# New Vfd And Motor Install



## Str8jacket (May 19, 2015)

G'day, I am after a little advise on whether or not the set up I have is correct. I am retrofiting a mill spindle and motor

I have gone on an ebay and auction binge and picked up a new Baldor 5hp vector drive TEBC motor and after some searching came along a Unidrive sp2401 at a liquidation auction.

The question I have is in regards to the power supply required. I have 3 phase 415 volt supply. Which suits the VFD fine.

The problem is the motor is a 3 phase 230v motor. If I have researched correctly I can program this into the vfd and all will be apples. Am I on the right track? This is the main question but if that works out fine I need to further investigate setting up the control side, blower fan and encoder for closed loop. Baby steps. Any advice at all will be appreciated greatly.

Cheers Str8jacket.


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## JimDawson (May 19, 2015)

Is the motor not a dual voltage motor?  230/460?


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## Str8jacket (May 19, 2015)

JimDawson said:


> Is the motor not a dual voltage motor?  230/460?



No unfortunately.  I took a gamble when I bought it that it may be but when it arrived it doesnt have a provision for dual voltage


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## JimDawson (May 19, 2015)

You might be able the program the VFD to output a maximum of 230 volts (actually 250 would be safe at 60 Hz),  It depends on the VFD, and if it will limit the voltage to that range.  Be sure to set up the current limit to the motor nameplate or VFD max, which ever is lower.


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## mksj (May 20, 2015)

The concern with a 400V VFD would be that the current would be sufficient at the reduced voltage running a 230V motor. Since the 400V SP2401 is rated at 10Hp and 15.3A, the 5Hp 200V model SP2201 is 15.5A, I agree with Jim that you should be able to run the output of the SP2401 at 240V for a 5Hp 230V motor, and this would be set under the motor nameplate details. The range is specified as 0 to the maximum rating of the VFD.
Enter motor nameplate details
Motor rated (base) frequency in Pr0.47 (Hz)
Motor rated current in Pr0.46(A)
Motor rated speed in Pr0.45(rpm
Motor rated voltage in Pr0.44(V) - check connection type

I am a bit surprised on the Baldor TEBC Vector motor not having dual voltage windings, the technical files show all current models are dual voltage. It could be a special order model, can you  provide us with a photo of the nameplate/model.


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## Str8jacket (May 20, 2015)

Hi, thank you for the replies, I have gained more info in and help in 3 posts than I have in hours of talking to electricians and so called tech sales support etc.

I can try post a picture later if i can find one I'm not home at the moment. I was hoping from the info on similar spec motors that it would be dual voltage, that was part of the gamble in buying it. 

Im pretty sure full load amps were 14.3 on the motor plate. It is definitely a custom motor. I have no idea what it was for. After looking into vfd's to run it im wondering if it was spec'd to 230v for the purpose of running at increased speed control.


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## Str8jacket (May 20, 2015)

Found one of the plate.


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## Karl_T (May 20, 2015)

You're home free, the plate says 230 volt.

EDIT,

My bad, didn't know that's NOT what you need for your local power.  Please ignore me.

Have you pulled the cover off to see if you got more than three wires to play with?


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## mksj (May 20, 2015)

The limitation may be the blower is only rated for 230V even if the motor could be wired for a higher voltage. Tried to look up additional information on the motor ID (P18A611) nothing listed, so could be an older model or custom.  The standard models are dual voltage rated (example below), so it may be that the motor might be able to rewired for a higher voltage (check the wiring in the box)? The VFD should be able to run it using 240V (14.2A) 60Hz, 1718 RPM as the base motor settings, I would start with trying that unless you can get additional information from the motor manufacturer.


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## Str8jacket (May 21, 2015)

Thanks again for the replies. The blower is wired for 110v. Which is a pain as I have 240v supplies, so will require a step down transformer.

I have been reading the manual on the sp2401 and if I do as advised and set the vfd to name plate settings what is the purpose of setting the voltage to 240-250v if the nameplate reads 230v?

if I set lowest speed and highest speed limit frequency, and set the high frequency in order to set the high speed above motor rated speed will the voltage not increase too? Or will the vfd limit it?

I was under the impression that by wiring the motor to a lower volt setting and driving it with the higher voltage you can increase the torque curve? Motor design permitting.

I have pulled the cover off it only has the L1,2,3 wires, 2 thermister? Wires and the blower wires. A seperate military style plug for the encoder.

I checked before I paid for it on the amp rating and thats why I jumped on it when it was double the hp rating. Is there anything I should do to improve this combo or will it be a good thing for a mill spindle? Got me worried

cheers Ben


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## mksj (May 21, 2015)

Three phase motors usually have a +/- voltage variation allowance of ~10%, varies by motor/manufacturer and specified by NEMA.  Ideally you want to stay close to the nameplate values. Running a 230V motor at 240V is not a big deal, but could also run it at 230V. Voltage will increase in a ratio to the Hz up to the rated nameplate motor characteristics, so 60Hz in this setting.  Below is the ideal characteristics which would be similar to a vector type motor (inverter only rated motors would not perform as well), they are often rated at full horsepower from 60-120Hz (2X base speed). Since vector type motors usually have constant torque ratio of around 1000:1, they essentially will hold full torque down to 1/1000 of there rated base frequency. So down to ~2 RPM. Vector motors have a very broad operating range, but Hp decreases in a linear fashion below the base speed.  It is a big motor to fit into a mill or lathe, not sure what application/machine you want to use this in.

Not familiar with these blower type motors and wiring, surprised the blower motor is something different then the motor nameplate characteristics. As you mentioned, could use a small step down transformer (I did this for a recent installation that required a separate 120V single phase line) or a different voltage fan. I believe the thermistors are for the fan, but not familiar this type of motor. Others may have be able to provide more detailed information. 

http://www.pumpsandsystems.com/moto...e-voltage-variation-unbalance-first-two-parts



http://controltrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/VFFundamentals.pdf


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