Felder AD741

[woodyone.john]

Hi Guys,I've recently acquired the above mentioned machine.Its 3 phase and I'm planning on converting it to single phase.What I want to know if any body has any experience with them,is just below the main switch is another that switches left or right with icons of a large diameter roller and the other side small diameter roller.What I want to know is,does this indicate feed speed[I suspect not because there is a 2 stage mechanical lever to do this] or is the to turn the main cutter head at faster or slower speeds. I dont understand the circuit diagram and it is written in German or Austrian which also I dont understand. Any help gladly appreciated
cheers john :embarassed:

[jueston]

i don't know anything about it, but it sure looks like a fine machine.

let us know how you like it once you get it up and running.

[btulloh]

Have you looked into a VFD to drive the existing 3-phase motor(s)?  Smaller VFD's (variable frequency drives) are pretty affordable and you get the benifits of soft-start and speed control.  It may be cheaper and better than changing motors.  For 3hp or less motors (don't know what you're dealing with there) you can run 230v 1ph input and drive your 3ph motors.  I haven't looked at anything above 3hp though.  You start to hit the point where the VFD requires 3 phase input, which kinda spoils the party.

[woodyone.john]

Yes I am aware of vfd/vsd's and i might be going that way ,but so far as I am aware vfd's only are good for up to 2.5 kw. I dont want to limit my power options if it can be avoided.I think original options on this machine go up to 7 kw and I have no problem with more hp.I f you know of a source high spec vfd's I would be only too happy to know.
cheers john

[btulloh]

I just did a quick scan to see what I could find and saw a 7.5kw vfd on ebay for $298.00 usd (buy it now price) and can use 1ph or 3ph input.  Sounds almost unbelievable.  Manufactured by Huanyang.  Interesting.  No reviews. 102 sold. 10 remaining.  Caveat emptor.  I'd post the link, but I don't think we're supposed to post links to ebay.

BT

[woodyone.john]

Thanks for the info BT. This is news to me,distributors here say 2.5 max but possibly up to 3.5 if I can tolerate it dying in 5 years or less. now I will have to look at ebay and talk to my sparky

[btulloh]

I'll be curious to see what you find.  The information with the ad on ebay is fairly extensive but still doesn't seem quite complete to me.  7.5kw for $300 is hard to imagine.  It would be great if that thing will do the job though.

[woodyone.john]

I have seen one on ebay from austrailiabut same manufacture as the one you indicate,4kw for a$245.My sparky is quoting $2200 for one from siemmens. This is going to be difficult!

[Larry]

From what I've seen Felder anything is top end machinery.  I would guess before long something will be joining it just for company.  Probably also 3-phase.  Its time to bite the bullet and go with a rotary phase converter.  Down right cheap if you build it yourself.  Plans abound all over the internet.  Even buying new isn't too bad.

While a VFD is fine for an individual machine, especially one that requires variable speed, a rotary phase converter should be the main source of 3-phase in a shop.

[woodyone.john]

Hi Larry, yeah I think I might have a tiger by the tail.At the moment I have a robland x31 as my main machine.My son who is a joiner and boat builder thinks I should have 'proper machines' The felder planner was a lucky score from a distressed sale. I would love to get the table saw/molder combo to go with it but I bont know if I could get that lucky twice

[woodyone.john]

O,k so here is the update, my electrician aquaintance wouldn't install any thing that the major component suppliers dont supply so i purchased a teco brand vfd $2000,then after a series of visits got it installed and running,but that costed $3000,the combined total almost exceeds the cost of the machine.Any way after the smarting died down I have to say it a wonderfull piece of kit and the vfd seems to extend the ability of the motor a bit.On one job I took 3mm [1/8"] off some 350mm [14"] eucalypt quite hard stuff and I could hear the motor slowing down but it held at slightly loaer revs and completed the task. [5 hp motor]. I dont think I want to do that too often but I was impressed.The planer /jointer /thicknesser is very quiet when running or under load and I suffer no more blockages when taking deeper cuts on wide boards.
Now back to the present, I have just aquired an Altendorf  siding table saw [older technology but quality none the less.Most joinery shops are heading to cnc especially if they do lots of panel work, hence they are quitting their older bench saws. Off course it is 3 phase also. I need to understand more about  vfd's I am prepared to risk $300 or so to use huan yang and wire it myself.What I dont understand is whether you dial up the ouput volts or whether each vfd is manufactured to it own set of input and out put volts.What I need is 220v input and 380 output at 5kw 2880 rpm. I do understand that I should get a larger capacity unit say 7-10kw. Is anybody out there familiar enough with this technology and is prepared to help or even offer an opinion. Larry you might be right about rotoray phase converters ,I guess I am suffering the benefits of my own tightness.

[Larry]

The VFD manufacture specifies input and output voltage.  This cannot be changed by the user.

One way to save money is to take advantage of the VFD's overload capacity.  You have to read the specs, but the Teco can handle 150% overload for 60 seconds.   

[Just Me]

Log on to the Felder/Hammer forum group and there are factory reps that come on there all the time, and people that know those machines inside and out. You will find all your answers there I am sure.

Super Sweet score by the way!

I have been thinking about a Phase Perfect electronic converter to replace my 50hp rotary for most duties. They are kind of like a VFD in use except they can run multiple machines. My rotary is too big for the smaller machines.