[jlmccuan]

I'm having trouble getting my VFD to run under Mach3. I've changed the parameters in the VFD and set up Mach3. When I send the S500M3 command the VFD shows the frequency going up and stabilizing but the motor doesn't start. Everything ran fine manually. Any ideas?

[vertcnc]

I am not an expert on this but if I remember right when I setup mine under modbus I also had to send the fwd or rev command along with the frequency. I am sure different vfd's have various different parameters.

[jlmccuan]

M3 is forward, M4 is reverse, M5 is stop.

With P0 000 set to 1 and P0 002 set to 2 the Output 1 light in Mach3 diagnostic page comes on with M3 and goes off with M5, with M4 Output 2 comes on and goes off with M5, the VFD display shows the Hz increasing to setpoint using the S command with M3 or M4 and decreasing to zero with M5, but the motor does not spin.

With P0 000 set to 0 and P0 002 set to 0, the motor runs manually.

Even though Shopmaster says the manual switches can be left connected and it will run under Mach3, I disconnected the manual switches with no change.

I'm not sure why the VFD display would show the motor running manually and it does as expected, but under Mach3 when it shows the motor is running it is not.

[JTJT]

Jim,
When you called the other day you said the previous owner had disconnected some components for some reason and left some wires loose in the cabinet. We went through the gecko connections, so I'm hoping you got the steppers operating. On the VFD, your symptom sounds like the black wire from V- on the power supply going to the COM terminal on the VFD is not hooked up, or hooked to the wrong COM terminal. Also, if the prior owner had been fooling around in the cabinet he might have also set some VFD parameters wrong- go to P1-001 and set it to 1. That will reset all the parameters to factory defaults. Then you will just need to just reset the 2 settings for either manual or Mach 3 control.
BTW- please send me the serial # so we can send you the proper files and put the file in your name.

[jlmccuan]

Thanks, John. I'll check those items. The steppers are running fine now. The steps are calibrated and the backlash is set. Movement is good, although 25 ipm rapid is a bit slower than I'm used to. I understand it's a function of the resolution and the driver speed, though. I checked all the parameters in the VFD and set them to the manual which promptly shut down even manual control until I reset P0 012 to 50 instead of 2 as the manual said to do. Next, I'll need to add a second parallel port to set up my mist coolant, flood coolant, etc. relays once the VFD is sorted out. I also need to setup a switchbox to move the control of the A axis on the mill to my rotary table and choose between the two. Getting closer, though and I appreciate the help.

Update: The V- wire is connected to the COM terminal. I'm going to retrace all the wires in the cabinet and see if there's something I missed. You're right, John. With the previous owner having disconnected the power supply, it's hard to tell what's happened. The odd thing is the power supply was in it's cardboard box. Perhaps it was replaced and never reinstalled.

[JTJT]

Jim,
Thanks on that serial #. I reviewed the original owner file and there was no warranty claim on a power supply, so it's hard to say why he was changing it. Let me know if the XML files helped.

[jlmccuan]

Got up this morning for a fresh look at the problem and started tracing every wire. Found two more mis-assigned. Fortunately, they were not hooked to anything hot. One was the lead coming from the mill spindle speed sensor, the other was the output for reverse rotation. Got them changed back where they are supposed to be and still no joy. With everything so jumbled in the cabinet I got to thinking about JT's comment about the VFD parameters. I had already gone through all the P0 settings and corrected them, but there are more. I reset the VFD P1 001 to 1 and went in to P0 000 and P0 002 and reset them. Success!! Now I can reset all the P0 parameters and move forward. Thanks JT. You didn't cause the problem, but you helped me anyway.

[jlmccuan]

Go the rest of the parameters set up and I'm finally ready to run some test parts. Still have to turn on my air and mist coolant by hand, but that will come. Hopefully some test videos to show soon.

[jlmccuan]

As promised a quick video of some lathe operations. Sorry for the poor quality. I'll have better stuff up in the future.

First CNC Lathe Operations - YouTube