Product King canada pdm30

[Stx450]

I purchased a new Pdm30 mill in march 22 I am so disappointed the motor vibrates bad which make the unit noisy and inaccurate I contacted KC only to get told that these machines have a weak motor mount so I should run it by loosening the belts.so forget about factory warranty or dealer support that said it is junk but I have to work with it .

 

[Stx450]

Yes it hurts good money for poor result but I have since mounted the motor on rubber mounts had to buy a longer belt and that really smoothed it . I talk to an electric moto rrebuilbing guy it is ether poorly balanced or a skip in the winding but for sure a bad motor.

 

[6.5 Fan]

It really suck that some of these companies only want to sell product and not service the product.

 

[YYCHM]

Do you have 220V available? I upgraded my RF30 clone with a 220V 3 phase motor and VFD. Love it, smooth and haven't changed a belt since.

 

[6.5 Fan]

I'm planning on changing to 3 phase and VFD as well, changing speeds on these machines sucks.

 

[Stx450]

Yes l have it hooked 220v but 3 phase is not available at our yard and yes I will get the motor ether rebuilt our get a new one but no thanks to K C I

 

[trlvn]

The belts could also be a problem. Sometimes cheap belts are an inconsistent width (lumpy) which can create vibration while running. Plus if the belts were tight during storage and transport, they could have a significant set that might take time to work out.

Craig

 

[140mower]

Yes l have it hooked 220v but 3 phase is not available at our yard and yes I will get the motor ether rebuilt our get a new one but no thanks to K C I

You don't have to worry about having 3 phase, as vfd's are available now for little money. If faced with a motor change, this is the route I think most of us would take. It offers variable speed, braking if you want, and a soft start and a jog option. Not to mention that you generally get a better surface finish with a 3 phase motor....... Oh, and the motors are usually cheaper than a single phase one....... Good luck, and hopefully things go smoother going forward.

 

[Susquatch]

@Stx450 - what @140mower says times 10. If you do what he says you will open up a whole new world of possibilities.

 

[Stx450]

Thanks it is the motor I took it off ran it on the work bench and shook the whole bench

 

[Susquatch]

Thanks it is the motor I took it off ran it on the work bench and shook the whole bench

The point that @140mower is making (which I and most other members agree with) is to DELIBERATELY get a replacement motor for it that is 220V 3Phase. Don't worry about not having 3 phase in your shop. Instead get a VFD for it. The appropriate VFD will convert your singlephase power to 220V 3phase AND simultaneously add all kinds of other very desirable capabilities. Not having access to 3phase in your shop is actually a blessing in disguise.

 

[PaulL]

Since we're talking VFD conversions - which VFDs do people like? I see a bewildering array of them available.

 

[DPittman]

Since we're talking VFD conversions - which VFDs do people like? I see a bewildering array of them available.

Well I'm no expert but I too was overwhelmed with the choices and the extreme price range of them. In the end I choose a couple off of Amazon that seem to be sold under a zillion different "brand names" but appeared identical. When I purchased them they were about the cheapest I could find. So far no problems. Instructions were poor for a newbie like me but with forum help I got them figured out.
2.2kW VFD Drive Inverter, 220V AC Single-Phase Variable Frequency Drive Inverter, Walfront VFD Speed Controller Inverter for 3-Phase Motor https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07BKZ6RNL/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_D48Z0Q1AZ91SGV2Z5THJ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Susquatch]

@plalonde

@Dabbler put me onto a TECO L510. I have two now. I love them.

There are much cheaper ones out there but I didn't feel like that was something I wanted to compromise on.

Zero Regrets.

 

[DavidR8]

+1 for the Teco 510 series. I have two of them and they work flawlessly.

 

[Darren]

I have a few L510's as well, and they are great, but keep in mind that they don't have the ability to use an external brake resistor. Not a big deal at all on a mill, but on a lathe with a heavy chuck, you might want more braking than the unit can provide.

 

[Susquatch]

I have a few L510's as well, and they are great, but keep in mind that they don't have the ability to use an external brake resistor. Not a big deal at all on a mill, but on a lathe with a heavy chuck, you might want more braking than the unit can provide.

Although the smaller L510 doesn't have the ability to directly add resistive braking, it does have regenerative braking. For this who want instant stop, that isn't gunna work. However, most lathes that need that kind of braking already have a mechanical brake. Same goes for mills. So I'm not really fussed over the missing capability. I have not done it yet because I have not finalized my needs, but I plan to install a panel box on the head of my mill that will include a E-stop on the mains right next to the manual brake handle.

It should be possible to install a mains powered braking system with three relays if needed, but why when there is a brake handle right there?

My lathe has no braking now so I don't plan to add it. If I ever wanted to, a set of mains powered relays that reroute motor power through a set of resistors would do the trick. Otherwise, the programmable braking built into my L510 would still be much better than factory.

To explain my thoughts on relay based braking a bit further, it's important to know that such currents should never be routed through the VFD output.

But I would expect that three relays powered by the mains would work fine. When the VFD is powered via the EStop On switch, the three relays always connect the VFD to the motor. This provides regenerative braking, direction, and rpm control from the VFD to the motor. Hitting the EStop, kills mains power to the VFD and drops the 3 output relays a few seconds later. Doing so would reroute power to the motor through the 3 braking resistors. Since the VFD AND mains power are all disconnected when the EStop is hit, the VFD outputs would be protected from back emf generated by the motor resistor braking system. It is also important to note that the motor is not normally stopped with the EStop. Normally the direction control switch on the VFD is just moved to neutral which kicks in programmable regen braking. Also note that the L510 also allows smooth continuous reversing. Ie programmable smooth continuous full speed forward to programmable full speed reverse.

I confess that this is just my own thoughts at this point. I talked to TECO Engineers about it a while back though and they thought it was ok. But I have not tried this myself nor measured the resulting voltage and performance responses so I'm not recommending it until I have - which is probably several months away or more. Nonetheless, I do think it should work just fine.

 

[Darren]

I have a L510 powering my Emco v13. I works great, but for me it couldn't brake fast enough. Thankfully my motor has a built in mechanical brake that i could control using the L510's relay output to control a SSR that switches power to the brake. It stops fast now.

But we have derailed yet another thread. None of this is applicable to a small mill. The L510 would be perfect on its own.

 

[Susquatch]

I have a L510 powering my Emco v13. I works great, but for me it couldn't brake fast enough. Thankfully my motor has a built in mechanical brake that i could control using the L510's relay output to control a SSR that switches power to the brake. It stops fast now.

But we have derailed yet another thread. None of this is applicable to a small mill. The L510 would be perfect on its own.

So true, and totally agree. The L510 is perfect for a small mill - or a big one!

 

[YotaBota]

Another + vote for the TECO L510. They're not inexpensive, but they're also not cheap and you can read the instructions. There are also a few really good "how to program" videos online.