I am gathering some info for a project I am considering. First, some background...
There were what I would call some deficiencies in the model I received. However, the unit that I received was a good starting point to build from. I made some enhancements which I will outline below, but one of the enhancements required additional labeling on the panel. I considered doing a silk-screen to print the labeling directly on the panel, but decided that would be too cumbersome, time consuming and expensive for what I wanted to do. So I went on-line and found a better answer - custom vinyl labels. However, I had to order by the sheet and the labels were small enough that I went ahead and put a number of sets (ended up at 12 when all was said and done) on one sheet. So this got me to thinking - I wondered if there would be enough interest in the community to make it worthwhile putting together a "MOD Kit" with which others could retrofit their machine. This would, of course, be for a small cost.
The mods would include the following features:
1. G-code control of the spindle through Mach3 (or Mach4). Both start/stop and spindle RPM would be able to be controlled this way.
2. You would still be able to control the spindle with the VFD panel by way of "Mode Selection" switches. (This is where I really needed the labels I mentioned.)
3. E-stop would trigger an e-stop alert to Mach3 (mine didn't do this as it was configured from the factory).
4. E-stop would no longer rely on cutting the power to turn off the motors. As wired, cutting the power would have a delay since the power supply would take a couple of seconds or so to "bleed off" the power.
5. E-stop would still control the VFD/Spindle regardless of panel/external control modes.
6. Spindle water pump would operate under control of the VFD state instead of running continuously when the switch is on. The system operator could still shut the pump off by operating the panel switch.
7. Included would be a coolant system for the cutting tool/part. Not quite a Flood Coolant system, but more than a Mist coolant system.
8. This coolant system would be controlled by a new rocker switch that would be added onto the front panel with the PUMP/VFD switches.
The coolant system would require a 12VAC step down transformer and that is why I would need to know what the primary voltage of the systems are. I could make the source voltage selection as an option, but would still need to get a feel for how many of each type to plan for.
The mod kit would include a new wiring harness, switches, plug (for the new coolant system), transformer, PWM to 10V control converter, the coolant system, instructions and a complete label set for properly marking all new switch groupings and the power plug for the coolant system.
So if there would be any interest in this, please leave additional comments. I'd also be interested in seeing any pics of the internal components on your system so that I could get a feel for how many variations there may be and if it would be feasible to make a kit with a pre-made wiring harness. Also, let me know if you have anything other than the NowForever VFD in your system as this mod kit would rely on some additional connections to the VFD to properly operate as well as some configuration changes through the control panel of the VFD.
I am just gathering info at this point so there is nothing concrete about having these kits available. But I definitely would like to know if there would be any interest.
Let me know your thoughts.
MODS: If this is not appropriate or should be in a different section of the forum, please feel free to remove or relocate this thread. I just felt this would be the best place to get the most attention.
Thanks,
Stephen "Highspeed" Kruse
P.S. If there is enough interest, I may put up some additional polls regarding potential options or other opinions as development progresses.
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