# Cord Clamps for my Huanyang VFD.



## 7milesup (Jul 13, 2020)

After purchasing a Huanyang VFD to convert my single phase 220 to 3 phase 220 I discovered that the cable management sucks on this VFD.  Not only are the terminals quite small considering the size of wire I wanted to use, but the wire cord was going to hang from those terminals.  I tried using a small hole saw to make provisions for the typical metal wire clamp, but the end result was not good.  Not enough room for the nut and the protruding wire clamp into the VFD.  So, off to the house to fire up Solidworks on the old confuser and then 3D print my result.  I think it turned out pretty darn good.  I left some of the area around the cord clamps open, just because.  I could easily print another one and close it up.

Here is a linky to the thingy on Thingverse.   https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4542400


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## Superburban (Jul 13, 2020)

Aren't you supposed to use only two of the RST terminals for single phase?  Looks like you have the input ground hooked to the R terminal, I believe that is wrong.


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## 7milesup (Jul 13, 2020)

Superburban said:


> Aren't you supposed to use only two of the RST terminals for single phase?  Looks like you have the input ground hooked to the R terminal, I believe that is wrong.



Hmmmm.  Well, I have had it running for a while like this, but now after doing a little poking around you may be correct.  The sheet that came with the VFD shows 220 input to RST with no order.  I will look into this further.


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## Superburban (Jul 14, 2020)

My books say to use any two of the RST, for single phase input, and all three for three phase input.  I guess the ground, is interpreted as no power input on that line, but also fear it could be leaking power back to the ground.


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## 7milesup (Jul 14, 2020)

Superburban said:


> My books say to use any two of the RST, for single phase input, and all three for three phase input.  I guess the ground, is interpreted as no power input on that line, but also fear it could be leaking power back to the ground.


Yep, I see your point.  Now I am questioning where the ground would go to.  #9 is a ground but that is for the output side.  Could the ground on the input be tied to ground on the output?
Good thing this is my thread because we are heading off the tracks....


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## Superburban (Jul 14, 2020)

Thats almost the way I did mine. The grounds are grounded to the metal cabinet the VFD is in, and then one wire goes to the VFD ground.


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## 7milesup (Jul 14, 2020)

Superburban said:


> Thats almost the way I did mine. The grounds are grounded to the metal cabinet the VFD is in, and then one wire goes to the VFD ground.


Ok.  I will redo that then.  Thank you for pointing out my error.
So, what about my 3D printed thingy huh?   I will bet you want one... LOL.  j/k

I just acquired a metal box so this may end up in that enclosure.  I would still utilize the 3D printed strain relief though.


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## Superburban (Jul 14, 2020)

Just be sure you do not do anything that will cause heat buildup. Right now, I keep the cabinet open when using the VFD. I plan to add a fan and filter, along with a computer fan controller that turns up the fan when it gets warmer.


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## DavidR8 (Jul 14, 2020)

Looks good, That unit is a dead ringer for my Teco-Westinghouse L510


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## mksj (Jul 14, 2020)

DavidR8 said:


> That unit is a dead ringer for my Teco-Westinghouse L510


Not really, totally different other than they both have a plastic case. One of the significant issues I found with the HY VFD's is that the terminals arrangment and their size does not support the current ratings/wire gauge.  The few installs I did with them I had to cut down the terminals so they would fit. The ground should be to the metal case, but the ground terminal is on the other output side. You can also use a star or bus ground in an enclosure/back plate and tie all the grounds to a single point. Surprised nothing went south with the ground connect to the R terminal, but then it just connects to an input diode. A common confusion I have seen in many VFDs is their designation for the other pole of 240VAC is N, and people sometimes connect a neutral to the terminal. The VFD doesn't run well off of 120VAC input.

You make a good point about using some form of strain relief so the cables are just not hanging, also convention is to use two methods to secure the power wires so crimp with fusing shrink tubing and some form of strain relief. Also do not tie the control wires to the VFD motor cable due to electrical interference.


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## 7milesup (Jul 14, 2020)

All good points.
This is on my Bridgeport 815 surface grinder so the load requirement is very small.  It is about 3 amps even when grinding.
If I were to do it over again, I probably would not go the Huanyang route, but rather, something a little more mainstream like the Teco.  There really is nothing wrong with the Huanyang other than the terminal size.  For my application, it works fine because the main requirement was to convert single phase to 3 phase, and for that the VFD works well.


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## brino (Jul 14, 2020)

That 3-D printed strain relief looks very clean and professional.
Would you share the design? (here or thingiverse)

-brino


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## 7milesup (Jul 14, 2020)

Yep, I can do that.  It will be this evening since I am not at home at the moment.


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## MikeInOr (Jul 14, 2020)

7milesup said:


> All good points.
> This is on my Bridgeport 815 surface grinder so the load requirement is very small.  It is about 3 amps even when grinding.
> If I were to do it over again, I probably would not go the Huanyang route, but rather, something a little more mainstream like the Teco.  There really is nothing wrong with the Huanyang other than the terminal size.  For my application, it works fine because the main requirement was to convert single phase to 3 phase, and for that the VFD works well.



I think you will be fine with your Huanyang VFD.  The reason the terminals are smaller is because smaller wiring is generally required with a VFD.  A motor will pull VERY high starting amps when plugged directly into a 3ph supply.  The soft start on the VFD spreads this load over a much longer period of time greatly reducing the starting current.  With that said I always wire all my projects with heavier gauge wire than is needed.

You can get rid of the white (neutral) line in your supply cable altogether.  (Green is ground, white is neutral... they both might end up at the same place electrically but they are NOT the same thing)  There is no use for it in your setup... unless you want to put a 120v component in your control cabinet... something like a 120v fan.  ...I was looking at the 3 phase cable instead of the single phase cable... my bad!


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## Superburban (Jul 14, 2020)

MikeInOr said:


> I think you will be fine with your Huanyang VFD.  The reason the terminals are smaller is because smaller wiring is generally required with a VFD.  A motor will pull VERY high starting amps when plugged directly into a 3ph supply.  The soft start on the VFD spreads this load over a much longer period of time greatly reducing the starting current.  With that said I always wire all my projects with heavier gauge wire than is needed.
> 
> *You can get rid of the white (neutral) line in your supply cable altogether.*  (Green is ground, white is neutral... they both might end up at the same place electrically but they are NOT the same thing)  There is no use for it in your setup... unless you want to put a 120v component in your control cabinet... something like a 120v fan.


He has a 220 line, the white is the other hot leg of the 220.


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## 7milesup (Jul 14, 2020)

brino said:


> That 3-D printed strain relief looks very clean and professional.
> Would you share the design? (here or thingiverse)
> 
> -brino


Brino... I uploaded the Solidworks file in my first post.  Keep in mind that my Solidworks is a Student edition so it has a watermark on the drawing if you decide to print drawings out.
I will upload it to Thingverse too and provide the link.


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## brino (Jul 14, 2020)

7milesup said:


> I uploaded the Solidworks file in my first post.
> I will upload it to Thingverse too and provide the link.



Thanks!


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## MikeInOr (Jul 14, 2020)

Superburban said:


> He has a 220 line, the white is the other hot leg of the 220.



Yep!  I was looking at the 3 phase side of the power bar.  My bad!


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