[diyengineer]

I was using 14 gauge. It is the biggest wire you can possibly attach to the solder cups and still make all 3 wires through the cheesy factory plug. Since that was overkill, i bought a nice shielded Igus 4 wire cable, 16 gauge. 3 of the wires are for power, the 4th is a body ground. On the round body 2.2KW spindles drill and tap a 1/4-20 hole, 1/2" deep on the top of the spindle. Make sure to drill the hole no farther then a 1/2" from the outside diameter. This is the beefy section, any further it thins out and you will pop to the inside of the spindle (not the water jacket, but the wires). Also, do not go deeper then 1/2". There is a gasket material that must not be broken that seals the halves together, along with the fact you could drill into the water jacket.

Another quick fact, while i'm on the topic. I went to replace the liquid cooling barbs with ones just a hair larger. Luckily i have a dead spindle i can reference and test everything on so i don't kill my good one. I removed the old barbs, and noticed very small gaskets at the base of each barb. I didn't know how well the sealant was they used around the body to top section so i didn't risk it and silicone the factory ones back in. I was going to drill and tap them up a size but oh well. I ended up squeezing using 3/16" tubing and fittings everywhere else.

Good point and let me tell you because it's just happened to me.!. . If the wire breaks and shorts to the spindle body it destroys winding in the spindle also in my case it damaged the vfd, it wont come out of fault now and so obviously as fried a chip or something.
The VFD is a good quilty make ABB German made and even thou well out of warrenty (2yrs) i've spoke to ABB and they will repair it for a minimal fee.

This high lights the point why to buy the VFD local and good quality brand.!. . If this had been the Chinese VFD it would be toast and I'd be out of pocket big time.

On the plus side (thou no consolation) after nearly 3yrs of hard use I was pleasantly surprised how good a condition the spindle was in when striped down, also very easy to strip and replace bearings if needed.

Also let me point out this damage was solely caused by my own hand because I had removed the spindle a few days before to test on on another machine and not replaced properly the cable holding clamp that supports the cable before the spindle connector enters motor so it was free to flex side to side, this is what caused the magic smoke to appear. ( BOY was it a big "brown pants" flash bang . .Lol)

Don 22awg is too small IMO 18 or 20 would be best, I use 18. Yes it's a pain in the Arse to fit in the cable clamp and I had to strip back some of the outer sleaving. To help give back some support and tidy the look I used some large heat shrink which covered everything nicely, Also It's important as you can see from the above comments that you have a cable support clamp a few inch's before the spindle else your open to stressing the cable.

Regards spindle grounding just run a wire from the spindle bracket to your main ground point.
Depending on the VFD the ground is often the frame bracket where you clamp the cables and you just connect the ground wire to a point on it. . . . I have 3 VFD's and thats how they all do it. . . Also the cable sheild grounds to this bracket on my VFD's.

Hope this helps.

[hemsworthlad]

Another quick fact, while i'm on the topic. I went to replace the liquid cooling barbs with ones just a hair larger.

My new replacement spindle as been upgraded with larger water inlets than the old, also the electrical connector is an upgraded item being larger and more suited to 18awg.
It's also now 8A instead of 7.5A with slightly longer body so i'm guessing the winding may be longer.?
The collet nut looks a better quality item and it appears they may have took more time with the balance setup, there's more balance holes been drilled in the nut and it also sounds much nicer and feels smoother.! . . But this could just be the new-ness which will soon wear off after it's chopped it way thru lumps of Ali. . Lol

All in all I'm very happy with the new replacement.! . . That said i was very happy with the old one untill i cooked it's goose.!!(flame2)

[ger21]

Dean, who'd you get the new one from?

[hemsworthlad]

Dean, who'd you get the new one from?

Chai @ linearmotionbearings2008 on Ebay.

[Don C]

Thanks, that helps a lot. I have some agus shielded cable that 18ga but the lugs are so small I can't get the wire to go inside.Is there a better way of attaching the wire to the small lugs. I used 20 ga and stripped back some strands of wire. Other than wire size this wire is not shielded. I can drill and tap my mounting bracket for the ground wire.
Thanks again
Don

[hemsworthlad]

Other than wire size this wire is not shielded. I can drill and tap my mounting bracket for the ground wire.
Thanks again
Don

Don when you say not sheilded do you mean just the portion at the connector or the whole cable.? If not sheilded cable your asking for trouble from electrical noise, vfd's are very noisey.!

With the grounding if it's the same type chinese spindle as mine you could tap the top cap pritty much any where except near the water inlets it's quite thick around the edge's, I've attached pics for you to see the make up. One shows set against a ruler for referance.

Hope it helps.!

Edit: And a pic showing the uprated connector and inlet pipe's.

[Don C]

No, my wire only has 4 wires 20ga 600v. I know I need to do something else but the connector they sent me is really only big enough to solder 22ga wire in. It looks like you have a bigger connector on yours and one like mine setting next to it in picture 6. Is this something you purchased from a different vendor. Is there a solder terminal that you could put over the existing one and solder the wires inside it?

I also wanted to ask how I can get my VFD to run off a switch (remote). I tried changing PD001 to 1 and PD002 to 1 and jumping to fwd but it doesn't run. I would really appreciate any help. My VFD is the one sold on ebay by the guys in china or Kelinginc.com.

I like the pictures of the spindle taken apart
Thanks
Donald Clifton

[hemsworthlad]

No, my wire only has 4 wires 20ga 600v. I know I need to do something else but the connector they sent me is really only big enough to solder 22ga wire in.

Really recommend you get sheilded cable, the sheild doesn't need to go into the connector just upto it. Then you just ground the other end at your main ground point in your control box.
It's a debateable thing to whether the sheild should be grounded at both end's but in general it's said to just ground one end of the sheild.

It looks like you have a bigger connector on yours and one like mine setting next to it in picture 6. Is this something you purchased from a different vendor. Is there a solder terminal that you could put over the existing one and solder the wires inside it?

No the larger connector is what came with the new spindle but it would be an easy thing to replace if you could find a larger connector from some where like RS components.

I also wanted to ask how I can get my VFD to run off a switch (remote). I tried changing PD001 to 1 and PD002 to 1 and jumping to fwd but it doesn't run. I would really appreciate any help. My VFD is the one sold on ebay by the guys in china or Kelinginc.com.

Wouldn't recommend using a switch to turn VFD on and off and you MUST NOT put a switch or relay etc between the VFD and spindle or you will damage one or both.
The best way is to control the VFD with a spindleboard which outputs 0-10v signals which the vfd then use's to control speed and direction as well turning it on. You can also use the onboard Relay of the vfd to turn on the
water pump when it starts the spindle.

I can't help with the correct settings for your vfd because mine is differant make (guessing yours is huanyang) but I'm sure their are lots of folks on here who have the same VFD who can. If you do struggle let me know because my friend as the huanyang vfd and controls it thru spindle board and Mach3.

[Don C]

I'm using Mach 3 and also a pmdx 126 which has a place for a spindle control. Right now I just want to start/stop with a m3/m5 command. If you get a chance to talk to your friend ask him about the setup to turn the spindle on/off remotely.

I took a amp reading on the VFD input/output and I got a max of 6 amp cutting pine with a 1/2 bit 3/4 depth @ 100ipm, not to bad. I did a 3D cut with a 1/8 ball bit and only got .76 amps out. If the 400hz doesn't matter than my wire size might be alright. My HSD 4HP spindle only draws around 1 1/2 amp on the input side. I don't know how much the 400hz come in play with the amp/wire size. I have worked on 400hz jet packs at the airport but really never payed that much attention to the amps out.
Thanks a lot for your help
Don Clifton

[Don C]

I figured out what I was doing wrong. I was setting both remote start/stop and remote freq.
Thanks
Don Clifton

[diyengineer]

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

This is what Igus recommended. With shipping i bought 30' for $81 dollars. (16 gauge, 4 wire) Price is $2.70 a foot.

That price is directly from Igus, which anyone of us can obtain. Shoot them an email and they are MORE then happy to work with any individual. The cable is AMAZING. You can really feel the quality. It should contain most of the noise, one less thing for everyone to worry about. For the money, and the amount of headache it will save ya its worth it.

The Igus rep said almost all the servo application and high frequency motors ground both sides of the shield. One side on the VFD, one side on the spindle. Additionally the 4th wire (GND) should also be attached to the spindle directly, or if not the spindle, atleast to your spindle mount.

Really recommend you get sheilded cable, the sheild doesn't need to go into the connector just upto it. Then you just ground the other end at your main ground point in your control box.
It's a debateable thing to whether the sheild should be grounded at both end's but in general it's said to just ground one end of the sheild.



No the larger connector is what came with the new spindle but it would be an easy thing to replace if you could find a larger connector from some where like RS components.



Wouldn't recommend using a switch to turn VFD on and off and you MUST NOT put a switch or relay etc between the VFD and spindle or you will damage one or both.
The best way is to control the VFD with a spindleboard which outputs 0-10v signals which the vfd then use's to control speed and direction as well turning it on. You can also use the onboard Relay of the vfd to turn on the
water pump when it starts the spindle.

I can't help with the correct settings for your vfd because mine is differant make (guessing yours is huanyang) but I'm sure their are lots of folks on here who have the same VFD who can. If you do struggle let me know because my friend as the huanyang vfd and controls it thru spindle board and Mach3.

[Don C]

don't want to keep bugging you but! when you remove the electrical connector from the top of the spindle are you in the water jacket? I found a nice piece of Igus shielded cable and I soldered it to the terminals but just to the sides which I don't like and was wondering if I could replace the whole connector with a larger one or just mount a small electrical box maybe 1" x 1". Just don't like the connector.
Thanks
Donald Clifton

[diyengineer]

don't want to keep bugging you but! when you remove the electrical connector from the top of the spindle are you in the water jacket? I found a nice piece of Igus shielded cable and I soldered it to the terminals but just to the sides which I don't like and was wondering if I could replace the whole connector with a larger one or just mount a small electrical box maybe 1" x 1". Just don't like the connector.
Thanks
Donald Clifton

The connector is in the center. Below the connector is the top bearing for the spindle. The only part that gets water is directly below the 2 water ports. Its fairly simple construction. You will be fine replacing the plug with a larger one. If you do, feel free to take a few pics and keep the part number of the plug and upload it for us to see. I may do the same in the future.

Pictures speak 1000 words Hope this helps Donald.



Update: Also note the additional hole in the top. This is where the previous owner drilled and tapped his ground. You cant see it in the picture of the underside but he blew through the backside. This makes for all kinds of problems potentially if you are unable to remove the top section. All the metal filings and chips just fell into your top bearing, and potentially some of them could get into the spindle. If you drill a ground make sure its 1/4-20 and you are no more then 1/2" from the outside diameter of the spindle. I lined mine up with the bolt holes on the top just so it looks factory. Also dont go more then 1/2" down.

[Don C]

My electrical connector has 4 screws holding it to the top of the spindle. Should be easy to remove without taking the top off the spindle. When i do i will take some pictures and post.
I replaced the old wire with the piece of shielded cable grounding it on the vfd side to elecrical ground. It still trips my limits, they are npn limits. Tomorrow i will try grounding to earth ground, i have a 10ft ground rod.
Thanks again for all the help
Don

[diyengineer]

My electrical connector has 4 screws holding it to the top of the spindle. Should be easy to remove without taking the top off the spindle. When i do i will take some pictures and post.
I replaced the old wire with the piece of shielded cable grounding it on the vfd side to electrical ground. It still trips my limits, they are npn limits. Tomorrow i will try grounding to earth ground, i have a 10ft ground rod.
Thanks again for all the help
Don

I have optical limits. When i turned my spindle on i had no ill effects. The only thing that was odd was when i went to jog my Z axis up with the spindle ON it passed through the limit and rammed the hard limit @ 50ipm. Good thing the plastic oldham coupler snapped, or the servo would have most deff twisted something off. Can optical limits receive noise so instead of shutting the system off, jam and stay on? I manually jogged it up, so i can only imagine i didn't have something set correctly. Now i lowered my Z axis home switch away from the hard stop. I will be doing some intense testing with this new Igus chainflex cable.
Good luck Don!!

[Don C]

I traced mine down to the limits case being grounded to the router frame. If i take the limits off the frame work everything works fine. I only had this problem when the spindle was running. I have a pmdx 126 board so i can either run from my ss or pp. The pp does't have as bad of a problem but the ss is instantly. I have tried to ground the machine, spindle shield and vfd to earth ground and or electrical ground without change. I guess i will have to isolate the case of my limits unless anyone has a solution.

I did pull my power connection off the top of the spindle and it would be very easy to upgrade to a better connection.
Thanks
Don

[diyengineer]

I traced mine down to the limits case being grounded to the router frame. If i take the limits off the frame work everything works fine. I only had this problem when the spindle was running. I have a pmdx 126 board so i can either run from my ss or pp. The pp does't have as bad of a problem but the ss is instantly. I have tried to ground the machine, spindle shield and vfd to earth ground and or electrical ground without change. I guess i will have to isolate the case of my limits unless anyone has a solution.

I did pull my power connection off the top of the spindle and it would be very easy to upgrade to a better connection.
Thanks
Don

Nice! My power connection unfortunately you have to pull the top of the spindle off (to get the nut off the rear) which is only 4-5 bolts, but they use this sealant that is white. It is really strong like an epoxy. If you can break the seal then you just unsolder the 3 wires loosen the nut, and you can swap the connector.

Who did you buy your spindle from? Sounds like that is a nice feature.

[Don C]

Kelinginc.com
Don

[rustyolddo]

Any feedback on the 120V versions of the VFD's & spindles? Ran across them at CNCDIY.org Pricing is about the same as the 220V versions.

[Don C]

I have had a lot of issues with noise coming from the VFD. Steve at PMDX helped me out a lot but can't seem to cure the problem using my SS. Homing just doesn't work with the spindle on and Warp9 doesn't answer email request, who would have thought! Everything works fine if I use the PP. My question is, on the chinese VFD the manual states that E (9) is ground but terminal (1) also has a earth ground which one do you use. I am using a shielded cable for spindle power grounded only on the VFD side.
Help
Don Clifton