VFD on my Bridgeport Mill: Enclosure Build, Wiring, Remote Panel

The spindle run and stop buttons will be on a remote panel mounted near the ProtoTRAK interface on the right side.

If you can work it, an estop on the left side might be a good idea. If you're right handed, chances are it will be your right hand that gets you into trouble and you will have to reach the stop with your left.
 
If you can work it, an estop on the left side might be a good idea. If you're right handed, chances are it will be your right hand that gets you into trouble and you will have to reach the stop with your left.

I think I'm going to put another Estop on the front of the machine, slightly out of the way but so I could bump it with a knee if necessary.
 
So I had to redo the mounting. I overlooked the fact that the servo motor on the x-axis for the ProtoTRAK retrofit sticks out past the rear edge of the table. So, having the enclosure mounted the way I did takes up some of the y-axis travel. So, I went in the other direction, literally. I rearranged the 80/20 frame to be cantilevered off of the existing vertical post.

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I also had to shim out the frame so it would be plumb, as I just couldn't stand the enclosure being that far out of plumb in that direction.

I put in the holes for the fans. 4 1/2" hole saw wasn't very fun, but it got the job done.

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Mounted the enclosure on the new frame and I actually like it in this position much better. I moved the master on button and the emergency switch to the front door. Fans and filters are installed.

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I've also been working on the panel wiring. I fixed the thermostat for the fans (it had a broken solder joint inside) and wrapped up some of the loose ends. I put it in the enclosure and am getting close. Wiring to the motor, feeder wiring from my panel board and working on the remote panel are next.

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Did some work on my VFD install today. We've been traveling back and forth to NY lately to help my mother in law prepare to moves out of her house, so I haven't had much time in the shop lately, and probably won't have much in the upcoming weeks.

Anyway, I finished off the panel wiring by wiring up the master on push button, the master on indicator and the emergency stop on the front door. You can see I keep my schematic with me so I try and keep myself on track.

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I also wired up the motor. I used 3/4" FMC and 10/4 SOOW and cleaned up the wiring box in the motor housing. I kept slack if I never need to tilt the head or swing it far. I will tag it down later.

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Here's some pics of the inside of the enclosure. You can see the motor wiring coming down and clear of all of the other wiring.

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I also got started on the remote panel. I mounted the enclosure on top of the ProtoTRAK control box and used 1/2" LFMC, again with slack. Three sets of 6 conductor shielded control wiring got pulled through.

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Here's what the remote panel looks like. I'm not that thrilled with the layout on the enclosure, looks too crowded. But, I need to move forward on this project so I can get to making chips, so I'm going to live with it for now. I can change it later.

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I made the run to my panel board with 10/4 SOOW but didn't wire in the outlet yet. Also not sure where to mount the VFD's remote. I may put it on the right side of the ProtoTRAK control box. I'm getting there - getting antsy to fire this thing up!
 
Chip-slinger you are a man after my own heart. Using all those Tele devices, they are my favorite and really great for both cost and utility. The line is also very broad as far a cam operations and specialty contact blocks. But heck you know all that and that is why you use them too I'll bet.

Yes, those pushbutton stations are something else. I also do not understand why they jam the devices so close together. Isn't that a corker what they charge for the speed pot operator? They should be arrested for highway robbery! I started using the LED type indicators and so far have had great fortune with them. Short lamp life has always been a problem, especially with line voltage devices. 24vac is my favorite for the low voltage applications but usually 120 vac control level voltage proves best for ease of use, part foot print, and cost in most installations.

I have a 48" finger break and 52" stomp shear and started making my own little boxes from 18ga material. Weld the corners with a ox/acct torch, blend with a die grinder and after a coat of paint most people do not know the difference. Down side is it takes a little time but not bad after you make a few. Up side is you can have anything you want, on your time schedule for far less cost.

Us ANAL type guys need to stick together. Is this what they mean by a$$hole buddies? I digress.

Get that SWARF airborne!
 
I worked on finishing my VFD install this weekend. I started Saturday off going striper fishing with some friends (no luck), but was able to wire in a new 30A breaker and twistlock receptacle in the afternoon. I wired up the plug to the end of he SOOW and that took care of that end.

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Next was the remote panel wiring, which was fairly straightforward. The important thing is to keep track of what wire you are using for each connection. I labelled the three cables and made sure I wrote down the color and cable number for each connection as I made it.

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Now on to the signal cables at the VFD end. Here I was pretty conscious of the wire routing. I wanted to keep these signal cables as far away from the power wires as possible to minimize electrical interference. That's also why I'm using shielded cable. Once they were all landed I tied the shield drain wires together and crimped them into a ring lug so I could land it on one of the ground terminals.

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I still had some rectangular cutouts in the enclosure that I had to fill or seal somehow so I tackled those next. I had some ABS sheet in my plastic scrap bin, so I cut it to fit and attached it with 3M VHB, which is amazingly strong stuff. On the top piece, I put a hole in that lined up with one of the cutouts and made a cut from the edge to the hole. This way I could get the VFD remote cable out of the enclosure.

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That pretty much completed the control cabinet wiring and build. I checked the entire wiring job against my schematic, torqued all the connections and sealed up the enclosure. Then it was time to plug it in, hit the master on switch and it worked! Contactor engaged, pilot light came on, fans started whirring (I had to adjust the thermostat) and the VFD started right up!

I spent a little time setting the initial programming, getting the digital inputs and outputs setup and tweaking the motor ramps, and it works! It's really nice when something like this ends up like you imagined. I put the mill right to work making a pocket in a plastic enclosure for the VFD remote.

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I mounted it to the right of the ProtoTRAK control and called it good!

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So, I'm finally done with this project and can get to sling some chips around! I'm sure I'll be playing with the VFD programming as I use it. Right now I have the limits set to 30Hz to 60Hz and am playing with the braking settings. The VFD is really nice and smooth, not noisy at all. I'm liking it a lot. I shot a quick video showing the whole thing in operation. Sorry for the shaky handheld phone video!

[video=youtube_share;Rz2HN9vjK7E]http://youtu.be/Rz2HN9vjK7E[/video]

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I just got a PM from a new member asking me about some details on the wiring. It jogged my memory and I realized I never updated this thread when I built another one of these VFD enclosures for my Clausing lathe. On that build, I did some videos showing the construction and a walk-through of the circuit. Here they are:

Part 1
[video=youtube_share;nmy47aZMM4Q]http://youtu.be/nmy47aZMM4Q[/video]

Part 2
[video=youtube_share;o69QEVtZIeA]http://youtu.be/o69QEVtZIeA[/video]
 
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