[Old_Phart]

Fair warning... I am about to embark on the CNC building journey so I'm a total Noob to the CNC world! Dumb questions will follow.

In my day job I write code for PLC's and SCADA systems for plants and use lots of Allen Bradley VFDs. I use Square D too but only for the larger stuff since they usually wind the low bid. The VFDs I use have lots of options for control and feedback , 4-20mA, Modbus, RS485, Ethernet/IP etc. etc. Because I use them all the time I have a good relationship with the vendor and have the option for buying one to drive my spindle for a very good price. Being so familiar with the brand it's what I would like to do. . . unless someone out there knows something that convince me not to.

So assuming I can use the one I want (525 most likely) , what is the protocol to use for Mach3 (4?) control and feedback? Modbus, Eth/IP, 4-20mA? I looked briefly for examples and I see mostly that folks in my situation simply control the VFD manually and one video even said that Mach3 slows down when controlling VFD speed so it wasn't advisable to use that option.

As I said, while I can control them well in my world, I'm a noob in the CNC/Mach world, can someone give their experiences on this subject?

[mactec54]

Fair warning... I am about to embark on the CNC building journey so I'm a total Noob to the CNC world! Dumb questions will follow.

In my day job I write code for PLC's and SCADA systems for plants and use lots of Allen Bradley VFDs. I use Square D too but only for the larger stuff since they usually wind the low bid. The VFDs I use have lots of options for control and feedback , 4-20mA, Modbus, RS485, Ethernet/IP etc. etc. Because I use them all the time I have a good relationship with the vendor and have the option for buying one to drive my spindle for a very good price. Being so familiar with the brand it's what I would like to do. . . unless someone out there knows something that convince me not to.

So assuming I can use the one I want (525 most likely) , what is the protocol to use for Mach3 (4?) control and feedback? Modbus, Eth/IP, 4-20mA? I looked briefly for examples and I see mostly that folks in my situation simply control the VFD manually and one video even said that Mach3 slows down when controlling VFD speed so it wasn't advisable to use that option.

As I said, while I can control them well in my world, I'm a noob in the CNC/Mach world, can someone give their experiences on this subject?

If you are good with Modbus, then Mach3 does well with that, as long as the VFD can match the spindle you won't have a problem with that either, if you are using a Chinese Router spindle, your VFD needs a minimum of 400 Hz

Most are controlling there VFD with 0-10v PWM, and 1 relay sometimes 2, don't believe everything you read, VFD slowing down the Control, not a chance