Lathe Spindle Motor Upgrade

February 5, 2024 Machining Shop

Motor bracket laser cut and bent from .188" steel by SendCutSend:

Crufted NEMA-56-size Clearpath servo motor - integrated motor drive, plugs straight into single or 3-phase mains.

1:1 belt to the spindle:

Pile of junk being replaced:

Spin-down comparison vs the original motor from 900 RPM:

Comments

Anonymous — February 5, 2024 at 5:22 AM

Thank you for sharing :). Cool upgrade!

Tim Blakely — February 10, 2024 at 7:28 PM

Very cool! Lots of inertia in that original Clausing motor apparently... I admit I haven't done much turning beyond your typical tiny 7x10 lathe; beyond precise SFM/leadscrew control, what's the desirability for quick spin-downs?

Ben Katz — February 10, 2024 at 7:46 PM

Yeah, lots of inertia and no brake. It's particularly useful for single point threading - instead of disengaging the half nut at the end of the thread and waiting for the number to come around on the threading dial to re-engage, you can just leave it engaged, stop the spindle, and reverse the spindle back to the start if the thread. Also nice for things like measuring and power tapping

Anonymous — February 12, 2024 at 3:38 PM

Dude, where does one cruft a clear path. V jealous.

TCW — February 17, 2024 at 1:45 PM

Nice Job! are you concerned about loosing out on the low speed torque though?