Running German Machine (50Hz) in U.S. (60Hz)

Hello,

I am importing a German oil-hydraulic embossing machine (35 tons) for the production of novelty license plates that runs on a regular german household outlet / power of 230V/50Hz.

In order to run the machine here in the U.S. the manufacturer says that in addition to stepping up the voltage from 110 to 230, I also need to convert the Hz from 60Hz to 50Hz.

I have found plenty of affordable voltage converters for $100-$300. I'm having a devil of a time finding a Hz converter for this machine. They can install an aggregate conversion on the machine but that will add 3 months of production time to my order which I can't afford.

I've found Hz converters for around $2000 which is more than I can spend. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Here are the machine specs:

230V / 50Hz / 1.5KW
Hydraulic Unit:
Q = 2.5 I / min
1370 U / min

Hydraulic cylinder
2 piston Φ 85mm
Stroke about 20mm
Maximum pressure at 320 bar 36.32 t
Production run: about 10 seconds


Thanks in advance for your assistance. Apologies up front, I know nothing about electricity, am deathly afraid of it, and this group appear to be the best suited to help me with this problem.

Regards,

Mike

Frankly, I would go with the manufacturer's aggregate conversion. See if they can expedite your order.

Are there any Hz converters under $1,000 that would solve this?

Hi,

It depends on the load.
If it is only the hydraulic motor, then you have several options.

But if there is other circuitry (electronics, power supplies, PLC...) connected to the machine's power input, then you have to differentiate.
***
There are "frequency inverters" or "frequency converters". The motor will be happy with these, you don't need a special one.
But if there is other circuitry connected, then you need to take care about the frequency inverter's output waveform (best if clean sine) and generated HF noise (maybe you need additional filters).

On the other side there is a good chance to just replace the motor with a suitable one. It should have standardisized size.

Without guarantee: if it is a simple asynchronous motor: you may run it on 60Hz. It may run up to 20% faster. Maybe it needs to adjust input voltage (also 20% higher than nominal motor voltage). For sure all the machine runs faster, and the motor will have less efficiency = increased heat generation. You need to monitor the motor temperature - especially at the first hours of normal operation.
But again: This is your own risk.

I personally would use a 50Hz 3 phase sine inverter, that is suitable to drive any load, not only motors.

Klaus

It's mandatory to know the exact motor type and power supply. "230V / 50Hz / 1.5KW" suggests a single phase capacitor run induction motor, because a three phase motor would be 230/400V.

There are many cases when appliances specified for European service can be run on 60Hz, but in the case that it contains a large AC motor you have to do some research to make sure.

A long shot, but you might ask them if they can just install an alternative motor for 60Hz. Should be cheaper than adding on a frequency converter.

mtwieg said:

A long shot, but you might ask them if they can just install an alternative motor for 60Hz. Should be cheaper than adding on a frequency converter.

Click to expand...

The problem is, the motor will still run faster.

Induction motors will run at synchronous speed minus the slip. Typically between 2 to 5%.
And the synchronous speed is only governed by the number of poles and the mains frequency.

For instance, if the machine has a 4 pole motor, its mechanical load will be expecting an angular speed slightly below 1500 RPM, because it was designed with 50 Hz in mind.
That same motor, or any 60 Hz-rated 4 pole motor, when supplied with 60 Hz will output an angular speed slightly below 1800 RPM.

Whether this 20% increase in speed will cause any damage or performance issues to the load, is something that you should ask the equipment vendor.

Many years ago, in the late 1960s, a relative spent a couple of years in Germany. He brought back a beautiful UHER open-reel tape deck.
The machine worked perfectly fine, but tapes made in other machines would have a higher pitch due to the higher capstan speed.
But tapes recorded and played on that same machine would be OK.