Hitachi VFD Connection

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Hey Moosa,

@moosaes

I think in your previous post you meant to leave this link:

Spindle Cable – PwnCNC

Instead of available here

thank you, the link was indeed wrong. I corrected it. But the one I meant was this one: PwnCNC VFD-to-CNC Controller Control cable.

Control Cable

It is the cable you need to connect your VFD to the Masso G3 Controller:

This PwnCNC cable will control spindle speed by using the 0–10 V analog input of the VFD.

The other cable you linked is a spindle cable:

PwnCNC Spindle cable

Spindle Cable

This is a motor power cable to run the spindle.

@moosaes

As far as the spindle cable since my spindle came with the connector only, I just looked into what kind of wire I need and purchased it off of amazon: https://a.co/d/iiagolV

Didnt know its that important, now its installed, do you think I should take it out and buy one already made (they are very pricy)

Did you connect the shield and the PE wire at both ends, like explained here? The cable is always a shielded 3+PE one.

On the spindle end,

1. the shield of the cable is clamped to the spindle connector’s housing, while
2. the PE wire goes to the fourth pin.
3. the three “hot” wires go to their corresponding pins.

You should have a spindle datasheet where the pin assignment of your spindle is shown.

On the VFD end,

3. the three “hot” wires go to the U, V and W terminals by using crimped ring connectors, and
4. the PE wire goes either to a ground terminal (⏚) if present, or to the grounded VFD chassis.
5. Finally the shield goes to the steel back plate of the control cabinet:

@Aiph5u

– Source: Omron MX2 User’s Manual

@Aiph5u

Image: Control cabinet suitable for a VFD.

Control cabinets have a mounting plate (see image) that you can take out to assemble your components on it and put back when you’re done. The mounting plate is earthed as the entire control cabinet is in order to serve as faraday cage , preventing electromagnetic radiation typically emitted by VFDs from escaping which can cause electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Connection of the spindle to the frequency converter

Lines 1, 2 and 3 are to be connected to terminals U, V and W on the frequency converter. The protective conductor connection must be placed on the PE terminal of the frequency converter. On the frequency converter side, the cable shield must be laid as large as possible (using a suitable cable clamp) on the grounded plate (usually the base plate of the control cabinet) on which the frequency converter is mounted. If the screen is not connected, there may be potential differences, which can lead to EMC problems or even electric shock!

– Mechatron HFS Series High Frequency Motor Spindle’s Operator’s Handbook

@moosaes

As far as the spindle cable since my spindle came with the connector only, I just looked into what kind of wire I need and purchased it off of amazon: https://a.co/d/iiagolV

This looks like a 16 AWG / 1.32 mm² cable.

For a 220 V 2.2 kW (in CT mode) spindle, Omron recommends a 12 AWG / 4.0 mm² shielded cable, and then you need a connector that needs to match your spindle and on the other end the ring connectors as mentioned above (for M4 screws). For a 220 V 2.2 kW (in CT mode) spindle, I use a 14 AWG / 2.5 mm² shielded cable (pure stranded copper wire) (LAPP ÖLFLEX® CLASSIC FD 810 CY, LAPP No. 0026271). For a 220 V 1.5 kW spindle, I use a 15 AWG / 1.5 mm² shielded cable (LAPP No. 0026251). Another manufacturer of cables for drag chains is IGUS® Chainflex®. But as I said, you won’t be able to fit a 14 AWG shielded cable drag chain into these “aviation” connectors. Of course you can use thinner cables, but they will make you loose some of the spindle’s electric efficiency and become hotter.

To know a lot about make your spindle cable yourself or buying one ready-to-use, I gave you these two links. If you follow the links, you will know everything you need to know:

• ➪ Where to get spindle cable and in
• ➪ Spindle cable.

@moosaes

Didnt know its that important, now its installed, do you think I should take it out and buy one already made (they are very pricy )

That depends on how you tried to do that. I wrote what I think about this question ➪ here in this posting. 1. Such connectors are soldered instead of crimped and soldering is rather difficult on such connectors, and 2. you cannot fit a cable strong enough for a 1.5 kW or 2.2 kW spindle into these “aviation” connectors because of the too small strain relief clamp.

The cable I use for my 2.2 kW spindle is 11.9 mm diameter, and the “aviation” connectors that are offered in the cheap chinese no-name or Huanyang kits can only fit 7.8 mm cables into their strain relief. They are in fact no motor connectors. However, Daniel from PwnCNC manages to solder them and fit the cables somehow, but there are different connectors of this type, I have no personal experience with his cables. I just think, better Daniel solders this than an unexperienced solderer.

The spindle cable for my spindle, a Mechatron HFS-8022 2.2 kW uses this industrial Phoenix motor connector which is a connector that is crimped (crimp pliers needed for this) and fits my 11.9 mm thick LAPP ÖLFLEX® CLASSIC FD 810 CY (LAPP No. 0026271) spindle motor cable.

But which connector you have to use, depends on the connector that is found on your spindle.

Anyway, if you make your spindle cable yourself, it is important to shield and terminate it correctly. How this is done, is described here:

• ➪ Begin with the End in Mind — Proper VFD Cable Termination