Hardinge KL-1

[pauly45]

Hello,
I have fairly recently been lucky enough to get hold of a Hardinge KL-1 lathe, and though it would be good to share some of my experiences with it.

I know the history of the machine for most of it's life as it came from the company at which I work, so most of what I plan to write about is, at least initially, about getting it to function.
I hope this will also be a record for myself as well for what I did, so I apologise if some of the things I write about have already been covered!

This is going in my garage, so no 3-phase there. It's the conversion to single phase - that's the first job.

Here is the lathe:



I'm not entirely sure of the manufacture date, as the serial number lists seem to be for US versions, not UK versions.

Searching the various forums tells me:

The main motor is a dual speed 0.5hp/1.5hp 415V_ac 3 phase motor.

The speed change motor is a dual voltage (240V_ac/415V_ac) 1/20hp three phase motor.

The coolant pump motor is also a dual voltage (240V_ac/415V_ac) three phase motor.

The carriage feed motor is a 90V_dc motor.

My initial aim is to power the dual speed main motor, really just to prove that the lathe is actually functioning, and there’s nothing seriously wrong with it.

Paul.

[pauly45]

I aim to power the lathe using three VFD's, and utilise the original controls of the lathe.

The speed change and coolant pump motors can be converted to Delta 240V_ac operation.

The main motor is something that I definitely want to use due to it's quality, and I've read that I need a step up 240V_ac to 415V_ac transformer and a 3-phase input VFD to run it.

I the months waiting for the lathe to arrive, I gave up waiting for a transformer to appear on ebay, so decided to get a transformer manufacture to make me one.

[Swarfing]

Paul the money you are going to pump into stepping up for the 415v, you might as well just swap it out for something else. a good quality 3 phase motor that will work at 240v delta with a vfd would be far more logical. I had to do the same for mine and even put a lower hp in, a 2hp instead of the 3hp it replaced. Never regretted it at all.

[JAZZCNC]

Would imagine a rotary converter would be the cheapest and easiest way.? Keeps every thing original plus neat and tidy.

[Swarfing]

Trouble is they are not very efficient and take a bit of room. The OEM motor was meant for a purpose. A replacement motor would be for the new purpose. No problem changing a motor to do job it is meant for. A darn site lot cheaper as well unless you build? Most lathes are sold with different motors for the environment they are to be used in.

[m_c]

Rotary converter effiency depends on how well they're built.

I built an ammeter into mine, and when sitting with no load the needle is barely above zero. The noise of the idler motor does annoy me, although that's probably more to do with it sitting on top of a bit plywood with minimal vibration damping!

I am however considering upgrading to a digital convertor, as the latest purchase is going to be far too much hassle to convert to single phase, and may be pushing the power limits of the current rotary.