How do you set spindle speed with the Delta VFD

[johnm]

Folks -

Well, some days are all fleas and no kibble - this might be one of them. We've got a brandspankin'new 'Bot, but darn if we can get the spindle started - I've posted variations on this problem earlier...

I updated the software from 3.4.9 to 3.4.15 and got "delete file failed, code 5, access denied" so then I retried, same result, then aborted. My version now says that it is 3.4.15, but I am not sure if it really is, or what to do about the error message.

We can start the spindle with SO 1,1 - but I have NO idea how fast the spindle itself is turning. I went to the Delta VFD website and downloaded the keypad instructions - there is a WHOLE bunch of information, NONE of which tells me anything I can use or remotely understand. I thought that when the VFD was reprogrammed that the VFD keypad was then out of the loop and that all of the operational parameters of the spindle (RPM, ramping) were controlled by SB or PW.

Reading posts to my other queries, and reading around to what I can find, all I get are generic instructions (turn the spindle on, and warm it up in stages).... Hell, I'd love to!

For as well supported at SB seems to be, setting up the spindle for proper operation and control is a huge hole in the middle! I didn't get any documentation on the VFD at all, and what is on Delta's website may as well be in Greek.

The wif and I have been at this all day and feel like fools. I'd sure like to make some progress here. rrrrrr......

John Moorhead

[Ryan Patterson]

John,
The only control the SB software has for the spindle is ON/OFF. When my VFD powers on it displays the set frequency. When I press the mode button once it will display the RPM it is running at. Press the mode button once more it will display the RPM’s it is set to run at. To set the rpm press the mode button 3 times to display the set rpm use the up and down arrows to adjust the rpms up or down. I am going by memory.
Ryan

PS You have mail.

[mrdovey]

John...

Turn on the power. Press the mode switch on the VFD keypad until it's in user (U) mode. Use the left arrow key to choose the digit to increase or decrease. Once there, use the up/down arrows to adjust the speed - initially to 9000 RPM for warmup. Press the green run key and your spindle should crank at the speed you've just set.

Once it's warmed up, use the same process to set the spindle speed for cutting.

FWIW, I've set the parameters in my VFDB so that it comes up in user mode when it's initially powered up.

...Morris

[johnm]

Ryan/Morris -

Got it! We were able to power up the spindle and are right now surfacing the table.

Thankyouthankyouthankyou.... The documentation for this process and spindle control is certainly wanting - SB could have made their explaination MUCH clearer - I've been pulling my hair out all afternoon..

But, thanks again! Glad to be making these first cuts. I am still having trouble setting up the prox switches (I keep hitting them on the far side of X) but should be able to figger that one out.

Yipeee! We've gone from all fleas and no kibble to belly rubs and table scraps...

John Moorhead

[mrdovey]

John...

Congratulations! May your days be filled with kibble - and may fleas never plague your shop.

ShopBot does some things quite well; and does others rather poorly. You'll discover that the after-sale support for the ancillary products like spindle, VFD, tool changer, etc. isn't commensurate with the mark-up.

Add a pack of notebook paper to your three-ring binder and record your "discoveries" as you go, so that you'll be able to refer to them a year from now. Especially, be sure to record any VFD parameter changes and how/where you made 'em - and keep a log of material, bit, feed/spindle speeds for reference. It's not a good idea to keep your notes and log on the computer - DAMHIKT.

...Morris

[mikejohn]

OK! What's kibble?

............Mike

[gerald_d]

Any miner will tell you that a kibble is a big iron bucket.

[mrdovey]

Mike...

I think that, in this usage, "kibble" is a component of "Kibbles and Bits", a dog food recently promoted in (silly) advertizements on American TV.

My desk dictionary says that kibble is coarse particles of ground meal or dog food.

...Morris

[gerald_d]

We can combine the concepts of mining and dog food by thinking of kaolin. There is an old kaolin mine near my house and I often dig it up in the garden. Kaolin is a white clay used as a pigment in white paint and paper, as well as a binding medium in medicinal tablets and feed pellets. We (and our pets) eat kaolin kibble mined with a kibble. Curiously, it has recently been discovered to be a non-toxic pesticide. ref (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_100104.htm)

[mikejohn]

Before I registered on this web site I knew nothing about the outside world.
Now I know nearly everything there is to know.
Kibble, American Fussball, the temperature in South Africa and North America, unbelievable ways to cook turkey (and burn the house down).
We have more to thank ShopBot for than we will ever realise.


...................Mike