[Metzenovich]

I have a Gerber Sabre 408 router that has a 3 phase Colombo spindle, but my residential shop only has single phase 220v power.

I've hooked up an external single phase to 3 phase VFD and I can control the spindle with it (on, off, RPMs).

But when I try to run a job on the machine it fails with "Spindle I/O Error" because it isn't getting a signal back from the spindle control box, since it isn't hooked to power.

Is there any way to tell the machine it doesn't have a spindle attached or to ignore the error and run anyway?

Thanks

[awerby]

Read the manual that came with your VFD, There's probably a way to connect it to the Gerber control so that the control issues a signal which varies in voltage (usually 1-10, or 1-24) that controls the speed. That's probably the signal your controller is looking for. I'm not sure if your controller will ignore that error, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

[Metzenovich]

Thanks. I already have the spindle working from external 0v - 10v control (separate from the Gerber).

I monitored the wires that control the 3 phase spindle from the Gerber main control box and they stay at 0v when I run a program. It isn't even trying to turn on the spindle.

I think the problem is that the Gerber is expecting some sort of signal back from the separate box that powers the spindle. That entire box runs on 3 phase power, and I'm not sure what that signal is. There is a serial looking cable that goes between them, which I suspect tells the main box that the spindle is powered and ready (and possibly the speed when it's running).

I suspect if it got that signal that the spindle was ready it would then send the voltage to actually turn on the spindle, but it doesn't even reach that point. It seems to immediately fail with "Spindle I/O Error".

None of the menu options from the control panel seem to let me disable the spindle. Either it isn't an option, or is controlled by a jumper or some kind of firmware.

[Metzenovich]

I was able to get it to work by going into settings and configuring the spindle to "Router" (the other options are "Spindle" and "Spindle with ATC").

This at least lets me run g-code on the machine by manually controlling the spindle.

Dealing with 20 year old proprietary electronics has definitely convinced me of the need to completely replace the electronics. I've decided on the Masso G3 with NEMA 34 closed loop steppers.

[PlaidRabbit]

Just a note for anyone in the far future doing this same thing... The VFD accepts 220v single phase, just it loses cutting power at the high end.

If you have the spindle, you can disconnect the L3 (white) wire from the top of the switch in the spindle cabinet, cap it off with a wire nut. Then change the plug out for a 220 30A plug, leaving the white wire disconnected. You're disconnecting the white wire twice to make sure it never gets hooked up to power. If it gets hooked up to power, bad things will happen.