Gallery, Projects and General > Project Logs
Heart Transplant for a 3 in 1 machine
dvbydt:
It has been a while since I posted but I have been looking in. I have retired to near Ironbridge in Shropshire in the UK, which lays claim to being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution! There are 10 museums dedicated to support this idea and they are all worth a look.
Downsizeing has meant that I sold my previous workshop and now have a 10ft x 8 ft shed so a 3 in 1 machine is what I have chosen. It is a Chester Centurion, the large capacity will enable me to turn bigger wooden bowls as well as metal bits. It is not just a shed but has insulation and a small air conditioning unit for heating/cooling and dehumidifing. In the photo the walls have not yet had the plasterboard attached.
3 in 1 machines take a lot of stick because they are such a compromise , but I did own one years ago, so I knew what to expect.
The heart transplant is fitting a 3 phase motor and a VFD. The Centurion assisted in his own operation by making up brackets etc.
To be continued.
Ian
mechman48:
Nice piece of kit. I had a similar version from Machine Mart ... usual disclaimer... as my first machine some years, ago very solid & capable but wasn't over enthused with the milling capability, too top heavy & not rigid enough, never the less enjoy :thumbup:
George.
dvbydt:
George,
There seems to be two main types. The one I had years ago had only one motor to drive either the lathe or the milling head. It also had a means of moving the head up and down. This was not a very rigid setup, but the machine was inexpensive.
The Centurion has a separate motor for the head and two solid clamps to hold it in position. Still not going to win any prizes for rigidity but good enough for my model making. The lack of vertical adjustment (there is a small amount) necessitates some really creative setups!
Ian
dvbydt:
The first photo shows the original belt drive system and you can see that the motor has a very small diameter pulley. Even with the belts tight, slippage occurred. With the motor running at 1440rpm and no spindle brake, screw-cutting at 160rpm was a bit of a pain.
VFD to the rescue! There was a 940rpm 3 phase motor hiding in my shed that I had been hoarding 'cause It might come in handy one day.
Jim and Nick from a local company in Telford - electroaid.co.uk were very helpful and I bought a Control Techniques Commander SE from them at a very good price.(Highly recommended no connection.)
Locating the motor where the middle pulley used to be allowed me to use a direct drive from the motor to the spindle. VFD's can give useful torque from 10% to 200% of the motor's rated speed. So, with 75mm on the motor and 100mm on the spindle, that gives me about 60 to 1300rpm.
Double groove rather than single, SPZ pulleys were not that much extra from bearingshopuk.co.uk -.( Another very helpful Company.) Using the Taperlock system made fitting the pulley to the spindle easy and if needed it is only 5 minute job to change the motor pulley and belts for different speed ranges.
Ian
sparky961:
I've been watching with interest, as I have almost the identical machine marketed here in Canada by Busy Bee Tools under the Craftex brand name.
I've owned mine since the early 2000's and since then have made many, many changes to it. I've had lots of frustration with the machine design, and made some pretty impressive things considering its limitations. I'm interested to see what else you do, as it would seem you're off to a great start.
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