Mark, I have a PM 1440 GT lathe that came about a month ago. Since then I have been Preparing and setting up a Hatachi WJ200. I have several of your articials that describe a basic set up, an enclosure for the vfd and associated components , and the sheets to set up the programing of the vfd. I have set up every thing to the best of my ability , I am a Pipefitter by trade, and have gone thru testing by the Hatachi manual to insure things worked. Now after resetting the vfd program settings, the fluid pump switch switch works, the jog fwd and rev works at 6 Hrz motor turns, the emergency stop works and kills all power, except the light stays on, I thought it would go out, but the lathe lever for fwd or rev does does not operate the lathe motor and now I am lost. Can you provide me with any assistance? Thanks for your time.
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How hard is putting a VFD on a 3phase 1440 GT ?
- Thread starter Spotshooter
- Start date
Hi @bcfarman ,
1) Which lights do not go out that you thought would?
2) I will state the obvious so please forgive me if this is a bit of an insult. It is not meant to be. If you trip something like the Estop, foot brake, etc. you have to remove the tripping condition (fault) before the latching (relay) can be reset by the fwd or rev switch. The condition of having the fwd or rev switch moved to the neutral position is required in most setups. I do not know which design you are working with, but the fundamental idea is that the E-stop, or other safety switch, causes the "on Latch" (relay) to be de-activated. Hence, the switching position, neutral, allows this latch to be reset to an on condition. Then the fwd and rev should work. In some designs the jog works around this and will function even though the latch (relay) is not active. (i.e jog works, but run fwd or run rev does not.)
3) I am curious, did you look at my PM1440GT VFD conversion write up that I posted. It has all of the features plus it fits in the lathe stand because I replaced all the big relays and the huge power transformer with transistors and a small 24Vdc supply. There was even room for a home made ebrake resistor. So no external enclosure is needed, but one could be used if preferred. I just took the entire factory electronics out of the back and put mine in. In order to add some extra features I also changed the front panel, but these are not required. I supplied both a detailed report on my new design as well as another report on how the factory original design works. If you did not see it you can find it here:
Good luck,
Dave L.
1) Which lights do not go out that you thought would?
2) I will state the obvious so please forgive me if this is a bit of an insult. It is not meant to be. If you trip something like the Estop, foot brake, etc. you have to remove the tripping condition (fault) before the latching (relay) can be reset by the fwd or rev switch. The condition of having the fwd or rev switch moved to the neutral position is required in most setups. I do not know which design you are working with, but the fundamental idea is that the E-stop, or other safety switch, causes the "on Latch" (relay) to be de-activated. Hence, the switching position, neutral, allows this latch to be reset to an on condition. Then the fwd and rev should work. In some designs the jog works around this and will function even though the latch (relay) is not active. (i.e jog works, but run fwd or run rev does not.)
3) I am curious, did you look at my PM1440GT VFD conversion write up that I posted. It has all of the features plus it fits in the lathe stand because I replaced all the big relays and the huge power transformer with transistors and a small 24Vdc supply. There was even room for a home made ebrake resistor. So no external enclosure is needed, but one could be used if preferred. I just took the entire factory electronics out of the back and put mine in. In order to add some extra features I also changed the front panel, but these are not required. I supplied both a detailed report on my new design as well as another report on how the factory original design works. If you did not see it you can find it here:
Good luck,
Dave L.
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2014
- Messages
- 4,808
Addressed bcfarman's VFD operational problems and he had a series of wiring errors (E-Stop switch and brake switch), and also an issue with the speed pot. These have all been corrected, as well as running the VFD autotune and his 1440GT lathe is up and running. The basic 1440GT WJ200 install is a lot simpler, and more cost effective then trying to build a complete replacement VFD control system. On the 1440GT, the VFD and brake resistor can also be mounted in the headstock cabinet if one does not want to mount it in a separate enclosure. The VFD manufactures instructions typically indicate that the VFD should be mounted vertically, partly for cooling and also not to impair the pressure-relief vent of the electrolytic capacitors.
Hi Mark,
Great to hear that you got him fixed up. It sounded like there were multiple issues and that is why I referenced him to my design write up rather than trying at great length to guess what he was telling us.
Don't you think that that the Hitachi instructions want you to mount the VFD, since warm air will rise, vertically so that the air will naturally rise through the VFD heat sink fins. This would also ensure that some air would flow through the heat sink even if the fan failed. This orientation would put the VFD display to be viewed from the horizontal position. The built-in fan would also be blowing vertically. Unfortunately, your photo (linked above) of your mounting of the VFD in the headstock cabinet shows that the display is on top and so warm air does not rise through the heat sink fins naturally, just as in my design. In your mounting the air blows horizontally through the fins just as in my design where the VFD is in the rear electronics cabinet. Also, my install also leave space on all sides of the VFD except against the heat sink where it is bolted to a plate as it is suppose to be. I did turn the fan around in my VFD (it just pops out and and can be flipped over) so that the air is being push through the heat sink (more effective) rather than being sucked through it. Also, by doing it this way the air is being pushed across my ebrake resistors and away from the VFD, to cool the ebrake resistors if needed. One of the advantages of our orentation is that one does not have to get down on their knees to see the VFD display!
Dave L
Great to hear that you got him fixed up. It sounded like there were multiple issues and that is why I referenced him to my design write up rather than trying at great length to guess what he was telling us.
Don't you think that that the Hitachi instructions want you to mount the VFD, since warm air will rise, vertically so that the air will naturally rise through the VFD heat sink fins. This would also ensure that some air would flow through the heat sink even if the fan failed. This orientation would put the VFD display to be viewed from the horizontal position. The built-in fan would also be blowing vertically. Unfortunately, your photo (linked above) of your mounting of the VFD in the headstock cabinet shows that the display is on top and so warm air does not rise through the heat sink fins naturally, just as in my design. In your mounting the air blows horizontally through the fins just as in my design where the VFD is in the rear electronics cabinet. Also, my install also leave space on all sides of the VFD except against the heat sink where it is bolted to a plate as it is suppose to be. I did turn the fan around in my VFD (it just pops out and and can be flipped over) so that the air is being push through the heat sink (more effective) rather than being sucked through it. Also, by doing it this way the air is being pushed across my ebrake resistors and away from the VFD, to cool the ebrake resistors if needed. One of the advantages of our orentation is that one does not have to get down on their knees to see the VFD display!
Dave L
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2019
- Messages
- 335
Your installs using stock contactors work very well. My PM-1340GT has never missed a beat in 3 years of operation. Thanks for posting.