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Need a little help

R

russell marks

Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
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I just bought a used Powermatic 3520 lathe went to the guys house he ran the lathe for me and we loaded it up I drove it home about nine hours away put it back together plugged it in and nothing
There is power to the VFD I tested that, but none of the lights come on and it will not run any idea what this could be?
 
When this happens on my Robust, it's because I've accidentally (and unknowingly) bumped the emergency shut-off button. Many machines have them, usually within easy reach of the headstock, and they're usually a red plastic knob that has to be turned and pulled back out in order to start the lathe. I know it sounds trivial, and my apologies if this was the first thing you checked, but you wouldn't believe how many times I've done this and it took me several minutes to figure out what happened.
 
Clifton C said:
Doc Green has a section on PM Electrical
https://www.docgreenwoodturner.com/articles.html#PM
I have found lots of useful info there. Also, thinking along the lines of long trip and vibrations, I would check and tighten all the leads on the terminal blocks in the VFD and even go so far as to blow out the on/off switch. With my PM plugged in and off, I still get readout on the VFD.
Click to expand...
I did Tighten all the wires on the block I will try blowing it out
 
At the high school where I help with woodturning, the students are taught to turn the lathe off with the speed knob and I'm used to using the red stop button. I can't count the number of times I momentarily couldn't figure out why the lathe didn't start when I pulled out the stop button. Have you both pulled the red on button AND turned the speed control knob off of lowest speed? (On the 3520A, the lowest speed is functionally zero)

The red stop button tends to get lose and a wire could have come lose in moving/traveling. With the lathe unplugged, take that little panel off and check that the wires are snug and there isn't one hanging lose.
 
When you checked the voltage at the input terminals on the drive did you use a digital meter and did you get a steady reading of about 230 volts?
Digital meters will sometimes be fooled by electrical noise on a circuit that is not turned on, so a better check would be to connect another known load to the circuit as a test. If you don't have something to use for the test a 120 volt incandescent light bulb would work (with your hands only touching insulated wires touch the white wire to ground then touch the black wire to first one of the power input terminals -L1 then L2 and if the light come on for each then the power is on). If the power is on then you will need to contact either Delta (or a local dealer distributor) or PowerMatic.
 
This may sound dumb but did you check the forward and reverse selector. If it's in the center, the lathe won't work
 
Don Wattenhofer said:
When you checked the voltage at the input terminals on the drive did you use a digital meter and did you get a steady reading of about 230 volts?
Digital meters will sometimes be fooled by electrical noise on a circuit that is not turned on, so a better check would be to connect another known load to the circuit as a test. If you don't have something to use for the test a 120 volt incandescent light bulb would work (with your hands only touching insulated wires touch the white wire to ground then touch the black wire to first one of the power input terminals -L1 then L2 and if the light come on for each then the power is on). If the power is on then you will need to contact either Delta (or a local dealer distributor) or PowerMatic.
Click to expand...
I have a fluke multimeter
I have 120 on each leg, but no power coming out I think the vfd is shot And it is also obsolete
 
russell marks said:
I have a fluke multimeter
I have 120 on each leg, but no power coming out I think the vfd is shot And it is also obsolete
Click to expand...
I too have a Fluke true RMS multimeter that is over 20 years old and experienced false readings, so as one final verification take a reading across the the 2 input lines and you should get a steady 240 volts, then compare to the same reading with the circuit breaker off.
Delta may or may not be helpful after you convince them that power is present, but you are probably correct the drive is toast.
Note: You could replace the drive with another brand and get better support, I have several VFD's that I purchased form Automation Direct and they are all working without problems.
 
Did you get that lathe in Bend, OR? Mike is an old friend and told about an identical problem. I had an earlier version of the A. It is still running today. I did replace the of/on switch and the variable speed knob. Both tend to go bad after a while. Those would be my first suspects. Replacing the phase converter can be a chore if you aren't an electrical engineer. Taking the whole thing into an electrical shop would be a lot of work...

robo hippy
 
Don Wattenhofer said:
I too have a Fluke true RMS multimeter that is over 20 years old and experienced false readings, so as one final verification take a reading across the the 2 input lines and you should get a steady 240 volts, then compare to the same reading with the circuit breaker off.
Delta may or may not be helpful after you convince them that power is present, but you are probably correct the drive is toast.
Note: You could replace the drive with another brand and get better support, I have several VFD's that I purchased form Automation Direct and they are all working without problems.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
robo hippy said:
Did you get that lathe in Bend, OR? Mike is an old friend and told about an identical problem. I had an earlier version of the A. It is still running today. I did replace the of/on switch and the variable speed knob. Both tend to go bad after a while. Those would be my first suspects. Replacing the phase converter can be a chore if you aren't an electrical engineer. Taking the whole thing into an electrical shop would be a lot of work...

robo hippy
Click to expand...
I did, that is the lathe
The reason I think it is the vfd the lights do not come on I have verified power to it but none coming out
 
Did you check the actual connections inside the VFD. I've seen the set screws get loose that hold the input power wires.
 
Did you give your vfd the sniff test. If an acid like smell can be a cooked vfd. Improperly grounded input voltage fried circuit board? You could be detecting 240 volt input, but it is not wired properly for your vfd. Also is there any fuses in the front end of the vfd you can check to see if blown?
 
I doubt that the VFD is bad. Most likely something vibrated loose during the trip.

The fact that power is present at the input terminals isn't sufficient for the VFD to become operational. It is also necessary for all of the switched logic inputs to be working. The power ON switch is usually a logic input and not an actual hardware power switch. With the power off, use your ohmmeter to ring out the operation of each switch as well as the potentiometer which is probably 10K Ώ.
 
Glenn Lefley said:
Also is there any fuses in the front end of the vfd you can check to see if blown?
Click to expand...

A blown fuse would have been my guess as a possibility, as well. Is it possible the lathe was powered up when it was unplugged at the seller's location?

@russell marks......I hope you let us know what the problem was, once you've figured it out.......cuz now we just gotta know! :D

-----odie-----
 
I agree with Bill. Also, here is a quote from Doc G's website "The display will light up when input power is applied to the inverter, even if the inverter itself is dead. Conversely, if the display is lit up, you can be sure that input power is being supplied to the inverter."
As I wrote earlier, a wealth of info at Doc's site. Last quote, "The RPM display gets its power (240 VAC) from the two terminals on the inverter where the black and white wires of the line cord attach. Otherwise, the display is completely independent of the inverter."
So, check the red and the grey for 240V going to the display.
 
In the picture of the drive it looks like there are finger holes on the side of the control panel, which tends to indicate that the control panel plugs in and if so it may help to pull it out and reinsert.
 
Don Wattenhofer said:
In the picture of the drive it looks like there are finger holes on the side of the control panel, which tends to indicate that the control panel plugs in and if so it may help to pull it out and reinsert.
Click to expand...
Yes that little panel goes in and out I have had it in and out several times
Clifton C said:
I agree with Bill. Also, here is a quote from Doc G's website "The display will light up when input power is applied to the inverter, even if the inverter itself is dead. Conversely, if the display is lit up, you can be sure that input power is being supplied to the inverter."
As I wrote earlier, a wealth of info at Doc's site. Last quote, "The RPM display gets its power (240 VAC) from the two terminals on the inverter where the black and white wires of the line cord attach. Otherwise, the display is completely independent of the inverter."
So, check the red and the grey for 240V going to the display.
Click to expand...
The only display on the lathe is on the inverter end it does not light up
 
Glenn Lefley said:
Did you give your vfd the sniff test. If an acid like smell can be a cooked vfd. Improperly grounded input voltage fried circuit board? You could be detecting 240 volt input, but it is not wired properly for your vfd. Also is there any fuses in the front end of the vfd you can check to see if blown?
Click to expand...
I did give it a sniff test and looked everywhere for any black suet
 
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