Almost finished - JET Mini Vega Motor

Motor mount

Fred in NC

>The control pot still needs a home !

Re: Motor mount

Roger D. Coates

>Fred,

Where did you find the longer drive belts? Do you have a manufacturer/part number for the belt? Thanks in advance.

v/r,

Roger

Long belts

Fred in NC

>Roger:

Aarubco Rubber Co. www.aarubcorubber.com

You cannot order directly from the web, must call them at:

1-800-821-2651

Jet Mini uses a Poly-V, J-section, 3 rib belt.

It comes in even inch sizes. The one I used in my lathe is 40". Their prices are very low, about half of what I found elsewhere.

By the way, the pulley that comes with the Jet motor does NOT fit a 5/8" shaft.. I think it is a metric size shaft, and just a few thousands too smal;. Rather than mess with the original pulley I ordered an extra from Jet, about $15. I reamed it to the 5/8" size, and was a good fit.

As you can see, I left the AC motor in place, it does not interfere with anything, and all I have to do is exchange belts to put it back in business.

Best regards, Fred

Re: Long belts

Roger D. Coates

>Fred,

Thanks for the information. I've been wanting to set my VL100 up simliar to the way you have your Jet now, on a cabinet, just needed a longer belt.

By the way, your setup looks great. Thanks for sharing it. I like the way you dealt with mounting the motor. Again great job.

Thanks again,

Roger

Re: Motor control

Arch

>Hi Fred, In another thread you posted some good info,thanks. I think your Vega motor is one of the good bargain VS motors/controls that many here bought and use. I had assumed it was a permanent magnet type motor and didn't realize that it was a universal/brush type. Is the control for this motor just a heavy duty light dimmer with a bridge rectifier in the output? I think my Carbatec knockoff used that system. My ?electronics is dated (back to the 60's) so there may be several new & better solutions for controlling brush/ commutative motors without severe power losses and overheating.

My question is probably OT for woodturning, but since several here bought the Vega motor, they might want to know. My question could also be uninformed and confusing to the owners.

TIA & Regards, Arch

Re: Motor control

Fred in NC

>Arch:

Yes the Vega motor is a UNIVERSAL - brush type.

Universal motors are so called because they can run on both AC and DC.

The controller that came with the Vega motor was originally designed for treadmills. This is the reason why you have to turn the potentiometer back all the way before the motor will start, and also why the speed ramps up gradually. It was designed to avoid accidents in the treadmill. Modifications to eliminate both of these "features" have been publihed, but I decided against them.

Unlike a router the Vega motor has RMP feedback. This tells the controller the actual speed of the motor, so it can adjust the power to keep it running at the proper speed. So in essence it is a much more sophisticated controller than the one sold for routers.

Most motors don't have this tachometer/feedback built into them. You can get motors and controllers at a reasonable price from places like Surplus Center. However, there is no feedback circuit in them.

Most good speed controllers are based on PWM - pulse width modulation, therefore they don't lose torque at low speeds. Pulse width modulation sends the full voltage, but the duration of each impulse varies. Most VS lathes today have that kind of circuit. I believe good router speed controllers do to.

My metal lathe has PMW too. But again, it lacks the feedback.

With the Vega motor, if the lathe is running at a certain speed, and you make it slow down by applying more resistance to the turning piece, the controller will sense it, and compensate.

It will keep a constant speed and torque no matter what the resistance is.

I hope this helps !

fred

Cooling?

Basil Biberdorf

>Fred,

I'm planning on working with the same Vega motor setup. Mark Kauder reported in his documentation that a couple of resistors on the control board get very hot, requiring some kind of airflow to keep them from burning out.

Did you incorporate any kind of fan into the design? If so, could you show a photo?

Re: Cooling?

Fred in NC

>Basil:

I have been monitoring the temperature in the control circuit. So far I have not found anything to worry about. However, I have a 4", 120VAC fan that I am planning to install when I have a chance. Becaue of the dust a fan will need a filter too.

Regards, Fred