Welcome to the German Press Motor Mystery!
Latest news:
The press is running! And it now looks like this...
OK, well it IS running, but is not quite as nice and clean as the photo above from the MAN museum in Nuremberg - (seen below in situ)
The press is feeding sheets well, printing, jogging, everything seems to be going well - with a few catches:
-The impression trip mechanism can get stuck on impression, or is late switching
to impression
-I am still trying to locate the proper rubber suckers for the feeding system
(feeds fine as is, but I will need the suckers for work down the line
-and finally, where does the clean up blade go?
Any advice is welcome and appreciated - send to dwood@longesturinal.com.
More information and photos will be forthcoming, stay tuned...
UPDATE (9/27/05):
The rotary phase converter is here!
At a recent gathering of printers (they call it a Wayzgoose), I ran into Don Black, a letterpress supplier and linecaster (www.donblack.ca/). He, and his son, happened to have a 5 hp ARCO Model A rotary converter sitting in their shop in Toronto. After negotioating various transport options, the converter was shipped and now sits in my shop, with three wires (plus ground) reaching for the three phase breaker on the press. How it will connect is currently beyond me, but I have hope that help is on the way. A pdf of the wiring diagram for the converter is available here, but I still do not understand the exact wire to wire connections, and what, exactly, I am missing - starter, breaker, etc...
To be continued...
OLD:
Well, I am very close to ordering a phase converter for my Poly 50 two revolution cylinder letterpress. I have been getting differing bits of advice on the best way to go about this. I know very little about three phase power, and even less about the mechanics of phase converters, so any more advice is welcome. The main question at this point is what size converter I will need. The press motor (Siemens) is a 3hp motor, but it will make frequent starts and stops. I was originally told a 5 HP phase converter would do the trick, but the current advice I am getting says I should go with a 10-15 hp converter. I definitely do not want to underestimate my needs, but I don't want to over do it if I don't have to, either (being a cheapskate).
Here is the plate from the motor I am trying keep with the press. The press
is a two-revolution, cylinder letterpress
called a "Poly" Automat 50, made by MAN (of MAN-ROLAND), in the nineteen
fifties in Nuremberg, Germany. It was sold for import in the US by Miller Printing
Machinery Co., so I am still assuming a us made phase converter will work.
The images are linked to higher res versions of the files.
Here are a few other images that may be useful. The three green wires on the bottom left of the box are the source power lines.
The motor itself seems to have two sets of brushes, one on the left and one on the right (one for clean-up speed, maybe?)
I will post some general images of the press soon, but if there are any other
pictures or information that would be helpful, please let me
know here.
So, any advice is welcome. Please contact Dan at dwood@longesturinal.com.