Sorry for the newb question. In the process of setting up my Elite Journeyman. I have the 2.2 water cooled PWN spindle which is 220v. My question is can I plug the water pump into the back of the 1F black box on either of the plug labeled dust control or router and will it automatically turn the pump on when the spindle is activated even though the router will be controlled through the masso?
Hey Stuart,
if you run a spindle you forcibly run a VFD. And a spindle coolant pump is always controlled by the VFD, not by the CNC controller. Every VFD has control outputs for a coolant pump. Often they even have a relay integrated so you can connect the pump directly, both DC and AC pumps. See the specification of the control outputs in your VFD manual. It is important for the spindle’s longevity that the spindle coolant pump runs when the spindle runs. And it’s the VFD that knows when the spindle runs. Should the spindle cooling rely on the CNC controller, and the latter would fail, possibly the spindle would run without cooling and be destroyed. That’s why the spindle cooling is always controlled by the VFD. A good VFD can even be programmend to continue to cool the spindle for a while after the spindle was stopped.
The VFD’s control ouputs are programmable so you program the relay output to be active when spindle runs, so spindle coolant pump runs at the same time.
Although I have no personal experience with the spindle/VFD kits from PwnCNC, I’m sure that Daniel @PwnCNC intended for the coolant pump to be connected to the VFD.
A CNC controller usually only controls workpiece coolant (workpiece mist coolant (M7)) and workpiece flood coolant (M8)), not spindle coolant.
And unlike a CNC controller like the Masso G3, the VFD also always knows at which speed the spindle runs. You may also order a spindle with a thermal sensor and make spindle coolant flow depending on the real heat.
Also the dust collection is often switched on and off by the CNC controller (usually at the same time when VFD is sent the “spindle RUN” command (M3)), but of course you can also let the dust collection be controlled by a programmable output of the VFD, just like the spindle coolant pump. The VFD knows the best when the spindle runs. But more often dust collection is controlled by the CNC controller, because if you mill wood, you need dust collection but not workpiece coolant, while when you switch to milling aluminium or soft metals like brass, usually the dust collection is of no great use, but you may want to spray cutting fluid or isopropanol on the workpiece with M7/M8. That’s why on the Onefinity Elite Series, the dust collection connected to the ‘vac’ power supply output is switched on with M8.
Welcome to the forum!
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To answer the question: Yes you can and I am. I used the router port. Is it right? Probably not, but it works for the moment. I have the CW3000 powered from it. Every thing said above is true. It would be great if there was an elegant way to control the water cooler using the PWNCNC VFD, and it may exist, but I have not found it yet. This is complicated by the PWNCNC 2.2kw water cooled spindle not having internal temperature telemetry, at least that I have found. You really should l have cooling tied to temp instead of on/off. Too cold is just as bad as too hot. In mid florida on the coast cold is not my issue. After some higher priority projects get finished I am going to dig into the VFD. The docs are good but that is fairly complicated beast. I also switched the coolant (vac port) to the laser coolant option on the F1 screen for output 18 so M8/M9 only operates the relay when the Laser (T111) is selected and it works well to power the air assist for a laser. 120Vac vacuum does me no good with a central dust collector. That is another battle to fight another day with the vacuum controls vendor.
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Just got the answer today. The PWNCNC VFD has an IOT port that you can connect to the IOT powerstrip that PWNCNC sells that the signal turns the outlets off and on. The powerstrip is $40. Still have to plug the power strip into a 120v outlet for power.
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That is something I can work with. THX.