Jet GH-1340T lathe info

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I just picked up a 1993 Jet GH-1340T lathe but I can't find any real information about it. I'm hoping someone can point me towards a manual or electrical schematic. I'm going to power it up with a VFD but still want to use the foot brake most of the time. I thinking I can set the VFD to coast to stop when the brake is applied so I don't fight or harm the VFD. Not sure if I still want to use the forward and reverse contactors to break the motor leads or just use the contactors as inputs to the VFD. Anyone powering their lathe with a VFD and still use the foot brake? How did you set it up?

Thanks,
Randy

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I traced out the wiring and drew up a schematic. Thinking I will use one of the main contactors to power up the VFD when I turn on the control selector switch. Have a basic idea of controls for the drive but won't be sure until the drive arrives so I can check out the manual. I still am looking for a manual. Any 1340 lathes that are close to this that has a manual I can get?

Thanks,
Randy
 
You DO NOT want any contactor between the VFD and motor. It's the quickest way to blow up a VFD. So never put a switch contact between the VFD and motor. Let the VFD control it.
I have a similar lathe that has 3phase main motor and 3phase coolant pump motor. I did rewire the lathe to use the main power switch to power the VFD input. And a FWD and REV contact from each of the original motor contact switches to the VFD for digital input control using the +24VDC discrete power of the VFD.
And yes, you can set the VFD up to coast to stop.
This keeps the interlock parts of your lathe motor control, so if the FWD/REV control lever is left in the on position, it prevents the lathe from running on power up. So you don't touch any part of that interlock wiring. Just the output contacts of the FWD/REV contactors in the control box. And these are isolated from any input power of the AC mains during operation, as you've disconnected them to be reused to control the input discretes of the VFD.
 
As for the coolant pump, I bought a super cheap VFD from eBay, and power just that from the front panel switch, But maybe your coolant pump is not 3phase. Mine was, so a $40 VFD was the easy solution, as it's a less then 1/10thHP motor.
 
As for the coolant pump, I bought a super cheap VFD from eBay, and power just that from the front panel switch, But maybe your coolant pump is not 3phase. Mine was, so a $40 VFD was the easy solution, as it's a less then 1/10thHP motor.
My lathe didn't come with a coolant pump. It's prewired for a 3 phase one though. I have a stand alone coolant pump that's 120V that I can wire in if I choose to use it.
 
My lathe didn't come with a coolant pump. It's prewired for a 3 phase one though. I have a stand alone coolant pump that's 120V that I can wire in if I choose to use it.
I got a deal back in 2004, Grizzly tools, had a super deal, never was in the catalog, online lathes for sale. I paid $7500 for a 18x40 (450x1000mm) lathe, 5600lbs, that has a 3-1/8" hole through the head stock (listed as 80mm outside of Grizzly's spec's. I wanted a large hole for shaft work, as part of my hobby is fix of broken stuff, and the 10x24 Jet lathe I got in 1976 was too small.
So what I found under the grizzly slapped on label was some other fake importer tool company, that had no searchable existence in the world. And from talking to Grizzly's customer support, as my #4MT tail stock had a manufacturing defect that prevented tool insertion past where they cross machined the taper push out hole in the quill. So they sent me one from their parts machine. The lathe was shipped out of MO, but parts was from their East coast store (now gone), and their customer support machinist (a real smart old retired guy that worked for them) indicated they had 6 of my size lathes and some others that were the 60 and 80 inch (1.5, 2 meter I'm trying to do this metric stuff) beds of the same import quality. They are good quality, except these are every incorrectly made part or spare excess parts put into assemblies at what was a big discount as scrap iron cost's to the importer. And I was seeing lathes from Grizzly of this same size in the $16K+, and Enco was $20K. I wanted it, and I'm happy with it.
So I did to through and kept the original safety interlock relays in place. I just pulled the old 3 phase power from the one contact I reused in each of the FWD/REV contactor motor switches, as there were no spare Aux contacts.
I did try to power it with my RPC of my build, and it caused some sort of high voltage arc to occur, and short out the FWD motor contactor to have a phase to phase short. I could not find where it was, but Grizzly sent me a new contactor from their spare parts machine. But to power 7.5HP main motor, I needed something to not deal with the locked rotor amps of startup, that would exist with 3phase line input, and my RPC could not deal with that.
So I got a 10HP Mitsubishi VFD (typical derating of the VFD for motor HP >3 is 2X VFD size to prevent input diode smoke release) that I integrated into the controls. I've never had an issue with the 30amp one phase input, it's never tripped the main breaker. More issues with tuning the deceleration so it does not overvoltage or trip some internal overcurrent brake resistor. It's of the same age 2004 (the VFD), and if it were not such a large size, I would get a replacement. I don't trust China low cost ones, but I may be wrong in them, as they've only learned how to make everything better and cheaper, especially since all US and EU name brand VFD's are made in China. Also I'm seeing them selling on eBay VFD for single phase input, to drive 40HP motors.
What they need is a VFD, that senses the motor load, and decelerates to stop as fast as possible. It would get the inertial data from monitoring the acceleration of the lathe chuck and part. It's just a hobby, not production, but safety is why I want fast deceleration. And if the VFD trips out, not helping.
The VFD on the lathe allows you to slow it down for die or tap threading to keep it under control (you're holding the wrench), and this as well slowing it down when there's harmonic noise in the cut.

I kept the main power switch of my big lathe. I know all these lathes with apron control FWD/REV levers, have similar contactor arrangements to interlock the motor from powering up, in the event of power loss, as well if there are door switches and such to lock out operation for the guy that wants to get his fingers crushed on purpose.
Since you have the diagram, the change is simple. Just keep the low DC signal stuff from any accidental AC mains power. The VFD manual has all the good install advise. The EMI is BS if you don't have long runs of motor wires. That's all industrial where motors are remote to the main VFD and contactor control room, that can be 1000s of feet away (as dumb as as this, but I worked on grain elevator in my youth as a apprentice, 300-500ft tall) and they had a remote lockout switch, that was two #14AWG copper runs per motor up in the head house, for electrical lockout safety of a maintenance guy that removed the covers to the motor belts and such) my point is that's when you need EMI/EMC filters and stuff. But on 10foot (3m) runs the switching noise has never gotten into the unshielded analog and discrete connections on any of my machines. My metal shop, all motors are 3 phase and for the drill press and old lathe, they got 3phase motor conversions a long time ago. I don't mess with belt changes unless I need some real torque, otherwise the mid range, and let the motor spin up to 120Hz input max to get the upper range of the spindle.
 
The problem with deceleration of the VFD or Acceleration, it's fixed in a program location, like 5 second, that's too slow for deceleration, but if you make it as fast as wanted, when I move to stop the spindle, the VFD does not care if the starting speed is 1100RPM or 30RPM, it just decelerates at that programmed rate. So they need a special Lathe mode and they don't have it. I also have problems with my vertical mill, that's 1.5HP, and same issue if you have a small collet with endmill or a huge face mill, randomly was always tripping, and sometimes on acceleration, being too short a time.
That's where I had my issues with VFDs
I should say that big lathe has a 12" chuck, lots of inertia.
 
The problem with deceleration of the VFD or Acceleration, it's fixed in a program location, like 5 second, that's too slow for deceleration, but if you make it as fast as wanted, when I move to stop the spindle, the VFD does not care if the starting speed is 1100RPM or 30RPM, it just decelerates at that programmed rate. So they need a special Lathe mode and they don't have it. I also have problems with my vertical mill, that's 1.5HP, and same issue if you have a small collet with endmill or a huge face mill, randomly was always tripping, and sometimes on acceleration, being too short a time.
That's where I had my issues with VFDs
I should say that big lathe has a 12" chuck, lots of inertia.
Thanks for the info. The VFD I bought has an auto accell/decel setting that's supposed to sense the motor current and give the best times. We'll see how it works. My lathe has a brake so I'll be using that most of the time. The geared head makes speed range changes easy so I plan on getting it close that way and fine tune with the drive. I do have a plan now for wiring and I'm going through the many parameters to see which ones I have to change.

Randy
 
The VFD I bought has an auto accell/decel setting that's supposed to sense the motor current and give the best times.

It would be good to investigate whether it has some hard limits that you can set because you know more about what is going on in a global sense than the VFD's computer.

Think very carefully about the "best times" you have written. Those times will be best for the VFD - assume it trips at 4 amps, it will adjust acceleration to pull no more than 3.8 amps.

What is best for the VFD might not be optimum for the rest of the (mechanical) system, the parts that the VFD can never know about. Just a simple example - if you have something imbalanced in the chuck, the acceleration ramp might not pull too many amps, but the vibration could be harmful/dangerous.
 

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