I was finishing up a conversion of my Grizzly lathe from its' AC motor to a DC motor from a treadmill. I got careless and unplugged my mill instead of the lathe. When removing the control panel to wire in an E-stop, I touched two contacts of the speed control pot to the frame. Despite a 15 amp circuit breaker, it sparked and the motor controller got fried.

I don't have the skills required to track down the blown components so I am looking to replace the controller board. Should I replace it with another MC-60 or switch to a dedicated box?

I have a 115v treadmill motor that is spec'd at 2 HP / 130 v, but I suspect that may be generous. Most of the cheaper boxes seem to max out at 90v and 1.5 HP.

I have a budget of $150 max.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Neil

 

These drives might work for you......
http://www.kbelectronics.com/Variable_Speed_DC_Drives.html

 

I have seen many of these on eBay, but I don't know if they are any better than the MC60 controller that was in there.
Do you have any first hand experience with them?

Neil

 

I worked for small industrial repair shop and we used several of these to replace drive systems that had failed with obsolete parts. Some installations required isolation modules for the controls, some set up right out of the box. Full user manuals and schematics are available on-line from the manufacturer.

 

Thank you for the information.

If I put a controller that is rated for 1.5HP on a motor that is rated as 2HP, I will only limit the speed and performance of the motor, correct?

To reverse the direction of the motor, can I install a switch that swaps the leads going into the motor ?

Neil

 

You would use the KBB chart and order the proper HP resistor for the max of the drive. It will then protect itself, even from locked rotor situations. Yes, the motor performance would be limited.
The KB line was suggested as it is within your budget.

 

Thank you for the help. I am going to order a kbic-240d. It can be run on 115 or 230 v. I can add the specific reversing module later if I need it. It is available for under $100.

 

Let us know how it works out!