Need help with the double shielded cabling to power a 2.2kw, 220v spindle.
What size or brand works best? And where can I purchase ?
Jason Stewart on the FB group is quite knowledgeable, and just did a ‘shout out’ offering to answer any spindle/VFD questions. If you have FB access I would take him up on his offer - he has posted some informative videos as well on your topic, most recently re grounding of spindle.
This is what I went with - double shielded flex cable made for CNC machines - $4.22CAD/ft
https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/701700/2320-701700-DS-ND/12089380
So far has worked well with my 800kw spindle with no interference, although I also put the cable inside a 1/2” diameter aluminum jacket, and I have ferrite cores over other low voltage data cables. Have a 2.2kw spindle sitting on the shelf waiting.
I put a plug between the spindle and cable so I could swap spindles easier and below is a crappy picture:
Although I grounded the cable shield I didn’t modify the ground in the spindle as the instructions I got with the spindle explicitly said not to. My touch probe works as expected.
Grounding is a hot topic on many forums - here is one thread from a forum I am a member of. It shows how opinions/facts differ, but one member posted a few manufacturer guidelines that you might find interesting/useful:
https://www.cnczone.com/forums/spindles-vfd/354362-still-bit-unclear-proper-spindle-grounding.html