Denford Software & Machines

Hi,
I am new to the forum and I am not yet a Denford owner. I am going to view a Viceroy 280VS and of course one of my considerations will be how I go about powering it in the absence of 415v 3 phase in my garage. The seller tells me that the motor is a dual voltage 220v - 440v three phase unit. This sounds like an American motor or at least one made for that market.
My question is this: Does anyone have any experience of configuring the motor to run on 240v on a three phase inverter? This would be my prefered (cheapest) option as I can get access to a 220v 3ph inverter and would hope to avoid the expense of having to fork out for a 415 3ph transformer/inverter.

There are 2 types of 280VS - one with a manually operated wheel to change the speed (with the motor under the headstock in the cabinet), and the other with a 'pilot' motor to change the speed (with the main motor mounted on the back of the headstock) and operated via a joystick switch on the pendant control panel.

On the manual type (which I don't have but have seen one), there are 2 potential issues to check - 1) Is there a transformer for the speed display / contactor coils, and if so does it have a 220 or 240V input as well as a 415 or 440V, and 2) Are there thermal cut-outs for the spindle motor - can they be re-set for the increased current when operating at a lower voltage?
This one currently on ebay is this type.

On the electric type (which I do have), my experience is that it needs full 415V to operate the pilot motor (you can't reconfigure the pilot for different voltages). The transformer does have a 220V input terminal, but the thermal cutouts cannot be adjusted up far enough to cope with the extra current.

If you decide to go for it and need a 415V phase converter, I can recommend sticking a 'wanted' ad on homeworkshop.org.uk - I got several offers and ended up with a good deal!

Hope this helps,

Andy

Thanks for the info Andy. It seems that in both the scenarios that you have outlined there is more to consider than simply driving the spindle motor. I had not taken into account ancilliares like displays etc. I think it would be a lot easier to run it off 415v. I just need to take that into account in my budget.

Al