The boss and I were having a discussion the other day about whether it is better to have a machine hardwired directly to its switch (or cut off box) versus having a plug and receptacle. We are installing a new 3 phase wide belt sander and he wants to put a 50amp plug and receptacle on it. He asked the electrician if that would be ok and the electrician said yes.
It would make sense to me that voltage loss would be lower by having the supply circuit line coming into the machine directly connected to the sanders internal connections with no plug or receptacle. The less parts in the chain the better, right? The electrician says it doesn’t matter and that either way will suffice. What are your opinions? 50amp 3 phase plugs and receptacles are not cheap but neither is the machine itself and my boss doesn’t want to skimp on stuff if it’s necessary but also at the same time wants to make it optimal.