Im looking to get some feedback on a system I built for my milling machine, but would work for any mill, lathe, or 3ph machine for that matter. Everyone who has run a step pulley mill is probably guilty of running the tool slightly out of its speed range rather than going through the trouble moving the belt on the motor. I bought my first mill a couple months ago because it was in fantastic shape out of a guys home shop. Instead of using the rotary converter I had already, I decided to buy a VFD and when I read the manual and saw how many options you could have with the thing, I got a little crazy. After I was done I looked for similar products and the only one I could find was the servo brand panel. That unit is over $1500 and it didnt seem to make use of all the VFDs options. So I am thinking about starting up a website if there is enough interest in the product.
Attachment 317030
This panel has the normal 3 position switch, JOG fwd and rev momentary buttons- the speed on these can be preset to whatever you'd like independent of the run switch. I have it set at 80rpm for tapping. E-stop to far right, speed control potentiometer on bottom left, digital display of spindle RPM, and coolant switch connected to VFD relay output. This is for the spray mist setup I havent hooked up yet. When in operation, the coolant will come on only when the switch is in the run position and the spindle is on.
Attachment 317034
The mount is made from SS tubing and acts as conduit for the wires. It is height adjustable and swings 90* with one knob that clamps on the tube.
Attachment 317036
You can see the fan for the main panel in the top right of this pic. It, and a larger 4" one on top of the electric motor, are also hooked to the vfd relay output and only come on during spindle run command. Also seen is a shotgun style touchless fuse holder, 24v power supply, and heat insulation behind the drive itself.
Attachment 317040
Attachment 317042
Attachment 317044
This is the only area im iffy about... I had to JB weld a small magnet to one of the unused pulleys for the proximity sensor. It doesnt seem to have effected the balance of my spindle at all as it weighs virtually nothing. But im wondering if theres a better way to do it. Also, backgear will read the same RPM so you have to divide by about 8 to get the correct speed.
Attachment 317046
More pics and possibly a video of operation to come, please let me know what you guys think!