HELP: PDMX-107 to GE Spindle drive.

[CNC Noob]

Need help with wiring PMDX-107 to my Fuji / GE AF-300E$ spindle drive.

Also have the other box [pictured] Not sure what it does or if it should connect to PMDX-107 or not.

Spindle drive manual attached

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[CNC Noob]

Can someone tell me if the attached wiring is correct?
I have a machine down. Dying here.

John

[Steve Stallings]

Hello John,

Your diagram is correct, but that is only part of what it takes to make the VFD work.

You also need to connect the PMDX-107 in place of the speed setting potentiometer.
This requires the following connections:

VFD         PMDX-107
13           Aref
12           Aout
11           Agnd

The PMDX-107 takes the place of the potentiometer.

But.... we are still not done. Your VFD has parameter settings. Some
of these tell the VFD where to look for its control inputs. These are
typically among the first few low numbered parameters. We recommend
using the Test/Calibrate button on the PMDX-107 to test your wiring
and parameter settings before trying to get your controller software
to run the VFD. After you get it working to some extent, then you
can look at configuring other VFD parameters, and getting your
control software configured correctly.

[CNC Noob]

I did wire the PMDX-107 according to the picture, but feel it still may be wrong for my drive because the only thing that happens when I do the '30 second hold & release' of the TEST button is the readout on the drive changes from like .03 to 300.00. Spindle doesn't turn.

 Was I wrong to set the DIP switch according to figure #3 on page 8 of PMDX-107 install manual?
The manual also mentions PWM, VSD & VFD but only shows wiring diagram for VSD. ???

My problem is that I have no idea what the terminology for my spindle controller is or how to properly control it with what I am using.
Is it a PWM, A VSD or a VFD?
Is it a RUN/DIRECTION or FORWARD/REVERSE?
Is my wiring diagram even correct?

~Noob

[Steve Stallings]

If the readout on the drive is changing from 0.03 to 300 then the
PMDX-107 is communicating with the drive. I suspect that there
is a problem with the motor wiring or some as yet unknown type
of parameter setting that does not allow the motor to actually
run.

Can you set the drive for local panel control and run the motor?

[CNC Noob]

Steve,

 When I click the 'Spindle CW F5' button in Mach3 the spindle at first does nothing. It isn't until I also hit the 'reset' button that it comes on.
It revs a crazy high speed and says 833% on the spindle override. I can tweak its settings and get the number down and get the spindle turning at a slower speed but the seems no method to its madness. Sometimes I think it even goes backwards. Even when I uncheck 'reversing'.

 The biggest problem I see is when I start a program that turn on the spindle it faults my drives. That looks to be an 'over current' error due to ramping down after a rapid. But does not do that when the spindle is disabled. Also appears not to do it as much if I mess with setting and the spindle turns counter-clockwise.

Understanding that a lot my problems probably has to do with my overall motor-tuning and gearing, but what I still don't understand is what my spindle is.

I have wired it as in the last picture diagram and set it up specifically according to your application notes AN002. But is that a correct starting point for me?
Is it possible that I have too many wires connected?
Is my 10hp, 3phase 24000 rpm spindle/controller considered a PWM, PID, STEP/DIR, RUN/DIRECTION, FORWARD/REVERSE, VSD, VSF, VFD ????

Given my setup, are there more real world numbers and setting that I should start with other than what is called out in the AN002 that you could recommend?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Bob at PMDX]

I'm going to jump in here for a minute or three.

First a few definitions:

"VSD" (variable speed device) is a generic term that we use for anything used to control the spindle speed, including VFDs (variable frequency devices).

For these other terms, Google/Bing/DuckDuckGo/Yahoo/InsertYourFavoriteSearchEngineHere is your friend.  A quick summary:

PWM (pulse width modulation) is one type of signal used to control spindle speed.  The duty cycle of the pulse (the "pulse width" divided by the "pulse period") tells what percent of full speed to run.

Step/Dir is another method that *can* be used by *some* spindle controllers to control spindle speed.  This type of interface makes the spindle look like a stepper motor, and the spindle speed is proportional to the number of step pulses per second.

PID (proportional, integral and derivative) is a method used in control loops to provide an accurate and stable system.  This is probably used inside your VFD as it translates the incoming control voltage into an actual motor RPM.

Run/Direction and Forward/Reverse are two styles of control inputs to spindle controllers.  Some VFDs can be configured to use either type of interface.  Your VFD uses only the Forward/Reverse style of inputs (i.e. one input connected to COM runs the spindle forward, the other input connected to COM runs the spindle backwards).

Now on to some of your questions:

When I click the 'Spindle CW F5' button in Mach3 the spindle at first does nothing. It isn't until I also hit the 'reset' button that it comes on.

What did the "reset" button look like before you clicked on it (and made the spindle run)?  In Mach3, the "reset" button must be NOT flashing, with a solid green border, before anything will run.  That is like an EStop switch on the PC.

It revs a crazy high speed and says 833% on the spindle override. I can tweak its settings and get the number down and get the spindle turning at a slower speed but the seems no method to its madness. Sometimes I think it even goes backwards. Even when I uncheck 'reversing'.

Two things to try.  First, did you try setting the VFD to local control as Steve requested earlier, and can you control the spindle speed from the VFD panel?

Second, if you can control the spindle speed from the VFD panel, re-configure the VFD to use its control inputs again.  Then go back and try using the PMDX-107's test button and see if the VFD/spindle respond rationally (i.e. close to full speed on the first press, then approx 30% of full speed on the 2nd press).  If this doesn't work (and I haven't seen you say that it does actually make the spindle move), then we need to address that before we get into Mach3 issues.

Bob

[CNC Noob]

Bob,

 Thank you for your input. I have since updated my version of Mach 3 and that may have solved the high RPMs. Yes I did do the manual spindle run from controller and spindle test/calibrate procedure on the PMDX-107.

 Spindle seems to come on when executing a program, but doesn't come on when I click the 'SPINDLE CW F5'. It does highlight yellow around it, but only after I click the round RESET BUTTON in the spindle box does the spindle actually come on. (NOT the main Mach3 reset button).

 I am using the charge pump relay on PMDX-126 to enable/disable my X,Y&Z drives. Not for machine power. Could this be a problem?

CNC Noob

[Bob at PMDX]

Spindle seems to come on when executing a program, but doesn't come on when I click the 'SPINDLE CW F5'. It does highlight yellow around it, but only after I click the round RESET BUTTON in the spindle box does the spindle actually come on. (NOT the main Mach3 reset button).

In the standard Mach3 screen set, the round "reset" button in the "Spindle Speed" box is a "reset spindle speed override" button. It returns the SRO% to "100" and the "S-ov" field (spindle override speed, in RPM) should now match the "Spindle Speed" field (the speed from the "S" word) just below it.

If, somehow, the spindle speed override is getting set to some wildly high value, I believe that Mach3 would (should?) automatically cap the max RPM to the max RPM in the current pulley configuration. I wouldn't *think* that having a too high override speed would prevent the spindle from running.

Try this:
- Start from your machine powered down and Mach3 shut down.
- Power on your machine and start Mach3
- Click on the red flashing "Reset" button in Mach3 to enable the system.
- Enter a spindle speed that is within the RPM range for the current spindle pulley configuration.  You can enter the speed using the MDI window and an "S" command, or by clicking on the "Spindle Speed" field at the bottom of the "Spindle Speed" box in mach3, typing in a new speed and pressing ENTER.
- Note that the "S-ov" field in Mach3 says.
-  Click on the "Spindle CW F5" button to (hopefully) start the spindle.  If the spindle doesn't start, see if the "S-ov" field has changed.
- Try clicking on the round "Reset" buton  in the "Spindle Speed" box.  Did the spindle start?  Did the "S-ov" field change?

I am using the charge pump relay on PMDX-126 to enable/disable my X,Y&Z drives. Not for machine power. Could this be a problem?

I presume that by "charge pump relay" that you mean relay "K2" (the smaller of the two relays on the PMDX-126).  Is that correct?  I would not expect this to affect the spindle operation.

Bob

[CNC Noob]

Bob,

I'm using K2 relay to enable & disable my drives with charge pump status.
 But when I run a program the K2 relay is switching off when the spindle starts. It is disabling my drives.
Have switches, ports,pins & settings set to the recommendations in AN002. All seems to work up until the spindle comes on.
I know it must be something simple, but I have burned myself out and overlooked something.

What related settings do you recommend for my set-up?
ESS Smooth Stepper, PMDX-126 & PMDX-107 with switches, ports,pins & settings set to the recommendations in AN002

Noob

[Bob at PMDX]

I'm using K2 relay to enable & disable my drives with charge pump status.
 But when I run a program the K2 relay is switching off when the spindle starts. It is disabling my drives.
Have switches, ports,pins & settings set to the recommendations in AN002. All seems to work up until the spindle comes on.
I know it must be something simple, but I have burned myself out and overlooked something.

First, lets start with the really basic stuff and confirm your configuration (all of which matches the settings from AN002):

- PMDX-126 DIP switches CONFIG3,2,1 should be closed, closed, open respectively as shown in section 3.1 of the PMDX-126 manual for "normal mode with charge pump".

- PMDX-126 jumper JP2 should be set to "multimode" and DIP switch CONFIG8 should be open as shown in section 3.3, table 4 of the PMDX-126 manual to allow the "outputs enabled" signal to control the K2 relay.

- Mach3 should be configured so that the charge pump output signal is on port 1 pin 17 (presuming that you have ESS port 1 connected to the PMDX-126).

Now for some questions and tests to run (some of these try to confirm some very basic things, so bear with me):
(1) How do you know that the K2 relay is turning off?  Do you see the LED on the PMDX-126 for that relay turn off?  If not, how do you know that the relay is turning off?

(2) When the K2 relay turns off, does it turn off and STAY off?  Or does it turn off for a short time and then back on?

(3) When the K2 relay turns off, does Mach3 go into reset (the reset button flashing red)?

(4) Does this happen only when you are actually cutting material?  Or does it also happen when cutting air?

(5) Enter commands through the MDI command line to turn on the spindle (Sxxx to set the spindle speed, then M3 to turn on the spindle).  Does this cause the K2 relay to turn off?

(6) When the K2 relay turns off, does the "Outputs Enable" LED on the PMDX-126 also turn off?

(7) If the answer to (4) was that this also happens when cutting air, turn the power off to the VFD and spindle and re-run the program that caused the K2 relay to turn off.  Does the relay still turn off when the program gets to the point where it turns on the spindle?

Bob

[CNC Noob]

 Your clear and concise troubleshooting has pointed out that I suffer from severe ADD, ADHD, HDTV, R2D2 and dyslexia.
You have wonderful products and great knowledge.


Next burning question.   Is my wiring correct or do I have too many wires connected for the mode I am in?  [0V to 10V mode]

I'm referring to PMDX-107 manual pg. 8 of 18.

Not sure if my wiring is correct or I should be running in 'ratiometric mode' or '0V to 10V mode' with different or same wiring.

[Bob at PMDX]

Your clear and concise troubleshooting has pointed out that I suffer from severe ADD, ADHD, HDTV, R2D2 and dyslexia.
You have wonderful products and great knowledge.

Before I get to your questions, I want to confirm that the issues you've reported in your previous posts have been fixed.  If not, let me know what is still causing problems.

Next burning question.   Is my wiring correct or do I have too many wires connected for the mode I am in?  [0V to 10V mode]

I'm referring to PMDX-107 manual pg. 8 of 18.

Not sure if my wiring is correct or I should be running in 'ratiometric mode' or '0V to 10V mode' with different or same wiring.

The PMDx-107 wiring looks good.  Since you have the PMDX-107's "Aref" signal connected to the VFD (as Steve suggested a few posts ago), the PMDX-107 should be configured to operate in "ratiometric" mode, with the VFD supplying the "Aref" (reference) voltage on its terminal 13.  Therefore, as per the figure 3 on page 8 of the PMDX-107 manual, change DIP switch 6 (labeled "5V/10V") to the "on" position.

Bob

[CNC Noob]

"Before I get to your questions, I want to confirm that the issues you've reported in your previous posts have been fixed.  If not, let me know what is still causing problems."  Yes. They have been fixed.

Also switch is set to "ratiometric mode".
Think I am only down to figuring out the pulley ratio adjustments in Mach3.

~Noob

[CNC Noob]

Ok, Back to messing with my spindle after a summer of working in other areas of the machine.
Pully ratios appear to have no effect on my actual spindle speed. Can't get my spindle to run
at anything less than 3600 rpm. The previous controller that I replaced with the PMDX-126 &
107, ESS & Mach3 would start the spindle much lower. 100 rpm as an example. The spindle
motor itself says it's capable of 24,000 RPM MAX, but think it only really goes to 18,000 RPM.

 Is there a setting in the PMDX, ESS or Mach3 where I can adjust the minimum RPM to lower
than 3600 RPM? Tried everything I can see in all the settings all over Mach3. Won't budge any
lower than 3600 RPM. Maybe I am missing something.