A. Canuck-If it is set for 220 and you plug it into 110, it should run, but at about half its rated Hp. Set it for 110 and plug it into 220, and it will run at twice its rated Hp, but probably not for long.

Setting the jumpers just determines the path for current through the windings of the motor. It is either 2 short paths for 110 or one long path for 220. It's not really 'changing' the voltage, just re-routing it. The current is the limiting factor in the motor, and voltage drives current. It takes twice the voltage to push the same current through the (twice as) long path. Mathematically it is called Ohm's Law, Voltage(V)=Current(I)*Resistance(R). The current has a real maximum due to the heat generation issue I mentioned earlier, so we are left with adjusting the resistance to change/match the voltage. Resistance is changed by setting the jumpers, voltage by what you plug it into.

Blue-can't help you with sizing the motor, but I suspect that it comes with one pretty well sized to match it's capacities. Like I said earlier, <=1Hp, 110 VAC, 1-5Hp, 220 VAC, +5Hp, get ye to an industrial park where 3 phase power is available! You can make do with bigger and 220VAC, but 50+ amp 220 circuits (7.5Hp) can seriously dim the lights in your house every time you use it...not good for you home electronics and appliances!

3 Phase the world over runs 380 to 600 VAC, with 440-480 being the US standard. True 110 VAC 3 phase is quite rare, both in equipment and power line availability. Don't go there! It would be far easier to get 440 VAC 3 phase and add a transformer if ever required.

It is possible to get 440 3 phase to your house in most areas, but not usually cheap! It will require the power company to put another transformer up to feed just your house, and maybe run another main high voltage line to this transformer. Changing 2 phase to 3 phase is also not fun, but do-able if you are *really* motivated.

The main differnece is that, Grossly Simplified, Power=Volts*Amps and heat generated by efficiency losses in the motor windings is =(Amps^2)*Resistance

Sooooo.....all that means I can got twice the power out of a motor by doubling the voltage from 110 to 220VAC for the same amount of heat generated due to internal losses, or use a smaller motor for the same power.

Less heat=longer life
smaller motor=less $$

At 1Hp or less, stick with your 110 VAC

Above 1Hp to about 5Hp, 220 VAC is great and available at your house.

Above 5Hp, if you need this much power you are in the industrial range and need 440 VAC 3 phase, and you probably need a shop outside of your garage!

Does the $ also include tooling? If you have zero tooling and metrology (mikes, hole gauges etc), then you should allow nearly 1/2 the money for tooling, certainly $3k would be a good minimum. Collets, rotary table, spindex, end mills, drills, drill chuck, mill vise etc add up quick. It is easy to spend as much on tooling as the tool, and that's just starting out. Over time you'll have much more invested in tooling then the tool itself. I guess lots of machine shops go out of business, as there seems to be lots of stuff on e-bay for reasonable prices.

I would look at the various 13X36 and 13X40 lathes from Grizzly, Enco, Jet etc. You can get a pretty nice lathe with power feed and cross feed for about $3k.

B-port style mills run about $3-5k from the same makers, add extra for power feed and DRO.

If you add stuff up, you'll probably find that to get DRO on both the lathe and mill, you'll have to go for a mill/drill vs a B-port copy to pay for the DRO. Personally I'd go for the B-port type mill, and add DRO later. DRO is nice to have, but not a necessity. Lots of good work is done with dial readings.

You make a very good point. Most of the work will be one-off and prototyping, although some light production work may be in my future.

So what have you all decided?

What would you do if you had $10K to spend on a mill and lathe. MUST be power feed DRO. and capable of light production, super accuracy is nice but not worth a lot of extra money.

Jim

Unless you're really cramped for space, you'll be much happier with a seperate lathe and mill. They just don't have the rigidity to do good mill work. Perhaps a good description is in their attempt to do many things, they don't do anything paticularly well.

For prototype, repair and one of work, 90% of the time is tool setup. With an all in one machine, you're setup time is increased because it also involves changing the tool configuration, ie lathe to mill, mill to lathe.

What about the Smithy line of 3-1 machines. I don't plan on gunsmithing but want a lathe and mill and drill for the farm and other hobbies. Is the 1381 Granite worth the $9-10K set up with power feeds? I'm not a machinist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.


Thanks in advance.
Jim