Can somebody recommend a cheaper vfd for a Powermatic model 90 lathe. It has a 1.5 hp 3 phase motor on it? A friend of mine recommended Hitachi but I thought that was pricey. I was hoping for something less expensive.
I have used Teco, Huanyang and Hitachi. True, the Hitachi is pricey, I find nothing wrong with the either the Teco and Huanyang. These could be found on eBay fairly inexpensive.
You might take a look at Automationdirect VFDs. I've had one on my mill for several years and it has worked well. I've also had customers convert three phase, single speed machines to variables with them. Mine is a GS2 unit on a two horse motor. https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Drives
I don't know what kind of support you are looking for but the various machinists forums are my go-to's for answers when I run into a problem that I can't figure out. If you expect to be able to reach an American tech on the phone, lotsa luck with that no matter which brand of VFD you buy.
I recently purchased a Huan Yang on the 'bay, it works decent but does not appear to support an external braking resistor even though the terminals are there for one. I have since learned (from CNCzone, Practical Machinist, and other forums) that this is a common problem with the ebay Huan Yangs. Even without an external resistor the Huan Yang is still a decent VFD and worth considering if you are on a tight budget.
Otherwise, just about any brand of VFD will work once set up properly, which can take a while because the set up on every brand is a little different and the manuals are usually written in Chinglish.