Bantam motor transplant completed

As part of the CNC conversion, I need a higher power machine so I can operate over a wider speed range without having to change gear. 

At the end of October, I started the process of swapping the Bantam motor from the 0.75kW TEFC motor I fitted around 20 years ago. Here's the post I started back then.

I got the higher power (3kW) motor modified and ready to fit some weeks ago and finally the time has come to whop it on the machine. Let's see if I've cocked up the dimensions...

Here's what I perpetrated on the big motor. It's a fair bit bigger than the old machine.

The cowling used to be bigger

I made a new plate for mounting the motor.

It didn't actually achieve a great deal - as you can see it's pretty much a clone of the original. Ho hum!

Anyway, the good news is that the motor fits the plate, the plate fits the machine, the belt tension is spot on with the screws at the middle of the slots and it doesn't foul anything. These things happen from time to time.

I couldn't have got a bigger motor in there. I'll need to make a shielded vent in the chip shield to allow air (but no chips) in to the fan cowling.

Snug as a bug in a rug.

Must remember to tighten up the taperlock pulley now - it seems to be spot on in terms of axial position.

Best to actually test the thing and set up the VFD for the higher phase current (11.5A vs 4.3A at 220V in delta). 

And what better opportunity to empty the coolant tank. Best way to do that is to have the coolant motor connected across the spindle motor and the coolant tank on the floor with the hose hanging out. That way it will instead empty quickly and quietly onto the floor without so much as a whisper.

There - 3kW spindle motor. Done. That's 4x the power rating ie able to produce the equivalent torque that would result from a 4:1 reduction ratio with the old motor. And the coolant tank emptied by way of a bonus.