Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: sshneider on November 21, 2005, 11:43:36 PM
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Hey all,
Some of my questions seem so lame I'm almost embarrassed to ask. Thanks in advance for your patience.
Question... What piece of hardware interfaces with my driver board/Mach 3 will control the speed of my spindle?
FYI- my spindle is a Porter-Cable Router. I have been using (please don't laugh too hard) this little Barney McGee potentiometer speed controller between the relay output and the router :o. After seeing that Mach has the capabilty to control spindle speed, I feel like a Caveman who has just been shown fire.
Could someone please describe what I should do to interface my Router? Thanks much!
Sid
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Please don't be embarrasses! We all had to start at the someware...
There are a few ways to run the spindle... There is a DigiSpeed that is a cool way to go! There Bob's spindle speed board, I think CNC4PC has one , PLC's and you can make one. Any of them are going to output an analog comand 0-10V or 0-5V. Is there a speed control that you can add an external pot or comand too? If there is you but one of the boards and hook it up!
Here is the CNC 4 PC board http://cnc4pc.com/Variable_Speed_Control_Board.htm it is a low cost board that should help you...
Hope that gets you a little closer
Brian
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Thanks Brian. Now, I get it. Basically the driver board is triggering an interface board which in turn operates the VFD, which powers a 3ph spindle motor. This all makes sense. I kinda go lost because my Router (spindle) is your basic "plain jane" 110v Single Phase which is not traditionally controllable with VFDs. I thought maybe I had missed something along the way in Electrical evolution. I guess if I want to have full spindle speed control, I'm going to need to rethink my router/spindle motor set-up.
Thanks a bunch for your response! ;D
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I too am using a 115Vac router as my spindle. I was wondering if that potentiometer you are using now could be attached to a small stepper or servo motor with appropriate drive and then the position of that pot could be controled by step and direction commands. I would imagine that the control position of the pot/motor would need to be calibrated?
There is also the question of maintaining torque when in the lower speed range. I am guessing that a higher quality speed control would have the electronics to provide that needed low rpm torque. ....or maybe AC routers just can't respond.
just thinking out loud.....or not thinking at all.
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IS the pot that it is running the speed just changing 0- 10VDC? If it is you will not need any of the other stuff :)
Brian
PS Yea I have let out the smoke ;D
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Bloy- I like the way you think. It's a clever idea to do what you suggest. I think I'll give it some more thought and see if there is a way to streamline the implementation.
Brian- The potentiometer is basically a really small "Variac". I think all it is doing is creating resistance. I'll take a closer look to see exactly what is going on there but, I'm sure it's not doing anything in the DC voltage domain.
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Sid,
I can't think that that speed control is simply a variac type . I believe there must be some electronics to control those 115Vac motors...although I think they are considered AC/DC motors..of which I still don't understand. :)
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Well, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not expert on the electronics/electrical aspect of things. I know just enough to be dangerous. Here is a link to the device I'm talking about ... http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43060
Please don't laugh TOO hard :D. The funny thing is.. this little doodad actually works pretty good.
The real solution would be installing a 3 phase spindle motor, getting an AC inverter drive and controlling it through the device that Brian suggested. Unfortuneately, it's a heck of a lot more expensive AND I'm not really sure how to adapt a collet (bit holder) to a standard motor shaft. There is probably some kind of couple out there that will do it. All of that just sounds like a ton of work when you are already set up with a 115VAC router. It's like going backwards 3 steps to get ahead 4.
Doesn't anybody manufacture/sell a compact 3 phase router complete with Collet? THAT would be SWEET! 8)