Wired up the VFD on my Bridgeport Mill

[Tmate]

I stripped off all the electrical apparatus from my Bridgeport J Head step pulley mill, and ran wiring directly from the VFD to the motor. I took the works out of the factory reverse/drum switch and left the terminal blocks. This reduced the motor connection to three leads and a ground.

The fifty year old (1969) 1 hp 3 phase motor works as smooth as silk with the new KBAC 27D VFD. I used a 2 hp capacity VFD in case I ever want to switch to a more powerful motor. Since the VFD provides an electronic reverse, the back gear can still operate in a forward direction.

 

[hman]

Bein's how the VFD uses low voltage inputs to control direction, etc., you might be interested in a feature I added to a Bridgeport look-alike. It's an industrial grade microswitch that detects the position of the back gear lever and "corrects" the forward/reverse function.

Converting a knee mill to 3phase/VFD

I've recently bought a Precision Matthews PM-835S. Advertised as a "small" knee mill, it's still amazingly massive - and TALL. I've had to build a platform to stand on (re-using some of the the 2x4s and OSB the mill was crated with), just to be able to reach some of the controls and levers...

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[Eddyde]

Bein's how the VFD uses low voltage inputs to control direction, etc., you might be interested in a feature I added to a Bridgeport look-alike. It's an industrial grade microswitch that detects the position of the back gear lever and "corrects" the forward/reverse function.

I did the same to my mill, though I had to build a simple relay circuit to get it to interface with my VFD. I also added a instant reverse feature that is awesome for tapping.

Wiring A Vfd To A Momentary Pushbutton Switch (update)

A while back I had a request for a design to use momentary switches on a VFD (TECO JNEV) that did not support 3 wire control. Attached is a schematic using momentary switches and latching relays that could be used on different machines that includes forward/reverse and stop. The left side of the...

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