893cv
Well-known member
I am shopping for a Bridgeport and I hope to use a VFD instead of rotor phase converter. Does anyone have any trips or advice on this?
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VFD and a Bridgeport mill
- Thread starter 893cv
- Start date
rsanter
Well-known member
Yes, use a VFD. It is the best upgrade you will ever do to your mill
If it was me I would recomend you buy the cheapest TECO VFD that only has the push buttons and not the dial. Mount the VFD in an enclosure or you can even put it on the column of the machine behind the door on the left side.
Then get a project box and use a three way switch for rev/off/fwd.
Do not,bother with the jog function as it's easy enough to just grab the spindle and turn it if you need to position the cutter or something.
Then just use the proper pot for the speed control.
Put the control box up on the head of the machine. I like mine on the right as I am right handed.
A nice add on would be to make a little project RPM meter to tell,you what your RPM is regardless of what position the belt,is in
Bob
If it was me I would recomend you buy the cheapest TECO VFD that only has the push buttons and not the dial. Mount the VFD in an enclosure or you can even put it on the column of the machine behind the door on the left side.
Then get a project box and use a three way switch for rev/off/fwd.
Do not,bother with the jog function as it's easy enough to just grab the spindle and turn it if you need to position the cutter or something.
Then just use the proper pot for the speed control.
Put the control box up on the head of the machine. I like mine on the right as I am right handed.
A nice add on would be to make a little project RPM meter to tell,you what your RPM is regardless of what position the belt,is in
Bob
dave*99
Well-known member
I set up a Bridgeport mill with a Teco VFD also. It works great. Variable speed etc. It also puts the correct voltage on the 208V motor from the 240V supply.
ez-duzit
Well-known member
Find the mill, first. It might already come with a VFD.
justanengineer
Well-known member
1. Buy a machine.
2. If it doesn't have one, buy a VFD paying attention to voltage and phase in/out.
3. Read manual.
4. Mount VFD in an enclosure and wire as per manual. Avoid having switches or fuses between the VFD and motor, switching load off on a VFD suddenly can kill them quickly. I always wire the standard machine controls (on a Bport its a big drum switch on the head) into the VFD control circuit. I like to have the proverbial big red mushroom E-stop for safety reasons and will wire in a braking resistor to help slow motors if the red mushroom doesn't stop the machine fast during testing. I also like to have a jog on every machine, on a mill its handy for power tapping, on other machines its a programmed "slow" speed.
5. Program the VFD (ez-peezy when you get into it) and enjoy the machine.
6. Avoid using the cheap "membrane" keypads built into most VFDs except for programming, you'll wear them out if you use them daily to start/stop the machine. Wire in separate start/stop/jog/e-stop switches instead.
I also recommend Teco FM50 VFDs, usually ~$100 from a variety of sources and offer both 110V and 220V models that'll handle a 1 hp Bport.
2. If it doesn't have one, buy a VFD paying attention to voltage and phase in/out.
3. Read manual.
4. Mount VFD in an enclosure and wire as per manual. Avoid having switches or fuses between the VFD and motor, switching load off on a VFD suddenly can kill them quickly. I always wire the standard machine controls (on a Bport its a big drum switch on the head) into the VFD control circuit. I like to have the proverbial big red mushroom E-stop for safety reasons and will wire in a braking resistor to help slow motors if the red mushroom doesn't stop the machine fast during testing. I also like to have a jog on every machine, on a mill its handy for power tapping, on other machines its a programmed "slow" speed.
5. Program the VFD (ez-peezy when you get into it) and enjoy the machine.
6. Avoid using the cheap "membrane" keypads built into most VFDs except for programming, you'll wear them out if you use them daily to start/stop the machine. Wire in separate start/stop/jog/e-stop switches instead.
I also recommend Teco FM50 VFDs, usually ~$100 from a variety of sources and offer both 110V and 220V models that'll handle a 1 hp Bport.