[Ksoggs]

Hello friends,

I am new to posting, but been a reader for months now. Anyway... I recently bought a bridgeport boss 5 cnc machine to retrofit and use in my garage at home. Mostly a fun project just to do it for the sake of doing it. I am on a very limited budget, and so i am trying to do everything on this mill in the style of the native americans. Waste nothing, and put everything to some good use.

First of all... here is a link to some photos of the mill.

MyNewMill pictures by italianscorpio75 - Photobucket

I took it home, tore off the ancient boss system and cabinets (i needed the space and didnt want the bulk.) I have a pc running mach 3 that i used on another cnc project of mine. i plan to mount a flatpanel monitor and a keyboard / mouse etc....

My garage doesnt have 3phase power... so i got a 7.5hp idler motor along with the mill. I wired it up with a breaker and a contactor... wrapped a wire around it like a rip cord... gave it a yank
... flipped the switch, and up spun the idler.... hit the switch for the contactor, and my bridgeport spindle spun to life in a hurry.

Sooooo.... i got all the basics working and tested... just time to get a little less cave man... I am on a budget, but i dont want to power my mill with a hamster wheel... So i was wondering a few things....

1. do i NEED run capacitors and balancing circuitry and all if the spindle is the only thing running on the 3phase? it sems to have tons of power and runs incredibly smooth just on 220v plus an idler for leg 3. So do i NEED or even really WANT to bother with run capacitors and such? i know they are needed for a cnc machine... but everything cnc is going to be run on 110v, so that is a non-issue.

2. Is it easier or better or cheaper or safer to fire up my idler with a capacitor start? or a small DC or cheap 110v "starter" motor? I have a 12v motor that is about the size of a coke can that is just sitting on a shelf... it would make a dandy lil starter motor. I also have a 24v motor from my nieces broken scooter i could use.. (and it could be run from my 24v power supply that powers my contactor and such) I would actually prefer capacitor start... but the only capacitors i have are the ones in the cabinets of the boss that i tore out. from what i read, they are the wrong type of cap... and that i want the oval style... And i have no idea if the rating are usable for a start cap... I mean i do have a bunch of them in there... if they would work, i would happily use them as start and run caps. I just dont know if i can.. can anyone tell me the difference?

3. I notice the bp boss has spindle controls for "high range - run - start" and "low range - run - start" (all on one 5 position control knob)
i find it odd that it has high and low... but no reverse.... and that it has start positions too... i didnt think 3phase needed any sort of "start" help. BUT... since i ripped off the power and control boxes, the spindle controls are just some dangling wires now... So i guess i was wondering if some one could explain to me how the high and low range and starts worked... and why... and why no reverse... and then i was sort of hoping to convert it to foreward and reverse, single speed. and then maybe even use the "start" position to turn on the phase converter (starter motor, or engage start cap)

4. I still have all the original components... and i have 2 much smaller cabinets for the needed electrical components. So i would like to salvage what i can and might need/want from the old boxes and move them into the smaller boxes. But a lot of these things i am not even sure of their purpose... lots of transformers in the rear box, one 3-part, and then 3 individual ones... then like there are 2 contactor looking things... one power disconnect, and then a big box transformer looking thing i have no idea what it is. any assistance in identifying this stuff and its intended use, and maybe ideas for how to re-use them for new more modern uses.


I am sure there are more things i wanted some input on... but i think this will do for the moment! lol..

[Ksoggs]

can anyone tell me what this thing does? I assume it is a transformer... but for what?
what purpose does it serve? it appears to use only 2 legs of the 3phase power... and outputs _________?

there are 3 individual identicle transformers... and then a single 3-in-1 transformer... and then this big sucker....

just trying to figure out the purpose of each. I know there are 3 phases.... and 3 axis... so the 2 sets of 3's make sence... (just not sure which is for which) but this one confuses me.

[Ksoggs]

and i thought this was a clever way of dealing with the bulky idler motor for the phase converter... had the bracket there for the old power unit... and some empty space back there....


here is my new electrical cabinet in progress...



I am going to ask this in the rpc section... but maybe someone here knows too.... i only have a 3 wire outlet by the mill... hot hot ground... no neutral. But i have a few devices that want 110v power.... my choices are....

1. run a seperate 110v wire to the mill as well to power the 110v items.

2. use the ground as neutral, and power the 110v items between L1 and ground. (old school before they had neutral and ground)

3. run the 110v items in 220v mode (european mode) and then wire them with the hot hot ground just like other 220v things. i assume this would work, but never played around with the 110/220v switch on things like that... but i dont know if europe gets its 220v on a single hot, and still has a neurtal and ground... or if it uses 2 hots and a ground like we do... that is what i am curious about.... or if it even maters.

[jmelson]

[QUOTE=Ksoggs;861522]can anyone tell me what this thing does? I assume it is a transformer... but for what?
what purpose does it serve? it appears to use only 2 legs of the 3phase power... and outputs _________?

It is strappable for 240 or 480 V input, and is now set for 240 V input. It puts out 120 V AC, and could be used to provide 120 power for computer and similar gear.

Jon