Ready to purchase a lathe

Before you bury the power do place warning tape in the trench.

They make tape just for this and it is readily available

You place the tape above the wires more close to the surface so if and when someone digs in the dirt they hit the warning tape.

Next make clear map with measurements from fixed things like buildings and clear description of the trench and place copies inside power boxes at each end .

Regarding VFD selection in general.

You did well but others are suggesting wrong approach for final selection by simple derating.

Yes you can start there but as you did contact manufacturer or download the manual to see if the device will work on single phase and which model is listed en motor size.

We did this with our Allen bradley as we needed 2 hp and the manual stated 3 hp needed with the model number so eBay search for that specific one and 199.00 later we are golden.

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Ready for cable. About five inches of fine sand as it sits. Really soft though. I hoping after draging the cable through to have three or so inches of sand and fill over top with the same sand just for a little wiggle rm. and to help with a poke from rocks and marked out.
Thanks for taking the time to post for the information and links to everyone!

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When I pulled permits I'm AB 10 years ago trenches needed to be 24-30 inches deeps.


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I have my depth for code with tek cable and some. Five inch s isn t my depth it s the amount of sand on the bottom and the cable will be worked in to around three from the bottom. Everything is done to code with the proper paper work and licenced electrician. A stump grinder was used so the top half is wider than the bottom to give clearance for the bearings on the machine to reach depth. The bottom is only four inches wide as its the width of the wheel for digging. All good!
 
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I have to say after reading about vfd s and what they bring to the table for motor control for machine tools it is impressive coming from my screw machine background. Compared to cams gears levers and trip dogs its a whole new world that impresses me more and more as I get further into what can be done with them. For me for now I am just looking for the simple setup to enable me to run the lathe with soft start and use my mechanical brake.
 
Mark, good to hear on the code depth, i ran electric and gas in the same trench, separated the two with a 2x6 pressure treated board on end. In top I laid a 2x10 flat so anyone digging will hit it first

I'm going to the border to get my vfd in a week or so, I took a couple days off work and went camping by myself, sitting my a lake watching the sun come up, reading forums and machinist magazines......


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Well I got the 220 single phase to the garage and the trench almost filled back in. Working getting ready the garage for winter as it was some chilly sat morn. at -2 celsius. I am not up to speed with the Yaskawa v1000. I have read and read and it is starting to make sense. I would like to use the open loop vector control but may sway to the vf setting as the drive in this model does offer constant torque with vf operation and would be a little easier to just get the oil and machine moving. Made some progress in the shop too so a good wkend. Still need to run the lines from the panel to,the vfd and a 240v heater. Hope to have it all wired within two weeks and for me Nov. 1st is my deadline to be running.
 
Use sensorless vector control, it gives you much better control over a wider operating range then you will get with just V/F control. It gives continuous torque over a wider range. I previously outlined using the current forward/reverse contactor and stripping the high voltage connections and using them to switch the Forward/Reverse VFD inputs. It is not wise to hookup the VFD directly to the spindle controls and even more dangerous with a mechanical foot brake. Using the contactors to switch the VFD inputs, it will operate just like your machine would work if operating off of an RPC. The motor is directly connected to the VFD. There are also issues that if using the mechanical brake, you need to send a free run command to the VFD. You need to also set the motor parameters in the VFD, and preferable run the autotune. Yaskawa has a nice software interface, I made my own cable for my VFD.
 
Thanks again mksj. I feel the same about the vector control. Just thought it might be easier for now to get up and running. I have noted your comments on the forward and reverse controls from your previous post. Yes wire the motor directly from the vfd and use the coast to stop for the braking parameter. Set the dip switch for the controls along with some of the parameters for the controls as well. Not sure about the coolant pump if I should just wire it separately or not. Sometimes I wonder if I am reading too much and complicating things for myself. Learning a fair bit though and not just about vfd's. It s a must to auto tune if using vector. Is it just a matter of removing the belt for no load and auto tune with rotational? What is the difference between rotational and stationary auto tune if I may ask?
 
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If the coolant pump is single phase, then it would operate normally. Similar to the 1440GT conversion process, 240VAC single phase must be wired to the main lathe control system. Only the 240VAC three phase power wires going to the forward/reverse contactors and the motor overload relay/wires to the motor is disconnected. Do not disconnect the contactor control wires. You need to see which main control system two power input legs L1 and L2 OR L1 and L3 are used to connect to the main transformer and these also would provide power a single phase coolant pump. You can check this by tracing which input power wires go to the 240 VAC input of the transformer. You should have a coolant contactor with overload relay which would switch on/off the coolant pump. The coolant pump contactor and its overload relay are wired a bit differently if used for single phase vs 3 phase. If you take some high res pictures of the control system and have a wring schematic I can provide some further details as to wiring suggestions. In most cases (like 95+%), hobbyist do not use flood coolant because it is usually not needed, very messy, and more commonly a FogBuster/mist system is used if needed. I often just use a applicator (oil can/brush) and sometime air to clear the chips.

The sensorless vector mode will work OK without running the autotune (so don't worry about doing it upfront), it is just that the motor will run a bit smoother if the specific motor parameters are loaded. Running it with motion and the belt off allows it to more accurately determine the motors specific parameters, static is usually for systems where it is hard to physically disengage the motor from the system, so something like where it would be directly connected to a transmission/gear case. Do not overthink the system, get the basics wired and operating and then you can fine tune the specifics. The VFD should only need a few parameters adjusted to get it up and running, you will need to check the type of limit switch used for the mechanical brake, and replace it with a dual pole switch. The second pole (Normally Open contact) is wired to a programmed VFD input to issue a free run command. The other switch pole is wired the same as the current brake switch, and should be a Normally Closed contact. If you take a picture of the limit switch I can point you to a suitable replacement. As previously mentioned, I strongly recommend you have an electrician work with you setting up the system to get the wiring correct.
 
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