[CNCMAN172]

As Mactec54 said get a new meter, you can get a $30 Southwire 11050N which is auto ranging at Lowes or Home Depot. I personally prefer Fluke meters but the Southwire will work fine. For some of these Chinese spindles with four pin plug you will discover the ground pin is not connected to the spindle body. In those cases connect the ground wire to the bracket that holds the spindle. The measurement between windings should be low about 1.2 to 1.4 ohms. Also check each pin of the connector and measure the ohms to the spindle body. You should not get a reading from any winding to spindle body they should be open. Only one pin should measure zero that would be the ground pin if they connected internally in the spindle. Check all this stuff before you attempt to hook it to the VFD or power up the unit. Also double check all the VFD settings before you hook up the spindle and apply power or you could damage both units.

Russ

[dsnellen]

Get a Digital Multimeter, it does not have to be expensive, but do a search for one with a good reputation

Ok Mac, I got a new digital meter and yes the Pins 1,2 & 3 show 1.4 ohms between them! My original meter would have measured it correctly too, IF I had simply zero the ohms reading 1st. Lesson learned. Thanks Dave

[mactec54]

Ok Mac, I got a new digital meter and yes the Pins 1,2 & 3 show 1.4 ohms between them! My original meter would have measured it correctly too, IF I had simply zero the ohms reading 1st. Lesson learned. Thanks Dave

So all you have to do now it fix the Ground connection in the spindle, and change for the correct cables and you will be good to go

[dsnellen]

So all you have to do now it fix the Ground connection in the spindle, and change for the correct cables and you will be good to go

Mac, Thanks for your help. I now have 16/3AWG from the VFD to the Spindle. It's flexible and runs in the chain. Tomorrow I will connect the pin 4 to the spindle, reset VFD to factory default and carefully enter the parameters discussed earlier. The assumption is the spindle will spool up to its max rpm (24k?). For now, I am ok with turning the spindle on/off at the VFD. Oltimately, the goal is full Mach3 on/off, RPM control, but for now I will settle for VFD on/off at a known RPM. What variable(s) do I change to cause the spindle to run at 18k on start-up? Thanks. You have been a big help. And I have a new Southwire digital meter! :-)

CNCMan172. I will also cut off the excessive white wire in the VFD so it doesn't inadvertently come in contact with anything. Thanks for your ideas.

Dave

[mactec54]

Mac, Thanks for your help. I now have 16/3AWG from the VFD to the Spindle. It's flexible and runs in the chain. Tomorrow I will connect the pin 4 to the spindle, reset VFD to factory default and carefully enter the parameters discussed earlier. The assumption is the spindle will spool up to its max rpm (24k?). For now, I am ok with turning the spindle on/off at the VFD. Oltimately, the goal is full Mach3 on/off, RPM control, but for now I will settle for VFD on/off at a known RPM. What variable(s) do I change to cause the spindle to run at 18k on start-up? Thanks. You have been a big help. And I have a new Southwire digital meter! :-)

CNCMan172. I will also cut off the excessive white wire in the VFD so it doesn't inadvertently come in contact with anything. Thanks for your ideas.

Dave

To change the speed, this is done with the pot if it has one, or the UP/Down arrows, your parameters must be set as you did before, there are no variables that change the speed, only by the Pot or up/down arrows

[A_Camera]

I will also cut off the excessive white wire in the VFD so it doesn't inadvertently come in contact with anything.

Don't do that. Unused wires in a cable should be connected to earth, not just cut off. This is especially important for power cables.

Another thing regarding that picture. It looks to me that the unused wire belongs to the main cable. It seems like the third wire in the cable and the main should DEFINITELY have an earth connected. In that picture I see two thinner wires connected to your earth in the VFD (brown and green) but none of them comes from the thicker, main cable. In other words, if that is the case than you actually don't have any earth. That is OK for just a quick test but it is dangerous, and will generate noise, if used permanently without earth.

You should get proper cables for the main, as well as the motor, so that you have a flexible cable and a green/yellow for earth. The main cable should have three wires, the motor cable should have four and if you have wires in the cables unused than connect those to earth.

Many people use the motor shield cable as protective earth, but that's wrong. Shield is shield to protect other equipment from noise, protective earth is for personal safety. Two different things.

Use cable shoes and sleeves, don't solder the ends and just insert the wire ends under the screws. That is going to cause you problems in time and is not a good practice. Get a proper crimping tool (not just the cheapest toy things) and get cable shoes and sleeves with the right dimension.

The last point is that you should not use rigid cables unless it is a fixed installation, not connected to a wall plug. At least that is the case in Europe, but I guess the requirements are the same in the USA in this respect. In other words, your mains cable must also be changed, not only the motor cable. Perhaps you have just connected this way for test, and that is OK, but if not then change that cable too, not just the motor cable.

[dsnellen]

A_Camera,
Thanks for the input. What you are calling a "brown" wire is actually the 14/3 copper ground that pwers the vfd. The green ground is the 16/3 leading to the spindle. The 14/3 white wire is connected to common in the circuit breaker box. It's not connected to anything at the vfd end. It is the same as using 14/2 wire.

Mac: IT WORKS!!!! Thanks for all your help. Research reveiled that PD0144 is the Max rated motor RPMs. It defaults to 1440 which limited the max RPM to 11,500. By changing the value to 2,250 it now spins up 18,000 RPM which is what I normally use. The up arrow caused a 400.0x to appear with the x blinking. I may be in the wrong mode. Thanks again for all your help. Dave

[mactec54]

A_Camera,
Thanks for the input. What you are calling a "brown" wire is actually the 14/3 copper ground that pwers the vfd. The green ground is the 16/3 leading to the spindle. The 14/3 white wire is connected to common in the circuit breaker box. It's not connected to anything at the vfd end. It is the same as using 14/2 wire.

Mac: IT WORKS!!!! Thanks for all your help. Research reveiled that PD0144 is the Max rated motor RPMs. It defaults to 1440 which limited the max RPM to 11,500. By changing the value to 2,250 it now spins up 18,000 RPM which is what I normally use. The up arrow caused a 400.0x to appear with the x blinking. I may be in the wrong mode. Thanks again for all your help. Dave

I have to say that you have not been setting your parameters correct, if you set to what I posted, you won't have any problems, it seems you like to play with using wrong Parameters

You must follow what I posted of you can damage the spindle or the VFD, this is very important, PD0144=3000 this is the correct number you need, so
don't play with numbers that I have not posted in the setup Parameters

Check Post 28 they are your correct Parameters

[ashhy]

I have a 2.2kw spindle that has worked in the past so I know the wiring is correct, however with the settings as posted earlier in the thread I get an error E.oc.A after he spindle makes half a turn.

Ive been following this thread and tested the resistance between the pins of the spindle
1- 2 - 0.3 Ohms
2-3 - 0.3 Ohms
1-3 - 0.3 Ohms

These are too low for correct usage aren't they? Will I have to get a new spindle?

these are all far too low for a correctly working spindle

[mactec54]

I have a 2.2kw spindle that has worked in the past so I know the wiring is correct, however with the settings as posted earlier in the thread I get an error E.oc.A after he spindle makes half a turn.

Ive been following this thread and tested the resistance between the pins of the spindle
1- 2 - 0.3 Ohms
2-3 - 0.3 Ohms
1-3 - 0.3 Ohms

Yes that is not looking good, if your meter is correct

These are too low for correct usage aren't they? Will I have to get a new spindle?

these are all far too low for a correctly working spindle

Check each pin to Ground ( body of the spindle ) also

Which posted settings are you using, there are some different settings for the different rated spindles

Yes that is not looking good, if your meter is correct, the E.0.C.A fault is over current info below if you don't have it

[ashhy]

Mactec54, thanks for the quick reply.

I have run the VFD without the spindle attached and all was well with the cycle of powering up and down

I have tested all the pins to ground and nothing seems shorted.

I think I might have a dead spindle, is my assumption correct? Is the next step to open up the spindle?

[mactec54]

Mactec54, thanks for the quick reply.

I have run the VFD without the spindle attached and all was well with the cycle of powering up and down

I have tested all the pins to ground and nothing seems shorted.

I think I might have a dead spindle, is my assumption correct? Is the next step to open up the spindle?

The readings you are getting are all the same that is why I questioned your meter, do you have the meter on the right setting, there could well be a problem with the spindle, taking it apart won't show or help you unless it has smoked, and then you would be able to smell that, there is nothing that you could repair or change to fix it, plus you need the correct wrenches to take it apart

Does the Pin 4 Ground, have continuity with the body of the spindle, if not this has to be fixed

What Parameters have you set, the VFD will run just fine with nothing attached, that is normal, no matter what Parameters have been set, it's what parameters, you have set for the spindle that will make it run or not, if it is not damaged, or faulty in some way

[ashhy]

The 4th pin wasn't connected to the case, I sorted that.

The parameters are as post number 2 of this thread. Just tried again and I have the same result,

[ashhy]

The 4th pin wasn't connected to the case, I sorted that.

The parameters are as post number 2 of this thread. Just tried again and I have the same result,

It seems to pull the error after only pulling 0.2 amps. Well that's what the vfd says.

[mactec54]

It seems to pull the error after only pulling 0.2 amps. Well that's what the vfd says.

Yes there is a short somewhere

check the spindle plug wiring also, some have had wires touching in the plug, you can do this with your meter, or open it up to look inside

How do you have it wired, the input 240v wiring Etc a Photo will see if everything there is correct, if that is all correct, then your spindle is damaged, was this a new spindle or have you been using it, if new some have had a bad spindle like this out of the box

[ashhy]

The wiring is correct as it has in the past functioned correctly and noone has touched it since then.

When you say the spindle plug do you mean the female plug or the male (within the head of the spindle) ? I have tested the male part ( to which I added the earth connection to the case, and these are the pins that have the respective resistance of 0.2-0.3 Ohms each.)

[mactec54]

The wiring is correct as it has in the past functioned correctly and noone has touched it since then.

When you say the spindle plug do you mean the female plug or the male (within the head of the spindle) ? I have tested the male part ( to which I added the earth connection to the case, and these are the pins that have the respective resistance of 0.2-0.3 Ohms each.)

The Female side of the plug to be checked, it does sound like the spindle is the problem, but I have seen others have a low reading also and still the spindle has run fine

Without saying how it is wired or a photo, there is no way for me to know if it is wired correct, it can be wired incorrect and still run for a while anyway

[dsnellen]

Appreciate all the help I received about a year ago. Spindle has been up and running perfectly with the MX4660 along with close enough speed control. Today, it died mid-job with an E.CO.A error. Past experiences taught me how to test the spindle and it is dead. Nothing between pins 1 & 3. Bummer. So the question is, what spindle should I use to replace this Chinese version? 2nd question is: will any 2.2kw Chinese spindle work? What should I look for in a replacement? New 2.2kw water-cooled HY spindles are available for $150 +/-. Also, can this spindle be repaired? If so, where? Thanks.
Dave

[mactec54]

Appreciate all the help I received about a year ago. Spindle has been up and running perfectly with the MX4660 along with close enough speed control. Today, it died mid-job with an E.CO.A error. Past experiences taught me how to test the spindle and it is dead. Nothing between pins 1 & 3. Bummer. So the question is, what spindle should I use to replace this Chinese version? 2nd question is: will any 2.2kw Chinese spindle work? What should I look for in a replacement? New 2.2kw water-cooled HY spindles are available for $150 +/-. Also, can this spindle be repaired? If so, where? Thanks.
Dave

I think the cost for repair would be much greater than to buy a new one, rewinding them would not be easy, check the new spindle, has the Ground connected, this is important