Switch problem on my lathe

[Noggsy]

Good afternoon, I'm after a bit of advice. I have an Apollo professional lathe with an inverter that has a separate on/off switch with a solenoid inside. This takes power from the 240v wall socket and then feeds it to the inverter (I think). For a day or so, the lathe would just switch off mid-turn, but then reset fine, but yesterday, it stopped working completely. I know nothing about 3-phase electrics, and so I roped a friend in to help and we tried a few things. At first, the switch seemed to stay engaged without the lid on, but even that was a bit intermittent and it switched off whenever the lid was replaced, even lightly. Now it won't stay switched at all, although it sends power to the inverter if you hold it switched on. There is a short which can be heard and the occasional spark from within the switch box and a crackling noise on occasion. The switch works by pushing the on button which engages the core of a solenoid with a positive click. The off button disengages it with a loud click (sorry if that is obvious, but it's new to me).

On the times it worked, the inverter worked perfectly fine, making me think that it is the switch that has the issue (thankfully). I can't post a photo at the moment, but will later if it would help. The wiring insulation all seems intact and the contacts are solid.

My questions are;
1 - is it clear from my description what has happened?
2 - will this switch from Axi work as as a safe replacement? http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-3- ... r-switches
3 - if so, is it simple enough to fit or do I want a sparky to do it?

Thanks for any help, I'm out of my depth (as if that didn't show!) :roll:

 

[cedarwood]

I have the same lathe which would turn itself off if there was too much vibration and I found it to be the stop switch in the pillar which had accumulated dust inside, which made it stick and stop the lathe from working. Take the rubber cover off undo the screws and remove the metal plate to access the switch, mine I was able to remove and take apart to give it a good clean and hopefully doing this should solve your problem as it did mine.

 

[Noggsy]

Cedar wood, thanks for that, but I've already taken the switch apart and cleaned it and it hasn't sorted the issue. It may well be dust, but I can't clean it further than I have and it's shorting, so will need replacing I think.

 

[Noggsy]

I got a friendly neighbourhood sparky to have a look yesterday and, praise be, he sorted the problem by bypassing the switch, telling which one to buy (a DOL suitable for 240v) and he will be coming back to fit the new one at the weekend. That means I've managed to finish the turning I urgently need to get done and am now at the epoxy stage. The new switch was £47, but the army would only take the price of a couple of pints - nice fella - so it hasn't been too bad at all.

 

[cedarwood]

Nice to know that you have got it sorted and that it was just the switch and not the inverter, the apollo is a very good lathe.
I love mine it handles every thing I put on it with ease. I even took a chance and bought the axi copy attachment and it fitted a treat dead easy to set up and makes batch work a doddle using a carbide tool.