How to Add a 3 Phase Motor and VFD to a 10x22 Lathe

[henryarnold]

(05-20-2012, 08:54 AM)EdAK Wrote: Changing the speed on the fly as you are turning a piece is very nice because as the diameter of the piece gets smaller you can turn up the speed without stopping to change belts and/or gears. Having variable speed on the fly saves time. Once you've had a machine with a VFD, you'd not want to be without it. YMMV

Ed

Here's annother example of why variable speed is convenient: Yesterday I was boring a large hole on my lathe. I started with a spotter and worked my way from 1/8" through 1/2" in about 5 drill steps before going to the boring bar. I was able to readjust the speed for each drill with just a turn of a knob. Without variable speed, I would have needed to change the belt to pulley settings.