2.2kw spindle set up

[martin54]

Anyone had problems setting up one of these 2.2kw chinese spindles??
Thought I had followed the instructions & done it correctly but although you can hear the frequency ramping up the spindle doesn't turn at all. Forward direction lamp is on & if I press jog it runs down, light change from forward to reverse & it ramps up again but still no movement on the spindle.
Spoke with Jazz on the phone & he suggested it sounded like I had set the inverter up incorrectly so went over everything again & can't see where I'm going wrong.
Rather than keep troubling Jazz thought I would ask if anyone else could help or had had a similar problem.

[Tenson]

Could it be you connected to the wrong pins on the Spindle? One of them is NC (not connected). Or you've got the phases confused?

[Jonathan]

If the spindle wasn't connected properly, say one wire missing, then I'd expect the VFD to display a fault. If no wires are connected, then if I recall correctly it doesn't fault but perhaps you would hear a quiet sound from the VFD since the switching frequency is in the audible range. Is the sound you hear coming from the VFD or spindle? Which settings have you changed on the VFD? What current does the VFD display when 'running', if any?

[John S]

Here are the parameters that need to be changed on the VFD BEFORE you attach the spindle and turn it on.
Parameters need to be changed in a specific order, not simply p1, p2, p3, etc.
First:
Change PD001 Source of Run Commands to '1'
Change PD005 Max operating frequency to 400hz
Change PD004 base frequency to 400hz
Change PD003 Main frequency to 400hz
Change PD006 Intermediate frequency to 2.5
Change PD008 max voltage to 220v
Change PD009 Intermediate voltage to 15v
Change PD010 Min voltage to 8
Then..............
Change PD011 frequency lower limit to >100hz
*** This is the most important parameter for air-cooled spindles and is what will determine whether you burn out the spindle or not.
What is not documented and is crucial, is that the internal fan in air-cooled spindles DOES NOT START IF PD011 is set for less than 100hz.
To be completely safe, it is probably better to set this for something like 120hz - doing so only chops off a few revs at the bottom end of the scale and will ensure that the fan works every time you start the spindle.
I can see now why you guys like the water-cooled versions, but after sorting things out, the spindle is now running smoothly and I don't have to worry about coolant, etc.
Finally, Change PD142 rated motor current to as high as you can (the inscription on the motor says 8amp but the PD142 will only go to 7.
The Change PD143 Motor pole number to either 2 or 4 (4 is the factory setting and seems to work OK), then
Change PD144 Rated motor revolution to 3000 - (when you multiply this 3000 by the Min voltage of 8, you get the top speed of the spindle - 24000 revs.
After thi, it should be OK to attach the spindle to the VFD and turn it on. best of luck.
Anyway, as I said, this is probably old information, but I had some trouble tracking down all the individual bits - particularly the bit about fans in air-cooled spindles not working under 100hz, so if this saves someone 'smoke', I guess that it is worth repeating here.
Cheers

[Tenson]

Would someone be kind enough to explain how I can get my spindle to ramp up and down a little faster than default settings, please? Or should I leave it well alone?

[Jonathan]

Would someone be kind enough to explain how I can get my spindle to ramp up and down a little faster than default settings, please? Or should I leave it well alone?

See this post (http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/router-build-logs/5144-cncdudez-muscle-small-foot-print-machine-2.html#post36407).

[martin54]

John, it is a water cooled spindle, are most of those settings the same for both? Obviously the setting for the air cooling fan won't be the same but are the rest??
Instructions I got said that PD013 was the first setting to change & if it wasn't set first when you went to alter it all other settings would return to factory default.
Would like to see if I can try & get this sorted rather than send it back & find there is nothing wrong with it.
Will have another look tomorrow but not going to hold my breath lol.

[John S]

Martin.
It has nothing to do with air cooled or water cooled only the make of the inverter.
I can't comment on what gets set first, those instructions I posted came off CNC zone on a rather long thread about getting these running and it seemed to be the concencus that they worked.

I do have a couple of the Chinese ones here but boxed up and not fitted to anything. The ones I am using are IMO's which only date back to when we used to fit them on a range of machines we used to make and totally different on parameters.

If you fine PD013 has to work this way can you post it and I'll amment my text file as I often give it out.
So far no one has queried it but then again just because you publish something you don't know if anyone follows thru.

[Jonathan]

There is a difference between the settings for a water cooled and air cooled spindle. If it's air cooled you should limit the minimum frequency to 120Hz (i.e. PD11=13) since if operated below that the airflow wouldn't be sufficient to cool the spindle. For the water cooled spindle you can set this to as low as you want, since the cooling effect of the water is the same regardless of speed. The spindle torque is practically zero below 3000rpm, so I recommend setting it to 50hz. None of the other settings need be different for the water vs air cooled spindle.

The settings John S posted look like they're for a 1.5kW VFD and spindle, since it says the current 'only goes up to 7 amps', but the 2.2kW version VFD allows much more. The eBay listings say to set this (PD142) to 8.5A.

I've put the English manual here (http://jbcnc.co.uk/documents/VFD_invertermanual.pdf), since if you look at the list of settings it's pretty obvious what the important ones do.

[Mad Professor]

I have my ramp up (PD14) and ramp down time (PD15) both set to 5sec, from memory the default setting is 20sec.

It would be nice to find the ramp up/down curve for the 2.2kw spindle from somewhere, but as of yet I have been unable to find anyone with that data.

I am running my 2.2kw Spindle/VFD under full Mach3 control via RS485.

[martin54]

Didn't get the chance to have another look at it today but will hopefully try again tomorrow, thanks for the suggestions so far.

[Tenson]

For the water cooled spindle you can set this to as low as you want, since the cooling effect of the water is the same regardless of speed. The spindle torque is practically zero below 3000rpm, so I recommend setting it to 50hz. .

Thanks for saying that, I had wondered about going lower than 100Hz but was a bit scared to burn out the coils. :)