Advice on inverter/convertor

Hi guys I have just bought a secondhand Chester Lux mill fitted with a 3 phase motor. This is fitted with a inverter and gives variable speed. I am just about to buy a Boxford AUD mk111 fitted with a 3 phase motor this being fitted with a Transwave converter. This setup does not give a variable to the lathe the owner changing belts as normal. Given that I will only run one machine at the same time cound I use the inverter that I have to run both mill and lathe ( also to get variable speed on the lathe as well) or will I have to buy the transwave contverter as well. He wants =A3250 just for the converter, which I think is too much, and in this would I be able to get variable speed out of it. Sorry for lack of information on the motors and invertor/convertor but the machines are in storage at the moment.

Mike Cole

Yes in principle (one at a time), providing: - the inverter is rated for the lathe motor - the lathe motor can be re-wired to delta configuration - the coolant pump can be re-wired to delta and you know how to add a capacitor to make it run from single phase - you can re-wire the lathe controls (and the light) for 230V.

Also, you should really have an interlock to prevent disconnecting a motor from the inverter with power on the inverter input; supposedly they don't like it very much.

All fairly straightforward if the motor has 6 terminals and you're comfortable sorting-out the wiring. I did this a while ago on a BUD, the coolant pump only had 3 terminals so I had to dismantle it to find the star point - a bit like neurosurgery but it worked-out OK.

Dave