[widgitmaster]

Over the years of lurking here I have seen your builds in the past, always top notch

Thanks!

The long screws & springs arrived!

[bill south]

Looking Good Eric;
Isn't the blue springs going to clash with the "red" powder coat finish???? Fashion, fashion, fashion!
Any idea how much longer it will be before your spinning ballscrews?
Have a good day.
Bill

[jckstrthmghty]

The superman build?

Looking Good Eric;
Isn't the blue springs going to clash with the "red" powder coat finish???? Fashion, fashion, fashion!
Any idea how much longer it will be before your spinning ballscrews?
Have a good day.
Bill

[widgitmaster]

Looking Good Eric;
Isn't the blue springs going to clash with the "red" powder coat finish???? Fashion, fashion, fashion!
Any idea how much longer it will be before your spinning ballscrews?
Have a good day.
Bill

Hi Yall!
Today the last steel parts were sent to the welder, and the shop has been thoroughly cleaned! Now I have 3+ really detailed aluminum parts to make, and all the little electrical boxes & tubes & Cable Track supports to make! I should get about half a barrel of aluminum chips before I'm done
Ya do realize, the blue springs will be inside the aluminum slide plate?

I just bought another Hoffman Box on eBay, it will contain just the VFD inverter! The box will be located under the machine, where the long Cable Track ends. This will keep the VFD cable as short as possible, as the cable is $7.66 /foot! And I estimate there will be about 30-Feet of it!

My plan is to make all the boxes & tubes for the electrical components, LED's, E-Stop's, Stepper's, Limits, Temperature Sensor. Then I'll pull a small nylon rope through the longest points, mark it, and remove it to measure it! That way I can get a good idea of what's needed as far as cables!

So when I pick up the steel parts from the welder, I'll dismantle the whole machine and get all the steel frame components powder coated glossy RED ! I estimate that to cost me a small fortune, like 5-bills (chair) So far I've spent 5K on this SuperMan Build!

VFD cable is 14-AWG 4-conductor, stranded, shielded.

[Miata2k]

Hi Yall!
I just bought another Hoffman Box on eBay, it will contain just the VFD inverter! The box will be located under the machine, where the long Cable Track ends. This will keep the VFD cable as short as possible, as the cable is $7.66 /foot! And I estimate there will be about 30-Feet of it!

VFD cable is 14-AWG 4-conductor, stranded, shielded.

Widgit,

I have to go to the place where we buy wire today, let me do some checking on your cable before you spend $8 a foot on it.

We use 18awg 4 conductor, shielded cable and I'm sure it is less that $1 per foot. Even with oil/chemical resistant, rated at 105c, I don't see it costing $8 a foot.

What type of VFD are you using?

-C

[widgitmaster]

Widgit,

I have to go to the place where we buy wire today, let me do some checking on your cable before you spend $8 a foot on it.

We use 18awg 4 conductor, shielded cable and I'm sure it is less that $1 per foot. Even with oil/chemical resistant, rated at 105c, I don't see it costing $8 a foot.

What type of VFD are you using?

-C

I have a 2.2Kw Spindle & Inverter from China.
My calculations show a need of 14-AWG cable, because of the distance. The cable also needs to be stranded for flexibility, and shielded because of the high frequency.
The price I stated was that of McMaster-Carr too!

[widgitmaster]

The parts are back from the welder, and everything looks good! I had made up some little steel blocks with holes through them to support an aluminum wire tube! After scratching a lone on an ink spot, the welder simply clamped them in position and went to work!
I have reassembled the unit, to see how it lines up, but the tube cannot be installed without rolling the whole unit out on to the driveway! Not a problem!

[widgitmaster]

This morning I started cutting aluminum stock for all the parts I need to make!

[widgitmaster]

The 1st parts I plan to make are the y-axis (long) pivot plates. they are a lot of work! First I milled the long edges of both blocks, just to make them parallel. There is a 1/4" of material on the width, so I have lots of leeway! Next I removed one of the vise jaws, so I can lay the block flat on the vise floor. With a set of Starrett Hold-Downs & a parallel, the block is pulled down tightly to the vise floor.
Next I put the big 5" face-mill in the spindle, and made a cleanup pass on both blocks. Then I flipped them over and cut the opposite surface to dimension. With both blocks parallel on the wide sides, I replaced the vise jaw and put both blocks in the vise clamping it on the parallel surfaces. Next I made a cleanup pass on one side of the pair, and flipped them to cut them to dimension.
Now I have to rotate the vise 90-deg, and mill the blocks to length. Using a 3/4" 4-flute endmill, I milled one end of each block. Then I put a stop on the vise, and milled the lengths to dimension!
That's enough for one day, I've been thinking about a mess of ribs and a bowl of beans! I'm hungry

[keebler303]

Widgit

I think you are over-spec on your cable. Most of Mcmaster cable is from Igus anyway. Here it is direct, for $2.76 per foot. 16Ga 4C

igus® Chainflex® continuous-flex cables: Chainflex® CF31 motor cable PVC

Matt

[widgitmaster]

Widgit

I think you are over-spec on your cable. Most of Mcmaster cable is from Igus anyway. Here it is direct, for $2.76 per foot. 16Ga 4C

igus® Chainflex® continuous-flex cables: Chainflex® CF31 motor cable PVC

Matt

Every chart I look at & every EE I talk to tells me that 380 VAC, 3-Phase, 50Hz, 5A, over a distance of 25-30 ft requires 14-AWG cable to prevent a voltage drop & over heating of the cable.

Thanks for the Link!

[Miata2k]

Widgit,

There is nothing wrong with running a 14 awg wire in the system, you just have to decide if you want to spend the extra money.

I did a little research on VFD wiring from the Belden site and found this.
VFD Cable
Reference Chart.
http://www.belden.com/docs/upload/VF...ence_Guide.pdf

From the data from Belden, they are calling for a 16awg wire at 230vac for a 2.2kw (3hp) motor. As you increase the voltage, you lower the current, they don't spec a cable at 380v but the 460v motor is only calling for 16awg up to 10hp.

I'm not trying to change your mind here, so please make you own decision on the cable you choose for your system. I just wanted you to see some of the other calculations in the system.

Also not that the Belden data does not include wire lengths in their equations.

I found this chart with a calculator at the bottom of the page. If you run the numbers for your system, I think you will see that 16awg wire will give you less than a 1% drop in voltage at full load.
American Wire Gauge table and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits with skin depth frequencies and wire strength

Hope this helps.
-C

Every chart I look at & every EE I talk to tells me that 380 VAC, 3-Phase, 50Hz, 5A, over a distance of 25-30 ft requires 14-AWG cable to prevent a voltage drop & over heating of the cable.

Thanks for the Link!

[keebler303]

Every chart I look at & every EE I talk to tells me that 380 VAC, 3-Phase, 50Hz, 5A, over a distance of 25-30 ft requires 14-AWG cable to prevent a voltage drop & over heating of the cable.

Thanks for the Link!

Use the size you want, the price is a fraction of what you quoted either way.

Matt

[CarveOne]

Widgit, looks like you and I are about the only ones actively working on building something over the holiday weekend. I guess Labor Day time off doesn't get as much respect from us retirees.

You're making really good progress considering the complexity of your design and the amount of machining needed. Looks really good.

[widgitmaster]

Widgit, looks like you and I are about the only ones actively working on building something over the holiday weekend. I guess Labor Day time off doesn't get as much respect from us retirees.

You're making really good progress considering the complexity of your design and the amount of machining needed. Looks really good.

Thanks Carv'e,
Like I said: "This morning I played in the shop for a few hours"

This aint work :cheers:

[Dylwad]

I'll agree that 16 gauge should be sufficient, unless the machine will be cutting primarily 3/4" sheet in a production, single pass cut situation for days on end.

Sent from tapatalk

[kuroguy]

You also want to make sure that you do not exceed the maximum allowable distance from the vfd to the motor or the motor will see voltage spikes. Typically this number is on the order of 100 feet; however, i recently ran across some motors that were only rated for 30' from the drive (of course the manufacturer didn't make that known until my client started losing motors). I'm not saying you will have a problem, and you likely will not, but it won't hurt to check the motor spec. The result if you exceed the distance would be burned out motors due to voltage spikes. The solution is typically dv/dt filters between the drive and motor.

[widgitmaster]

You also want to make sure that you do not exceed the maximum allowable distance from the vfd to the motor or the motor will see voltage spikes. Typically this number is on the order of 100 feet; however, i recently ran across some motors that were only rated for 30' from the drive (of course the manufacturer didn't make that known until my client started losing motors). I'm not saying you will have a problem, and you likely will not, but it won't hurt to check the motor spec. The result if you exceed the distance would be burned out motors due to voltage spikes. The solution is typically dv/dt filters between the drive and motor.

This is from th Inverter's Manual:
When the wiring between the inverter and the motor exceeds 15 meters for 220V class or 30
meters for 380V class, much higher dV/dT will be produced inside the coil of the motor,
which will cause the destruction to the interlay or insulation of the motor. Please use a
dedicated AC motor for the inverter or add a reactor at the inverter.

(That's 49.213 feet)

[CarveOne]

Lots of laughs, that's my take on it also. It's physically demanding sometimes but it keeps me going. I could find worse things to occupy my time with.

[widgitmaster]

This morning I started on the Y-Axis motor swing plates, using a 3" face-mill to remove the bulk from the back surface. There is a .515" high rectangle protruding from the back surface, so I roughed down the ends and finished with an endmill. By doing this, the entire lower surface gets done at one time.