VFD Setup for controlling multiple machines

So... 8 wires. Cat5 cable is 8 wires. You could run cat5 to each machine and put a jack. At the vfd you just connect allbthe wires for each jack to thier respective terminal. That way there is not a cord dragged around the shop as a trip hazard.

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I went through with the setup.

I share the VFD between a soon to be disk grinder and a buffer. The switching is done with a rotary cam switch. It works flawlessly. No problems at all with the VFD when in the 0 switch setting.

I'm going to implement the same solution for my two grinders. They'll also share a VFD.

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Hey Currenthill that looks like a really slick setup! That's interesting, so do you mean that you're able to switch it while the VFD is engaged or are you turning off before switching? If you're switching while it's on, are you bringing it down to 0 hz before switching?

I'm curious because there's some lag with my VFD when starting it and stopping it, which, I know, it's not SO bad, but when wanting to switch back and forth from machine to machine, it's a bit of a hiccup.

Have fun with the variable speed disk grinder, I looooooove mine! :D
 
I do the switching like this:

  • I turn on the VFD with the On-button
  • I have the rotary cam switch set for (for example) Disk grinder
  • I start the disk grinder by pressing Run on the VFD-panel and set my speed with the speed pot
  • When I'm done with the disk grinder I press Stop on the VFD-panel and let the motor come to a complete halt
  • Then I switch to Buffer on the rotary cam switch and press Run on the VFD-panel and the buffer starts
So in conclusion, I only need to make sure the motor is not spinning before switching between the motors. I've read that some VFD users with a similar setup have experienced errors on the VFD unit when in the settings in between the motors. But my VFD seem to work fine in this setup. No strange behaviour whatsoever.

And the setup would easily scale up. Rotary cam switches come in variants with many steps.
 
nickandersonart said:
Hey Currenthill that looks like a really slick setup! That's interesting, so do you mean that you're able to switch it while the VFD is engaged or are you turning off before switching? If you're switching while it's on, are you bringing it down to 0 hz before switching?

I'm curious because there's some lag with my VFD when starting it and stopping it, which, I know, it's not SO bad, but when wanting to switch back and forth from machine to machine, it's a bit of a hiccup.

Have fun with the variable speed disk grinder, I looooooove mine! :D
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You can likely program the acceleration and deceleration time to be lower. I had mine set up to acc/dec over a 3 second span when I was turning a big heavy 5" steel drive wheel. Now that I have an aluminum one I set it to .5 seconds.
 
Hey Kuraki that's a good idea - and something that I need to do as my default setting has it set to (what seems like) 8 seconds or so for acceleration and deceleration and it's a bit much to wait for

In addition to that, however, the VFD unit itself takes around 5 seconds to start when the main power is switched on. Is that common with most VFD's? When main power is switched on, there is a long delay before the lights come on and the unit is activated. In the end, it's not SO crazy to wait for, but would be a bonus if that's something that can be changed in parameters.


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By the way, Currenthill I tried switching motors like you said (via plugs, not switch) while the VFD was ON but set to "stop" and there was no issue. That saves me a good amount of time right there in itself, thank you!


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nickandersonart said:
By the way, Currenthill I tried switching motors like you said (via plugs, not switch) while the VFD was ON but set to "stop" and there was no issue. That saves me a good amount of time right there in itself, thank you!


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Click to expand...

Nice! Glad to be of assistance. After all, this was this thread that made me try this setup out.
 
nickandersonart said:
Hey Kuraki that's a good idea - and something that I need to do as my default setting has it set to (what seems like) 8 seconds or so for acceleration and deceleration and it's a bit much to wait for

In addition to that, however, the VFD unit itself takes around 5 seconds to start when the main power is switched on. Is that common with most VFD's? When main power is switched on, there is a long delay before the lights come on and the unit is activated. In the end, it's not SO crazy to wait for, but would be a bonus if that's something that can be changed in parameters.


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Click to expand...

Some do, some don't. It has to do with capacitors and the logic in that particular VFD. Mine for instance turns on almost instantly, but stays on for 30 seconds or so using up the energy in the capacitors when the power is shut off.

That said the only time I disconnect power from the VFD is to do a hard reset for an alarm like over amp draw or the like. I leave them on the rest of the time.
 
Ok good to know :) so overall is it best to just leave the thing on for hours then and toggle on and off while doing intermittent tasks instead of powering up and down repeatedly while working? That'd be fine by me too aside from the not-so-loud fan which I'll probably hear less when it's in a proper enclosure :))


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I also leave the power to my VFD on at pretty much all times, but I don't leave it running except when using a machine. I use my remote run/stop at the machines. Kuraki is also right on about setting your accel/decel times to what you want.
 
Yea sounds good I'll have to change that down to just a second or so, just gotta hire a linguist for some quick deciphering and I'll be right on track to getting that done [emoji1]
 
A short follow up on the vfd thread.

My second grinder arrived and I'm running it on the same vfd as my first one. Built a control box with the necessary controls. For me this works really well.

So now my buffer and disc grinder is running in one vfd and my two grinders on another one.

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Currenthill that grinder setup looks great. Nice organization there! Do the dust collectors under the grinders have a vacuum hooked up as well?
 
I have the possibility to attach vacuums, but right now I'm trying out wet grinding which brings down the amount of pure dust.
 
Ah excellent. I've been considering trying out more wet grinding, because I've been doing more kitchen knives and have to deal with the blade bowing back and forth on thinner blades. For now, angling the platen and getting the belt wet and running at lower speeds has been working out decently for having a sort of wet grind, but nothing like having water continuously flowing over the blade.

I'll have to share the results of what I setup too. I'm really happy to have the new system in place. Speed control is a real game changer!
 
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