New member

Hello all I'm a new member looking for some advice, 6 months ago I acquired a Colchester lathe and also a milling machine in a house move, having no prior knowledge of either I was content to leave it in the workshop, read the instructions and slowly learn,I managed to learn how to turn the lathe on and go through the instructions and I was happy plodding along slowly learning unfortunately it didn't work out like that, a mate came round said " I used to use these" turned the power to the milling machine on and blew something, now neither work.... I'm hoping somebody here can help.

Paul,

Welcome to the forum. Sadly I anticipate your post is going to attract a raft of comments from some slightly grumpy old men complaining you have not given any kind of depth of detail to assist them in advising on your problem.

You may wish to follow up now with another post giving a little more detail as to how the machines are powered, ie are they 240v single phase, true 415v 3 phase with a proper incoming 3 phase supply and meter or some means of converting single phase to three phase like a static or rotary converter would be a good place to start. Then if they are powered from a converter the type, what indications are available on the converter (power lights or meters) etc.

If you give plenty of information on the set up, and exactly what the fault appears to be I am sure there will be plenty of responses.

all the best,

Paul.

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Ok yes sorry for got to mention, I'm In hornchurch Essex, it's a 3 phase Colchester bantham 600 lathe and a warco super major milling machine, I'm totally at l loss, I can get the lathe to work but only by holding the coil unit and the switch on the relay in at the same time so I'm presuming that one or both of them have blown. I'm sorry I am a total newbie to this field and have very limited electrical knowledge... In nearly at my wit's end and thinking it may be easier to scrap the lot.

Hello Paul and welcome. I hope that you pal is paying for any repairs!

With both machines not working, it rather sounds as though something has gone wrong with the power supply. Both of the above comments are relevant, especially the part about 'grumpy old men' but don't let that put you off.

If you give us a bit more detail then I'm sure there will be help forthcoming.

Brian

Welcome to forum

H

The readout of the power converter when the coil switch is pushed read DCLO , I have worked out that the unit is not getting the required power to power up the unit fully, if a bypass the coil the converter fan runs continuous but I still have to manually activate the relay to allow the lathe to run, however it does not turn on or off via the switch or the brake at the bottom.

Sorry to heard about your problems.

First off, did you have the lathe actually running when you friend switched on the Milling machine. If so maybe it’s a simple case of a blown fuse somewhere due to an overloaded circuit. I assume you have already checked this, but I feel it is worth reminding ourselves of the basics. Is there the possibility that there is a second fuse in the circuit? Just a thought.

Secondly, have you spoken to the previous owner/user, maybe he can offer advise as (I assume) he was the installer of the equipment.

Best of luck and I hope you are ’up and running’ very shortly.

Lastly - welcome to the forum.

Alan.

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Yes the lathe was working fine before, The milling machine wasn't running at the same time as the lathe so I really don't know why it blew, I managed to run another power supply to the milling machine and it all works perfectly, unfortunately the last owner of the machinery passed away, this machinery was used on a daily basis to build model railway engines, steam engines etc, the guy was an electrical engineer and has gone OTT on the electrics and fuses for everything, I have 4 consumer units one for the downstairs, one for the upstairs, one for the garage and one for the workshop, when the machinery blew it took out half the plugs and half the lighting in the workshop, I really haven't got a clue how it's been wired up.

Edited By Paul Timothy on 09/02/2021 18:36:26

Sounds as though it might simply be an earth leakage trip having tripped in the consumer unit for the workshop. Worth a quick check.

Andrew.

If it is 3 phase & the start button is not pulling in the contactor. You may have a phase down. Some old machines had 415v contactors wired between phases. Later ones had a 415v to 110v transformer. Again it could be 1 phase down. If you are using a transverter then that could be down on 1 phase. A test meter will aid fault finding. If you do not have one. Screwfix do a great little Multitester for around £8.50.

Steve.

I agree with Steve. It could be that you only have 2 phases to the lathe now. Possibly a fuse or circuit breaker operated when the milling machine was switched on. If you are not experienced in fault finding with 3 phase, I would suggest you get an electrician to check it out for you. (Someone with industrial experience)

Stuart

Paul,

welcome to the forum (well I am new here as well and have probably less posts than you... )

The machines you have "inherited" are proper size machines when your problems are solved (what I am sure about). You need to consider reading some literature, or finding somebody who can explain to you how to work with a lathe and mill. I own a lathe for 38 years (even it is a dwarf in comparison to your machine) and it is one of the most important machines in my workshop. I had a little advantage, as I learned mechanical engineering at a technical high school some 45 years ago.

looking forward to read about your progress!

Gerhard

Much as I am tempted to agree and turn up with a trailer and helpfully take it all off your hands for a very modest fee, I suppose we should be honest and admit that in the grand scheme of things electrics are a relatively minor, if necessary, part of the whole business. Even if you had no motors or wires or other electrical stuff you'd still be better off than many of us!

if I cant get it sorted I might take you up on the offer although I really want to get it working properly again because im finding it really interesting.

Hi Paul welcome to the forum, sounds like you have a great workshop and machines.

Reading about your electrical issues I think you should dip into your bank account and drag out a wedge of cash, and give it to a electrician who knows what they are doing, get it all fixed then enjoy using the machines safe in the knowledge that they won't blow up and burn your house down!

IanJ

i have had a chat with an electrician and when he can get round once this lockdown is over he is going to have a look, I just thought that while im waiting I would try to see if anybody understood my problem and could offer any advice so that I can better understand. it may be the case that I have the whole workshop rewired so that I know its safe.... and as you say, I don't want to burn my house down. paul

Welcome to the Forum.

Always lots of help and advice on here. Ignore grumpy old men, but not me!

Since the Milling machine runs, you have power coming into the shop.

The fact that the lathe runs if you hold the contactor says that you have power to the lathe, but suggests that something has gone open circuit in the contactor circuit., possibly one of the coils, since it is on 3 phase.

You need someone who is familiar and skilled on 3 phase circuitry. Unless you know what you are doing, I would strongly advise against trying to trouble shoot a live 3 phase circuit.. You have upwards of 400 volts around and a fair few Amps available, which could be lethal.

If the machine were disconnected from the power supply, you could check each of the contactor coils for continuity.

other than that, leave it for someone who knows what they are about to find and correct the problem.

Good Luck!

Howard