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Thread: Invicta Delta DC drive

  1. #1

    Invicta Delta DC drive

    Recently got an older Delta lathe with working original DC drive/controller. Just started using it and my question is this. Do DC motors/controllers make different "noises" compared to reeves driven variable speed lathes?
    example.....running at ~600 rpm or higher and no load on lathe (not cutting with a tool) the motor changes pitch in a noticeable difference. I do not notice at lower speeds.
    I do not think it is a bearing noise per se. This lathe does not have the jack shaft so basically it is direct belt drive from motor to headstock. Could that be the source of the whining noise.
    thanks

  2. #2
    Yes the noises are completely different. Reeves drive machines make mechanical noises, DC drives work by turning the power off and on hundreds of times per second which makes other sounds.
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  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Dale Dumond View Post
    Recently got an older Delta lathe with working original DC drive/controller. Just started using it and my question is this. Do DC motors/controllers make different "noises" compared to reeves driven variable speed lathes?
    example.....running at ~600 rpm or higher and no load on lathe (not cutting with a tool) the motor changes pitch in a noticeable difference. I do not notice at lower speeds.
    I do not think it is a bearing noise per se. This lathe does not have the jack shaft so basically it is direct belt drive from motor to headstock. Could that be the source of the whining noise.
    thanks
    The main noise from a DC motor is from the brushes and commutator ring. DC controllers change motor speed by changing voltge to the motor unlike inverters for AC motors that use pulse width modulation to synthesize the frequency and emit a high pitched whine. There shouldn't be any noise from the DC controller except for the small fan if it has one.

    Depending on the particular Reeves drive lathe the sound can be very smooth or it might clatter and rattle like the dickens. My first lathe, a Delta 46-715 was like the latter.
    Bill

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