Lathe with broken speed controller

timfromtang

Greetings all,
A Myford Mystro mark II I think, she has had a replacement speed controller in the past, when in use by my late father.
I now need to use the machine again.
I am looking for a replacement speed controller and some expert help if available when it comes to fitting it.
tim

fergalm

Hi Tim, where are you located? You should be able to get a new control unit from Myford. do you know what is actually wrong with it or what happened to it?

timfromtang

thanks for the reply Fergal,
I am located in tang, about slap bang in the middle of the island, kinda on the dublin side of the pointy bit of lough ree, or north of athlone and south of ballymahon on the N55.
I'll contact Myford and ask them, it never crossed my tiny mind for some reason, doh!

As for what is wrong with it, when i plugged in the lathe at first it displayed ERR in its display (the speed controller) this was some years ago, now it simply has a blank display.
tim

I've emailed myford, wait and see now i suppose.........

timfromtang

Myford Ltd <orders@myford.co.uk>

14:46 (19 hours ago)


to me

Hi there,

Thank you for the email but unfortunately we dont have any parts in stock for this machine.


buggritbuggritbuggritbuggrutbuggrut

tim

UPDATE
I emailed em back askin to recommend a spec, here's the response

"
Hello,

Sorry - I can't really offer you any advice on this, as nobody here is particularly familiar with VFDs. The best thing to do would be to go to a company that specialises in this sort of thing, like Transwave. If you tell them what you are using the VFD for, I'm sure they could suggest a suitable replacement.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful,
"



Well helpful they are, the sorry seems unnecessary, and in an enlightened fashion they recognise their lack of expertise in this area, and go as far as to recommend a supplier who can help, thank you Myford.

emailing transwave now

tim

timfromtang

so I ended up calling transwave, who direct me to this guy "michael fitzgerald" their kinda irish rep!

I phone michael who is helpful, but does not like inverter drives (he sells and fits phase converters) he'll get back to me in the am.,,,,, arrrrghhhh

do other lathe owners find their inverter drives dodgy???? as michael suggests????

dammit all i need is a working machine,,,

so i've emailed a crowd in the uk called http://www.newton-tesla.co.uk

will post their response, perhaps i can upgrade (more horsepower) and get an inverter motor package to fit,,,,,, we'll see
tim

TPM

there is a crowd in co. wicklow PRSA (power supply repair) i dont have their number to hand but they might be worth a call, they have repaired various things for me in the past

my3cents

OP, there seems to be a lot of standardization in the motors used in different lathes have you tried to see if there is a similar motor on another brand that does supply parts.

Alun

I don't know if this crowd will be any help, but many moons ago I was thinking of converting my lathe to variable speed and they seemed quite helpful at the time ...

http://www.haydockconverters.co.uk/

timfromtang

Alun wrote: »

I don't know if this crowd will be any help, but many moons ago I was thinking of converting my lathe to variable speed and they seemed quite helpful at the time ...

thanks for that
I've emailed http://www.haydockconverters.co.uk

no response thus far from Newton-Tesla sigh
we'll see what happens with this crowd
tim

timfromtang

timfromtang wrote: »

thanks for that
I've emailed http://www.haydockconverters.co.uk

no response thus far from Newton-Tesla sigh
we'll see what happens with this crowd
tim

Well well,,,
swift response,,, but THOSE PRICES!!!!!

see mail''

"
converters <member@shaydock.fsnet.co.uk>

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your enquiry.
We have built many kits for the Mystro over the years.
I have 3 options for you to consider;

1. We can build you a replacement Speed Genie controller to run your existing motor for £378.00 including delivery to Ireland.

2. We can build you a 1HP imperial kit which is a direct conversion for your lathe including new motor shaft bush and washer/set screw etc. for £542.00 including
delivery to Ireland.

3. We can build you a 1.5HP imperial kit as per option 2 which will cost £675.00 including delivery to Ireland.

Hope this is of use to you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Mark Haydock

"



12:47 (3 hours ago)


to me

my3cents

I used to have a Mystro and it would be some machine with a 1.5 HP motor on it

If you don't want to rebuild it let me know I always regret getting rid of mine :mad:

timfromtang

my3cents wrote: »

I used to have a Mystro and it would be some machine with a 1.5 HP motor on it

If you don't want to rebuild it let me know I always regret getting rid of mine :mad:

I need to use the machine, I am still dithering over whether to buy just a VFD from John Collerton at ERS in Waterford, or to buy a motor and controller package from newton-tesla in the uk, I agree that more HP would improve the machine but the original Brooks Crompton motor is a quality bit of kit. I'll decide and act on Monday.

Last evening i removed the motor and drive enclosure and switchgear from the machine and inspected it, the VFD is the main suspect as i see 240V on the input terminals when powered, and see dead display and nada on the output side. I have partially disassembled the VFD but thus far no fault is obvious to my untrained eye.

Sadly I am unlikely to be selling the machine, it belonged to my late father and there are other folk here who use the lathes.

tim

my3cents

I had the original Mystro but without the speed controller the (iirc) 3/4HP motor was powerful enough for the biggest work but I always felt it could have had just a bit more torque.

What would the component cost be to remove the speed controller and make it a multi pulley drive? If thats possible?

timfromtang

my3cents wrote: »

I had the original Mystro but without the speed controller the (iirc) 3/4HP motor was powerful enough for the biggest work but I always felt it could have had just a bit more torque.

What would the component cost be to remove the speed controller and make it a multi pulley drive? If thats possible?

the multipulley drive solution would require a different motor, as the variable speed model uses a 3 phase 3/4 hp brooks crompton motor, since we have only a single phase supply the VFD used was a single phase input 3 phase output type.
A multipulley drive would not be a solution of choice for me in an case as the variable speed drive offers a host of advantages. If I were to implement it, I'd probably incorporate a jack shaft and middle pulley set using 2 belts and a hinged motor mount (for belt tension), to make speed changes quick and increase the range available, utilising the existing internal pulleys for a high/lo range, with perhaps a 5 step set on the motor and on the other end of the jack shaft. as for cost, well fabricate/recycle or buy? the costs are flexible.

tim

phelixoflaherty

Is there anyplace that rebuilds motors near you.
They might know what's needed or someone who can help.
If you had info off the motor too

raspberrypi67

timfromtang wrote: »

Greetings all,
A Myford Mystro mark II I think, she has had a replacement speed controller in the past, when in use by my late father.
I now need to use the machine again.
I am looking for a replacement speed controller and some expert help if available when it comes to fitting it.
tim

I could fix this for you, send some pics of it please...

timfromtang

raspberrypi67 wrote: »

I could fix this for you, send some pics of it please...

greetings,
It is a bit late in the game I am afraid,,, I have ordered a new mitsubishi variable frequency drive from newton tesla in the uk
However if you'd like to have a go at mending either the original jaguar cub VFD (which failed some 3 years after Dad bought the lathe) or the Schneider Altivar 08 which was fitted as a replacement part, you'd be welcome to have a go.
pm me and we'll get in touch
tim

slowburner

Apologies in advance for reopening this old thread but I’m just wondering what the final outcome was.
My old Mystro’s inverter has packed in and I’m looking for someone to repair it.
Difficult times for this I know...