Hi all from Oz, I’m just an amateur in jewellery making but I am
an electrician amongst other things.
You do not necessarilly have to replace the motors to run 3
phase equipment of a single phase power supply. Capacitors can
be used to “artificially” generate the other phases and other
more efficient methods can be used as well. I have seen this done
successfully to run hoists and even lathes. I recently chased up
on this for myself.
As luck would have it, there is a fantastic educational article
written for the layman (or electrician) available on the net from
the American company site below. They also sell copies of this.
The company was prompt and courteous when I only wanted to order
a couple of the booklets (posted to Australia!) from them.
There are also a few other books sold to the Model Engineering
enthusiasts and metal workers who either can’t get 3 phase supply
or wish to operate surplus industry 3 phase equipment (sometimes
available cheaply) off their domestic single phase power but
these require doing some maths and construction. Try the above
site first.
Thanking everyone for the assistance in the past,
Brian Symons
brians@mackay.net.au