I am a total newbie and right now a little terrified. I am waiting for my Elite Foreman to be delivered. I decided to get an 80mm Spindle and VFD. I purchased a Vevor.
Stupidly I thought this would be plug and play but it appears you need to have worked in NASA to get a spindle setup running. Is there any documentation/blog/nursery rhymes available for the complete novice on getting a Vevor vfd set up with OF?
I was looking forward to a new hobby, now I think I will chew broken glass as I am anticipating that it will be less painful
not in NASA, it’s not rocket science. It’s just electrical engineering and machinery engineering
Seriously I would only recommend to do this yourself if you have, or are ready to acquire, some relevant electrical knowledge. I suggest that you browse the forum for spindle, VFD, and control cabinet and take a look at the discussions, the instructions, the warnings and the knowledge that are spread around in this forum. There is a lot of information.
I plan to write an instruction with photos on how to build and populate your own VFD electrical cabinet including all wiring once I will put all my parts together and do it, but unfortunately, I have too much to do at the moment so it’s not ready yet.
I think you have to know that the manual that accompany the cheap chinese VFDs are very lousy and not didactical. Usually people don’t really gather knowledge from these, so often they rely on youtube videos which say do this and do that, and set this to this value, but without explaining why, what I find less than ideal since it means you don’t know what you’re doing, or often with very questionable safety compliance (e.g. connecting a spindle without PE wire (!!)).
What I can recommend to you, is to download a good and didactical VFD manual, e.g. this one and start to explore it. It will not have the same settings numbers than those used on your VFD, since these differ with every VFD brand, but this one is full of good and didactical explanation – what the cheap chinese manual let miss. The basic things that a VFD does and the basic settings you have to take care of are similar on all VFDs. I would read it beginning from page one to the page where you start your first spindle test run. It will deal with which wires and connectors you will have to use and give you mounting instructions for the VFD. It will explain you which connections and which basic settings are necessary for a first spindle test run.
I have helped people individually to wire, install, and program their VFD, but that is only possible if you have already made the major part of research yourself (otherwise I would not be able to do anything else in my life )
Usually to build a VFD cabinet you don’t need a soldering iron, since everything is crimped, so what you will need will be a few crimp pliers. When buying crimp pliers, you can choose between buying one for each type of connector, or one crimp pliers with interchangeable dies. Usually for a VFD you need two crimp pliers (or inserts if you have pliers for interchangeable dies): One for Ring and Spade connectors for the power wires and one for Wire Ferrules for the signal wires.
You need to look up which wires you need in your VFD manual. Then you choose and buy the wires …
After the first successful test run of VFD and spindle, you may want to populate your VFD control cabinet with some more accessories. That are usually in the first place relays (with their power supply, if not built-in) to allow your VFD to switch the spindle coolant pump and the dust collection on automatically.
Next step would be to have a smart safety circuit which integrates the emergency stop function of the CNC controller too. Triggering the safety circuit would not only stop the controller’s program and and the machine’s movement, but also the spindle.
If your spindle cooling pump has a temperature and flow sensor, it would be wired to the safety circuit so that in case cooling fails or gets too hot, not only the spindle is stopped by the VFD (while coolant pump should continue to run if the temperature is too high) but also the machine and the running program is stopped then.
Have you received your VFD yet? What is the brand and model name? Did you get a link to download its manual?
I purchased a Vevor spindle and VFD. The VFD manual is the A2 Series. Here is a link to ver 1.78 of the manual. My paper copy is Ver 1.81. Link
I am slowly getting to grips with the concepts and if I can will document my progress. I am still waiting for cables etc to arrive so I can bench test.
The most simplistic VFD I’ve seen. Only V/f mode. And it has no serial interface for modbus communication. So you will have to rely on its analog voltage input to control spindle speed. By the way that’s how the MASSO Controller controls spindle speed on VFD too, Masso has no Modbus functionality either. Since the Onefinity Controller offers either Modbus or PWM spindle speed control, you need to buy a PWM-to-voltage converter (e.g. at ebay).
A very simplistic manual. No information on wires and connectors to use.
No information on max. input power and fuse to use.
Could you report what’s on the VFD nameplate? The max A / kVA for input and for output should be on the nameplate.
The VFD has one relay output. No open collector/optocoupler control outputs present. Unfortunately specification of the relay output is missing, but usually you can not switch a dust collector or vacuum directly, however if you want to drive an external relay for the dust collector or vacuum and for the spindle coolant pump, you have to know if the internal relay is a solid state relay, they need a minimum load current of about 100 mA to flow. Unlike electromagnetic relays, a solid-state relay can only hold its state when a minimal load current is flowing. That’s because they’re not really relays (electrically controlled switches), they’re thyristors (a specific type of semiconductor).
What’s on the spindle? You need at least the rated voltage (V) and the rated current (A) to be able to set the VFD correctly. Do you have rated RPM range (min/max) too?
What about the VFDs nameplate?
The max A / kVA for input and for output should be on the nameplate.
Sure.
The spindle is a three-phase induction motor for variable frequency, to drive this spindle you need a VFD that produces three-phase electricity with a range of about 100 or 120 Hz (depending on min. allowed spindle RPM) and up to 400 Hz (for max. spindle RPM).
I am in Europe so 220v is standard and single phase. Here is a picture of the plate on the VFD. If you think I am better buying a new VFD can you recommend one that will not break the bank.
Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
10
Hey Owen,
thanks for the photo of VFD nameplate.
What it says is:
The VFD can deliver 180-250 V 3-phase current with 15 A at its output,
but
the rated 10 A at its input is obviously the value for 3-phase input, which means, per phase. You have a VFD model that you can attach on single-phase or on three-phase electricity. Unfortunately the rated input current for operation on single-phase electricty is not mentioned on your nameplate.
But if you look at my nameplate on a VFD with the same parameters (by coincidence) I know that if you use it on single-phase supply, the maximum input current would be about at least 20 A.
By coincidence the values of your spindle and your VFD both correspond to mine, except that my VFD is offered for one phase input and for three-phase input as separate models. Since in Europe we usually have either three-phase electricity with 400 V or single-phase with 230 V, the 200 V three-phase model is of no use (it suits U.S. 208 V industrial three-phase electricity), so you have to use your VFD with 230 V single-phase if you’re in Europe.
What unfortunately is not mentioned on your nameplate, is the max current if you use it with one phase input. On my VFD, which is also a 200 V class, 2.2 kW VFD with single phase input, it is rated with 20 A max. input current in CT mode and 24 A in VT mode.
You can see in this table that the 200 V class 2.2 kW (CT mode) version on single-phase input requires a 30 A fuse (a one-phase MCCB), but the same model with 200 V class three-phase input, you need only 15 A fuse, but that is one fuse per phase(!), which means that would be a 3 x 15 A MCCB. This way you can judge on what the 10 A input on your VFD means, it means, per phase, if you would have three-phase input. But on one phase, it is logical that it would have more rated ampères since all the power would come from one single wire, thus the need for larger current, larger fuse and thicker wires then. Wire and fuse size do not depend on input power (kVA), but on current (in ampères)
That means that at its input, I have 2+PE × 4 mm² cable and at the output for the 2.2 kW / 8 A three-phase spindle, I have 3+PE × 2.5 mm² shielded wire.
For the VFD with 20 A input on one phase, this means the usual 16 A household circuit is not enough, so I have a Blue P+N+E 6h/32 A CEE wall outlet (see image in posting below) on a 32 A one-phase MCCB.
I think it’s very okay to buy the cheap spindles and VFDs if you are new and want to get in contact with the matter. The reason why I don’t always mention what I bought is that it will break the bank for many hobbyists, but I plan to use the equipment professionally. What I bought is decribed here:
Note that I would not buy the Omron MX2 in its single-phase version again, but always prefer the version for 400 V three-phase input. But at the time I bought my stuff the three-phase 400 V model was not available. We have 400 V three-phase in every house here (in the circuit breaker box). This would have allowed me to use thinner cable at the input (3+PE with 2.5 mm² wire size instead of 2+PE x 4.0 mm², and a 3 x 16 A MCCB instead of a 1 x 32 A MCCB).
Note that the Omron MX2 is practically identical to the Hitachi WJ200, also the manuals are nearly identical (Manual / Manual). The 200 V class one-phase input 2.2 kW model that corresponds to Omron 3G3MX2-AB022-E is Hitachi WJ200-022SF.
By the way the same spindle I bought is already in use by two forum members here and the Hitachi WJ200 also by two people.
Are you saying I must have a 3-phase outlet for my VFD? If so I will have to scrap it and get a single phase one. OI looked at Moron and the 2.2KW one appears to be 3-phase too. https://industrial.omron.eu/en/products/3G3MX2-A2022-E
Apologies for the questions if they are stupid, but I am learning a lot.
Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
12
Hey Owen,
no, your VFD is obviously a model that you can attach on one phase OR on three-phase. But 220 V three-phase is not common in Europe. What is common is 400 V three-phase, or 230 V single-phase. What I say is, when you want to suck the same power from a single phase line, you will suck more ampères as if you would suck the power over three phases, and the wire size and fuse size will be different too. The wire sizes and the fuse do not depend on power, but on current. That’s why if you suck the same power (in kVA) from one phase, you will need more current (in ampères), and thus thicker wires and a larger fuse, than if you would suck the same power from three phases.
Correct, the AB022 is for 220 V one-phase input (common in Europe), the A2022 is for 220 V three-phase input (e.g. U.S. industrial three-phase), and the A4022 is for 400 V three-phase input (also common in Europe).
In North America, three-phase electricity is uncommon in residential areas (there you usually find split-phase electricity with 120 and 240 V), but three-phase exists in industrial areas. In Europe, three-phase electricity is ubiquitous. Note that the single-phase voltage is always √3 × three-phase voltage, e.g. √3 × 400 V = 230 V (Europe) or e.g. √3 × 208 V = 120 V (U.S. industrial areas)
That are no stupid questions. I wll be happy if I can help.
PS: Depending on your country, there may be different plugs and sockets in use. But the IEC 60309 plugs and sockets (often called “CEE”) are a standard for currents over 16 A or multiphase electricity.
This is the wall outlet I use, 230 V one phase, rated for 32 A:
What is sometimes confusing to newcomers is that a VFD input can run on one phase OR three phases on its input, but at its output, it creates always three phases. But those output phases have nothing to do with the input phases.
Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
13
PS: I don’t have a photo of my VFD nameplate at hand, but here you can see on a 2.2 kW 230 V Hitachi S1 VFD for single phase input that its input current with one phase is 24/30 A, while its output current is 10/13 A on three phases (similar to your VFD).
