Apologies as I asked this question generically before: I’m about to place an order for this cable:chainflex® control cable CF881 for my 2.2KW spindle and was wondering if anyone can think of a reason this wouldn’t work.
I went with standard double-shielded 16/4 meant for CNC but what you’re looking at appears to be a higher grade of cabling for the same use.
I’d dare say that it won’t just work but it will work for a longer duration than mine’s rated for.
Hey eyecon,
this is a control cable. For powering a spindle you would rather choose motor cable, e.g. chainflex® motor cable CF886. Their insulation has a lower capacitance.
Also in my opinion a wire cross-section area of 16 AWG (1.29 mm²) or even 1.5 mm² is a little bit thin for a 2.2 kW / 220 V spindle. I know they’re sold with cheap spindles, but for this current, I would not use less than 2.5 mm² (14-13 AWG).
And you did not tell whether it’s 110 V or 220 V. If it’s 110 V, you have double the current (at same power rating) so you would need a cable with double the cross-section area (5.3 mm² / 10 AWG) than you would need with 220 V.
Further reading
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Actually, they’re not. Huanyang does not include any cabling with its spindles. This is, however, the recommended gauge and the recommended level of shielding for said spindles that must be purchased separately.
And, yet, you had the privilege of participating on a thread I posted regarding this exact information. Your “opinion” is noted.
Also, specs for 220V recommend minimum of 18/4 and specs for 110V recommend minimum of 16/4. It’s critical but not worth an opinion-based debate.
And, to quote Igus on the subject:
“Since in many areas a voltage class of 300/500V is completely sufficient, the control cable is used more often. If a motor is supplied via a standard household socket, there is no reason why a control cable should not be used instead of a motor cable.”
I’d probably take that up with Igus for debate purposes.
Hey Brian,
There are spindle cables for cheap chinese spindles of 20-16 AWG around (included or separate).
Anyone can recommend whatever they want.
Sorry, there are many spindles/VFD successes reported here, I don’t remember. In fact I was not addressing specifically to you, just wanted to give information of general usuability (especially to original poster)
I don’t recommend to use such thin cables for such currents.
Of course not. I do not dimension my electrical installations based on opinions but according to the technical literature of electrical engineering studies and the guidelines of the industry.
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Actual professionals in the field of electronic cabling have so I suppose this goes back to this not being worth an opinion-based debate.
I’m out. OP has been provided with sufficient input and can weight that input against industry standards. Have a great day, everyone.
Hey Brian,
Of course not. I do not dimension my electrical installations based on opinions but according to the technical literature of electrical engineering studies and the guidelines of the industry.
Hey eyecon, hey all,
Note that Huanyang is unlikely to recommend any wire thicker than 16 AWG simply because it would be impossible to fit them into these flimsy “aviation” connectors used on these cheap chinese spindles.
I would always recommend to buy the spindle cable from the spindle manufacturer, who offer them manufactured and ready to use.
If the spindle manufacturer does not offer one, that says something about the manufacturer. In this case I would at least question the offer, and in case of sticking with the offer, I would at least buy a spindle cable ready-to-use as a third-party accessory. These cheap “aviation” connectors are made for soldering and you should only do this yourself if you have learned soldering very well, especially soldering high-mass contacts, and have a sensor-controlled soldering tool of at least 80 watts. Note: In industry, power connectors are not soldered but crimped.
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Wow, thanks everyone for chiming in!
a few clarifications:
-I have a 110V 2.2KW spindle…I know it’s not really going to be 2.2KW, I just bought it because of the ER20 collets…most of what I machine from wood to soft metals requires very little of the supposed torque and power of these spindles.
-The CF881 control cable was the one recommended by the local Igus sales rep, I was initially looking at the motor wires but I was told the control wire will do just fine(point noted around the capacitance so I may need to re-evaluate)
-I didn’t really trust what the Igus rep said because he also said he is fairly new to Igus, however he did put me on hold to go ask someone with more experience and still came back with the CF881 recommendation
-I have no issues with the current ratings, soldering skills…etc was more concerned about the continuous movement factors published for this cable given the small drag chains typically used on our hobby CNC routers in addition to other factors such as the frequency of the voltage running through the wires and whether or not this cable will be able to handle them without causing phase timing issues.
Sorry I should have been more clear in my question.
Hey eyecon,
you are right, the bend radius factor is a little smaller on the control cable vs. motor cable (12.5 x d vs. 15 x d). But both the Igus chainflex as well as the LAPP ÖLFLEX 810 CY are made for long life with frequent bending. Do you already know the bending radius that your drag chains parts will impose on your cable?
I wouldn’t be concerned about that with these cables.
Also I think that the difference between control and motor cable should be only what was mentioned above. Curious what the sales rep will report, will you share it if he responds again? Note that my cable, the Lapp, is called “versatile”, for both motor and control.
What I just saw that my LAPP ÖLFLEX 810 CY has a thick inner PVC sheath additionally to the outer PVC sheath, and at same time it is rated with only 7.5 x d bend radius factor for flexible installation. Will cut a slice of it and take a photo later.
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Yes about 1” at best again mentioned it to Igus and they said not to worry about it for a medium-light duty application with a few runs per day. They said the ratings are really for heavy duty industrial applications of millions of cycles per day.
I’ll definitely share any additional feedback from Igus if they ever get back to me.