[thx1138]

A Wiz at cutting chips, not so good on the electrical side though so pardon a stupid question. I have a couple p5 series 400watt ac sanyo denki servo motors and i'm wondering if i could use these as spindle drives. Wouldn't have to sync with any axis, as a matter of fact one would be going on a manual mini lathe, the other on a sherline stepper mill. they would just need to be speed controlled in both directions. If i need to control the sherline one by my p.c. that's fine, but what about the lathe? I'd hate to have to use a p.c. just to run the spindle.
I'd appreciate it if someone could give me a clue and point me in the right direction.
also, would this size servo provide more h.p. and or torque than the standard sherline motor?

[pastera]

The ease is based on your controller, if you have an anolog input controller just put it into velocity mode and feed it ±10 volts to control speed.
If you have a step&direction controller, you could use a 555 timer or PIC microcontroller to set the speed.

The standard motor specifications show 60Watts (10oz/in @ 6100 RPM), not very powerfull!

As far as a 400W P5 - Max speed 4500 RPM, Nominal 3000 RPM @1.274Nm (180 oz/in)
So, even if you gear up the servo to get 6000 RPM, you would still have 9x the torque!


Aaron

[thx1138]

So there is a standalone controller that can control rpm's and directions for this servo. guess that's where i start....
analog input controller with velocity mode..... any examples, brand names spring to mind?

[Karl_T]

I'd suggest you put that servo up on Ebay.

use the proceeds to buy a three phase motor and VFD drive. Much cheaper and better way to go. Works great as a lathe spindle motor.

[thx1138]

Again my lack of electrical knowledge is gonna show.
3 phase? wouldn't that involve pulling additional wiring to my garage? As it stands, all i got is 110v.
I did price a dc motor brake and controller, came out to 800+. Mind you this is a old craftsman 6x20 lathe that i picked up for about $200.00. then spent a couple hours of maintenance to get it rollin.
You think i could get anything on ebay for these servo's? They're spankin' new......

[Karl_T]

Sounds like you know how to scrounge. I'm sure many have run this machine with a 3/4 hp. 110 volt motor. probably your cheapest route.

If you'd like variable speed, find a used 1 hp. three phase motor. Around here, $25 would be a high price. Go to automationdirect.com or driveswarehouse.com and buy a 1 hp Hitachi SJ200 VFD ($150?). You'll have to run a 220 volt electric line to this. In our area its OK to just use 12 guage romex and string it in an unfinished area. If your area is finished, electrical conduit is easiest.

You might look at surplus center.com for a better price on dc motors and drives if you need to stay 110 volt.

The key to money on ebay is a very good description, good keywords. I'd sure try.

karl

[vladdy]

another alternative you may want to consider would be old treadmill motors, run from around 3/4 to 2 hp or so, with speed controller, depending on where you can salvage them...
I go to the local scrap yard and have managed to scrounge a few so far, a one hp unit with controller cost two cups of coffee so the price wasn't too bad, the scrap yard owner maybe pays two or three cents a pound for stuff like this, so it's pretty easy to dicker a little...
I haven't seen any with a reversing switch but a mechanical dpdt switch will work if it has enough current capacity, a drum reverser is good, just a little bulky..
the ones I have gotten so far use a [appx] 10k pot for speed adjustment, max at 90 -130vdc and are rated [on tag] at 3450 rpm max..
They both have fairly heavy flywheels on them, removing them makes acceleration quicker, but I probably will just turn them down in diameter and retain some momentum to run the lathe [ old south bend shop task] a little more smoothly..