Hi Everyone like most new members I'm here seeking help.

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone on here can either help or point me in a direction for assistance. I run a small workshop and had to move premises due to fallout from the pandemic to a smaller unit, a unit that was said to have 3 phase power. Long story short it has no 3 phase and now never will.

Problem is my CNC is 3 phase. It's a Spartan 2030 that was originally sold by Radecal machines (who went bust). The VFD driving the spindle is a HLP-SH110 which is 3 phase 5.5kw 7.3hp but everything else driver board, stepper motors etc looks to be powered via a dropdown transformer to 220v single phase.

So my question is what is my best option to get the machine running? Can I run it via a digital phase converter such as:

https://www.jfkelectricalni.com/prod...v-in-400v-out/

Or do I need a rotary? Could I swap out the VFD to a single phase version?

There is a lot of conflicting information out there. I just really need some help and advice.

Thanks

Quite a lot to unpack here.

First, with some rewiring everything except the spindle motor should be able to run directly from the mains, without using the step-down transformer.

The spindle needs ~6kW to run, or ~24A max, which you won't get from a standard ring main (which I think is limited to 16A). However in the UK a cooker spur (also electric shower?) can run up to 32A or ~8kW, so plenty at least from a power p.o.v.

The phase converter you linked to seems to convert from 230 single phase to 380V 3ph so should run your motor directly. However you don't get the benefit of variable speed which presumably you do with the VFD. I am not sure if it would be recommended to connect the output of such a phase converter to a VFD input, you would need to check with the phase converter manufacturer.

A small amount of googling suggests that one way to work an inverter (such as your VFD) is using an external DC source derived from a single-phase supply. Looking at the manual for the HLP-... it seems to have a connection to the internal DC bus voltage brought out to terminals. However it is not obvious whether this is rated for use as a supply input, again you would need to check with HOLIP. The idea is to use a beefy external supply which transforms 230V to 380V (transformer), then a bridge rectifier to convert to DC, plus some smoothing capacitors. Basically you bypass the internal 3-phase bridge rectifiers of the VFD. You would need to seek specialist advice from the VFD supplier to check this out - it certainly isn't DIY electrical engineering.

Or look for a single phase input 7kW VFD and convert the motor to delta to run off 230V 3-phase? Replace the current HLP inverter.

Thank you so much for the help John. I have contacted HOLIP in China and they were unfortunatley not exactly helpful, they just reiterated that the HLP-SH110 is a 3 phase only unit and nothing more. You're correct this doesn't sound like DIY electrical plus there is also the issue of not being able to obtain any of the settings in fregard to the VFD set up due to the original supplier no longer existing.

Ideally a plug and play solution would be best and that is what I thought the Digital converter would do, as in power the VFD but now it all sounds like an expensive risk.

It's hit and miss. Some stuff will run from an inverter / VFD, some wont. Ive had success with a 10 HP spindle where a 220V in 380V out Nflixin VFD feeds the servo drive and that worked (but tripped the RCD as it was too high but solved with a different solution) whereas I have a 5 Axis knee mill running DC Drives that for the life of me I cant get to run properly off any method.

So very much hit and miss. Do look at the 9100 series VFDs, cheaper than what you linked but not sure about quality vs quality against each other.