2016 POTD Thread Archive

[markknx]

So I promised photos of the progress on my grinding rest so here they are

 

[Firestopper]

Got my lathe setup on the new stand. Leveled it, which was pretty easy, then checked for twist. With this stand I was able to adjust the leveling feet to take out the slight twist in the bed. This turned out to be very easy with the new stand whereas I was never able to when working with the factory stand, I think the factory stand was just too flexible.

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I got the tool box installed. This turned out to be a bi#ch to do working by myself. I ended up putting the first war wound on the paint job, not a virgin anymore. LOL

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I also machined the mount plate for the Aloris QCTP. No bozo mistakes so all went well.

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Looking good Dan!

 

[Firestopper]

It's Alive!

Mark spent the day yesterday finishing up the VFD logic wiring and programming. Really neat to watch the whole program/auto tuning using a lap top.
I couldn't have done this without the help and knowledge of mksj. A big Thank you goes out to Mark. Many of you have seen his replies to issues relating to a wide range of topics.
I reached out to Mark about a year ago when I was stumped with a Plate Roller conversion. I have been running a RPC that powers all 3 phase machines (9 total), but wanted more speed control on the plate roller. I had purchased the correct VFD and installed it but had issues with frequency noise and codes. I had been struggling with the PR for about seven months when I finally PM'ed him for help. He contacted me immediately and set up a time to see the machine in person. Well it wasn't long before he realized the original wiring and components would not work for what I wanted the machine to do. We stated collaborating and he basically designed and built a new control system for the PR and added safety features the machine was lacking. We have become friends over the past year and his patience for educating me is priceless.

The first order of business is to build the spider so I can make the final connection to the tach. I played with the lathe for about two hours after the install and was amazed at the soft start, braking and overall smoothness of the speed control. With a 16 speed gear box and two speed motor option, I will have a wider range of speeds to find the sweet spot.
The more impressive feature is the Hall sensor repeatability. I ran over 10 passes using the DRO set to zero when the lathe come to a stop. The chuck (8" heavy) comes to a stop in under 1.5 seconds and the most variance is 3 tenths. Very handy for blind boring,threading etc. It hit the .00000 6 x out of ten passes so I would call it successful.
A few shots of the completed upgrade. Mark also provided copies of the programming codes and easy to read color schematics for any future troubleshooting. I will need to play with the machine some more as a slight learning curve is required to take full advantage of the system, but today I need to spend a little time with my wife, aka "loan officer" Haha.

I appreciate this forum group more than words can express, I learn something every time I visit.

 

[mksj]

Appreciate Firestopper (Paco) asking me to assist with the modifications to his lathe, it is always a learning experience for me and there were a few hurdles with this machine build/set-up that I had not encountered in the past. One significant feature that I have not seen implemented previously, is retaining the two speed motor function and using the WJ200 programming second motor functions to load the different motor parameters for the low speed setting. The high speed motor is 4 pole, the low speed is 8 pole which gives higher torque and smoother power delivery. This was also done with safety interlocks, so switching between Low and High speed motor settings reconfigures the motor winding connections and deactivates the VFD to prevent any damage from unconnected motor inputs during switching. A unique project, the VFD needed a few programming tweaks to make the motor run happy. The motor originally cogged a bit between 30-40 Hz on the 4P setting, interesting this went away when we increased the VFD carrier frequency (we ended up with 14 kHz). This would cause the smoothing of the digital sine wave seen by the motor, and may have something to do with the slip angle. It was a relief to see it all come together, but both Paco and myself have many hours in this build. He is a master welder/machinist and a great individual to be with, I have a lot to learn from him.

Control board before and after:

Control system schematic design


Modified Low and High Speed cahngeover switch with VFD control section

 

[roadie33]

Looks so clean and organized, but greek to me.
If I was doing something like that, I'd have to do like Paco and hire Mark to do mine also.
Awesome job guys.

 

[cathead]

Firestopper,

I wanna see chips in the chip pan, chips on the floor, big strings of blue metal from hogging hanging on the tool post, oil on
the floor,big drill shavings, garbage can full of stringy machinings, and some paint worn off the machine.

All kidding aside, it's looking great!

 

[Bamban]

Mark is indeed a master on these VFDs, I have 2 systems at home with Mark's signature control system that are running flawlessly.

 

[chevydyl]

Made this tool, it's for removing the seat from a Flo-Pro D2 process valve, the size is 3/4 hex x 3/4 square 3-3/4 long. Hot rolled steel, filed then emery, about 1" diameter, was a quick mill/turn project for work.

 

[chevydyl]

Here's another scraped part, I used a pull scraper to get this look, it's the bottom of a spindex, also put a fresh grind on the 599 planer gage

 

[planeflyer21]

Here's another scraped part, I used a pull scraper to get this look, it's the bottom of a spindex, also put a fresh grind on the 599 planer gage
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You're addicted man! Only one solution. Pretty sure I have some rusty items I can send you for scraping practice.