VFD Parameter settings for Controller Card

[scottbot]

Hi All
I have a PRS Alpha with a 4HP HSD spindle and a Yaskawa V7-4X VFD. I just got the ShopBot Spindle Controller Card for it and can't get it to work.
Currently it locks up SB3 so bad that I have to shut everything down including the computer to get things running again.

What I need to know is what parameters do I need to change on the VFD to get it working.

I've looked on the little CD that came with the drive, I've read through the drive manual and I've checked the forum. The info wasn't on the forum and it seems that I'm not bright enough to find the info in the manual or CD. Oh yeah, I've run the little VFD simulator program that came on the CD too. Not clever enough to dig the info out of that either.

I'd sure appreciate the answer if any of you who have successfully set up the VFD Controller Card have it.

Thanks in advance.

Scott

[wberminio]

Scott

I have the same problem.
Your right everything locks up.
Haven't had time to find a resolve yet.
So far I just have it turned off.

[scottbot]

Erminio
Yeah it locks up good and hard.
I have mine unplugged too but I didn't spend $195 on a controller card to leave it unplugged.
I'll contact ShopBot support on Monday and post the fix for all to see when I get it working.

Scott

[jerry_stanek]

Let us know if you get it working as I was thinking of getting the controller for my spindle. Like you said I don't want to spend money on something that doesn't work.

[wberminio]

Scott

I haven't had the time to call Shopbot support about this.I'm sure they will help.
Let us know what you find out.

Erminio

[adrianm]

Are you running ver 3.5.6 of the software?

I'm thinking about getting one of these cards as well.

[scottbot]

I'm running version 3.6.5.
Others have this card and it works for them.
I'm pretty sure that it's just a matter of setting the required parameters using the control panel on the front of the VFD.

I'll let you know what the solution is as soon as I get it working.

Scott

[porscheman]

I purchased the spindle control board for a Delta VFD-Colombo spindle, but I'm pretty sure the Yaskawa installation process is highly similar. The board should have come with installation instructions (mine did), which includes the details on making the parameter changes on the VFD.

I found the following link, which is the instructions for the Yaskawa control board:

http://www.shopbottools.com/files/SB...ardYaskawa.pdf

Page 9 appears to document the parameter changes you need to make on the VFD. My apologies if you've already tried those instructions without success.

Finally, I will note that I had very difficult time achieving reliable performance from my spindle board. I could communicate with it from the SB3 software, but after a while it would hang (though it never completely froze the PC). In the end, I was able to isolate the problem to the USB connection with the spindle board. It will NOT operate reliably if you attempt to extend the length of the supplied USB cable (which is 10', if I remember correctly). Beyond that distance, comm seems to get ratty (again, I'm no expert here). Also, my board would be very unreliable when connected via a powered USB hub to the PC, but seems fine when connected directly to a USB port on the PC.

Finally, the biggest hurdle I was able to finally overcome was to increase the length of the wire path between the PC and the VFD. My VFD is located about 25' from the PC, and as mentioned earlier, extending the USB segment was impossible. In the end, I extended the distance of the wire which runs from the spindle control board to the VFD terminals. This meant that I couldn't stow the spindle board inside the VFD cover plate, but once I extended that wire run, I've had totally reliable performance from the control board and software ever since.

I hope these suggestions help.

John

[scottbot]

Hi John,
Thanks for the suggestions.
I was running it through a powered USB hub so I tried connecting it directly to the computer.
Unfortunately that didn't help.

I did receive the installation instructions with my Controller Card but didn't actually find them to be all that helpful when it came time to program the VFD.
On page 8 of the instructions it states:
"The VFD must be programmed in order for the computer to communicate with the spindle. Consult the parameters that were included with the spindle for your specific Spindle configuration."
I remember getting some info about the spindle when I received my bot but I've looked all over and can't find them yet.

I had followed the instructions on page 9 and set parameter 153 to 1 but when things wouldn't work I tried setting it back to 0 to see if that would help. No joy there.
Currently, I have parameter 153 set to 1.

Unless I can find the parameters that came with the spindle it looks like I may have to wait until Monday to see if ShopBot Support has any suggestions.
Thank you all for your help.
I'll keep you posted.

Scott

[scottbot]

Hi All
I was looking for information on the Indexer last night on the ShopBot site and stumbled across a bunch of pdf's with the parameter settings for all the different VFD's that they sell.
I've downloaded the one for mine and will try it this morning.

I'll let you all know how it works.

Scott