they added a tap off the reservior to feed the Z-axis leadscrew. On mine ALL of the spindle oil went to the leadscrew and none to the spindle. Fried two bearings before I figured out what was going on.

cheers,
c

ClitheroeKate
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat 23 Mar , 2013 22:11 pm
Hardware/Software: Denford Easymill 3, 1984, i believe it is totaly origonal. The spindle motor is marked as 1 hp, 3 phase with four pulleys for speed changes. 3 phase coolant pump. 1 board in the control is marked as PNC3. There are a few buttons missing on the control box and the tape drive dosen't work. The previous owner ran it off 3 phase and as I haven't got three phase at home I'm looking to convert it to single phase and up-date/up-grade it in the process. I am however a complete newbie.

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by ClitheroeKate » Mon 18 Nov , 2013 23:18 pm

Hey Vandal, thanks for your post.

You say your machine is the same and you run the spindle motor through an inverter. Is your spindle motor the same as the one in the pictures? I'm trying to work out if the motor on my machine is dual voltage so I can run it from an inverter like yourself. The name plate shows 440 and not 220. If you could confirm this I'd be greatful.

vandal968
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed 08 Dec , 2010 11:21 am
Hardware/Software: EasiMill 3; Orac

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by vandal968 » Tue 19 Nov , 2013 0:16 am

My motor looks identical to the one in the photos. Pretty sure that the dataplate on my motor and on the mill are both marked 220v instead of 440v, I'll confirm when I get home tonight.

cheers,
c

ClitheroeKate
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat 23 Mar , 2013 22:11 pm
Hardware/Software: Denford Easymill 3, 1984, i believe it is totaly origonal. The spindle motor is marked as 1 hp, 3 phase with four pulleys for speed changes. 3 phase coolant pump. 1 board in the control is marked as PNC3. There are a few buttons missing on the control box and the tape drive dosen't work. The previous owner ran it off 3 phase and as I haven't got three phase at home I'm looking to convert it to single phase and up-date/up-grade it in the process. I am however a complete newbie.

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by ClitheroeKate » Tue 19 Nov , 2013 8:24 am

Thanks Vandal.
I've noticed the time of your post, do you work nights or are you based somewhere west of the UK? I'm thinking that if your in the States your supply voltage may be different to ours so the inrternals of motor might be different to suit that voltage. If I understand correctly, 3 phase is 220 volts in the States while it is 440 volts in the UK.

vandal968
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed 08 Dec , 2010 11:21 am
Hardware/Software: EasiMill 3; Orac

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by vandal968 » Wed 04 Dec , 2013 5:51 am

Sorry this is so late, I just checked and yes, both the motor and the mill are marked 220v on my machine. I'm in the US, 3-phase here is available in 220 or 440v, but not in my home shop. My mill gets 240v 1-phase from a dryer circuit, and I've got two VFD's to make it 3-phase, one for the spindle motor and one for the coolant pump. I'm still using the original CD20 stepper drives etc.

cheers,
c

malcolm1942
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon 11 Feb , 2013 11:23 am

Re: Can I use an inverter with my easymill 3?

Post by malcolm1942 » Fri 25 Sep , 2015 10:34 am

Hi ,
I was interested in your conversion. being a mechanical man. a lot of electronic talk goes over my head. So any info you post can be very usefull. Your machine is exactly the same as mine. Are you up and running ?

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