Hello All,

I have just aquired a new to me Enco 13" lathe. The lathe itself runs
very well. But my VFD is giving me fits. About every third or fourth
time I turn the lathe on, I get a OC-C fault on my 3hp TECO 100FM VFD.
The lathe has a 3hp 3phase motor. The OC-C fault is supposed to
indicate "Overcurrent during constant speed". The causes indicated in
the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.
install a reactor between power supply and inverter.

The fault will occur on start up with just the 3 jaw chuck as a load.
It has never occured, once the lathe has reached running speed. I have
increased and decreased the start up time, with no effect on the
problem. The load should be pretty constant. I am not sure what a
"reactor" is.

Do any of you electronics wizards have an idea of what the problem
might be?

TIA

Jake in Escondido

In article tswIc.7241$i_3.2328@fed1read04, Jake in Escondido says...

Hello All,

I have just aquired a new to me Enco 13" lathe. The lathe itself runs
very well. But my VFD is giving me fits. About every third or fourth
time I turn the lathe on, I get a OC-C fault on my 3hp TECO 100FM VFD.
The lathe has a 3hp 3phase motor. The OC-C fault is supposed to
indicate "Overcurrent during constant speed". The causes indicated in
the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.
install a reactor between power supply and inverter.

The fault will occur on start up with just the 3 jaw chuck as a load.
It has never occured, once the lathe has reached running speed. I have
increased and decreased the start up time, with no effect on the
problem. The load should be pretty constant. I am not sure what a
"reactor" is.

Do any of you electronics wizards have an idea of what the problem
might be?

One thing to check might be the wiring between the VFD and the
three phase motor. Is is pretty long, and all bundled together
as in, say, some SJ cord?

I have the same nuisance trip problem (maybe one time out of
five or ten starts) with the VFD I put on my drill press. I
had used some small wiring between the motor and the unit
and it's a bit longer than it has to be, so I can pull the
drill press away from the wall - and the VFD is mounted to
the wall, above the drill to keep swarf out of it.

The only thing I can think is that the 'general protection
fault' is because the unit thinks a ground fault is happening
in the motor, because of the excess capacitance in the
wiring. I think maybe George Glines had a similar issue
in a machine of his at one time.

I've been meaning to get some larger SO cord and replace
the wiring, with a shorter run. Just need a roundtuit though.

Jim

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

Jake,

I'm not experienced with VFD's so I'll take a crack at your problem. (Don't
you love it when a neophyte is the first to respond) Anyway, I question why
you selected that particular VFD for your lathe. Did the manufacturer
recommend a 3hp VFD for your 3hp lathe? Are you sure you shouldn't have a
VFD of higher power than the lathe motor? The symptoms and actions you
gave seem consistent with a marginally powered VFD - But, again, I have no
experience with VFD's. Come in, Don Nichols!

Bob Swinney



"Jake in Escondido" wrote in message
news:tswIc.7241$i_3.2328@fed1read04...
Hello All,

I have just aquired a new to me Enco 13" lathe. The lathe itself runs
very well. But my VFD is giving me fits. About every third or fourth
time I turn the lathe on, I get a OC-C fault on my 3hp TECO 100FM VFD.
The lathe has a 3hp 3phase motor. The OC-C fault is supposed to
indicate "Overcurrent during constant speed". The causes indicated in
the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.
install a reactor between power supply and inverter.

The fault will occur on start up with just the 3 jaw chuck as a load.
It has never occured, once the lathe has reached running speed. I have
increased and decreased the start up time, with no effect on the
problem. The load should be pretty constant. I am not sure what a
"reactor" is.

Do any of you electronics wizards have an idea of what the problem
might be?

TIA

Jake in Escondido

Jake in Escondido wrote:
I have just aquired a new to me Enco 13" lathe. The lathe itself runs
very well. But my VFD is giving me fits. About every third or fourth
time I turn the lathe on, I get a OC-C fault on my 3hp TECO 100FM VFD.
The lathe has a 3hp 3phase motor. The OC-C fault is supposed to
indicate "Overcurrent during constant speed". The causes indicated in
the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.
install a reactor between power supply and inverter.

The fault will occur on start up with just the 3 jaw chuck as a load.
It has never occured, once the lathe has reached running speed. I have
increased and decreased the start up time, with no effect on the
problem. The load should be pretty constant. I am not sure what a
"reactor" is.

Do any of you electronics wizards have an idea of what the problem
might be?

Do you use the VFD to start the lathe - ie. lathe power
switch always on, and use VFD start/stop function? If not,
this is your problem.

Does the selected speed of lathe change how often you
get the error? It should, as the starting torque changes
based on gear ratio.. Try it - max speed, and lowest
speed of lathe.. The inertia of the chuck is your enemy..
Lowest speed should be easiest on the VFD..

Kristian Ukkonen.

the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.

Sounds like you need bigger wire from the fuse box to your VFD.

I have 3 Teco VFDs and they work well and have never given me a problem.
I suggest you check the parameters in you VFD. Particulary max motor
current. There are also some parameters pertaining to overdriving
the motor at startup. I think it allows significant overdrive during
start.

I assume you bought this VFD new. If so, call the seller and ask
for technical assistance. I bought my VFDs from dealers electric
and harold has been helpful.

If machine inertia is your problem, changing the start time would
improve it. Since it didn't change, I suspect your problem is
inadequate power supply.

chuck

In article tswIc.7241$i_3.2328@fed1read04,
says...
Hello All,

I have just aquired a new to me Enco 13" lathe. The lathe itself runs
very well. But my VFD is giving me fits. About every third or fourth
time I turn the lathe on, I get a OC-C fault on my 3hp TECO 100FM VFD.
The lathe has a 3hp 3phase motor. The OC-C fault is supposed to
indicate "Overcurrent during constant speed". The causes indicated in
the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.
install a reactor between power supply and inverter.

The fault will occur on start up with just the 3 jaw chuck as a load.
It has never occured, once the lathe has reached running speed. I have
increased and decreased the start up time, with no effect on the
problem. The load should be pretty constant. I am not sure what a
"reactor" is.

Do any of you electronics wizards have an idea of what the problem
might be?


Are you running the VFD on single phase input? Have you
measured the line voltage at the inverter's terminals?

Some VFDs can be set to display the voltage of the internal
DC bus. If this unit can display bus voltage it may
indicate, or help rule out, a problem with the supply
voltage. Running the VFD on single phase or low line
voltage could cause the "Input voltage fluctuates
excessively." condition.

You might also look for "current boost" or similarly named
parameter that will allow for short increases in motor
current without tripping the drive.

Ned Simmons

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 09:18:05 -0500, "Robert Swinney"
wrote:

Jake,

I'm not experienced with VFD's so I'll take a crack at your problem. (Don't
you love it when a neophyte is the first to respond) Anyway, I question why
you selected that particular VFD for your lathe. Did the manufacturer
recommend a 3hp VFD for your 3hp lathe? Are you sure you shouldn't have a
VFD of higher power than the lathe motor? The symptoms and actions you
gave seem consistent with a marginally powered VFD - But, again, I have no
experience with VFD's. Come in, Don Nichols!

Bob Swinney

Big question is...does this occur high gear or low gear, or in all
gears? As Bob said..it sounds like a marginal current starting
problem.

Im not familiar with your particular VFD, but check programming and
see if there is a min/max current setting and a min/max Voltage
setting. Its possible that its going into a brown out condition and
is shutting off as its seeing not only too much current, but too
little voltage as well. If changing accel time doesnt do
anything..check the above.

Gunner, who always puts 2 spare HP (or more) on the inverter when
specing one, particularly on gear heads.





"Jake in Escondido" wrote in message
news:tswIc.7241$i_3.2328@fed1read04...
Hello All,

I have just aquired a new to me Enco 13" lathe. The lathe itself runs
very well. But my VFD is giving me fits. About every third or fourth
time I turn the lathe on, I get a OC-C fault on my 3hp TECO 100FM VFD.
The lathe has a 3hp 3phase motor. The OC-C fault is supposed to
indicate "Overcurrent during constant speed". The causes indicated in
the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.
install a reactor between power supply and inverter.

The fault will occur on start up with just the 3 jaw chuck as a load.
It has never occured, once the lathe has reached running speed. I have
increased and decreased the start up time, with no effect on the
problem. The load should be pretty constant. I am not sure what a
"reactor" is.

Do any of you electronics wizards have an idea of what the problem
might be?

TIA

Jake in Escondido



That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's
cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays
there.
- George Orwell

Teco has pretty tech support for these systems, have you tried talking to
them-
800-451-8798.

I have two 2HP Tecos on my 2HP mill and 2HP lathe and they've worked fine,
including starting the lathe with a heavy 8" tru-adjust chuck on it. They're
both running on single phase input with no problems.

As you have probably seen however, there are a zillion pararmeters that can
be set on these controllers. If you bought the unit used I would put them
all back to the default values as a starting point.

Good luck-

Paul T.

Jake in Escondido wrote:

Hello All,

I have just aquired a new to me Enco 13" lathe. The lathe itself runs
very well. But my VFD is giving me fits. About every third or fourth
time I turn the lathe on, I get a OC-C fault on my 3hp TECO 100FM VFD.
The lathe has a 3hp 3phase motor. The OC-C fault is supposed to
indicate "Overcurrent during constant speed". The causes indicated in
the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.
install a reactor between power supply and inverter.

The fault will occur on start up with just the 3 jaw chuck as a load.
It has never occured, once the lathe has reached running speed. I have
increased and decreased the start up time, with no effect on the problem.

Did you actually observe the motor starting slower when you increased
the start time?
What is your start time set to? What is the overcurrent trip point set
to? What is the
rated motor current?

Do you have the lathe motor connected directly to the VFD output, with
no motor
starter, contactor, reversing relays or anything between them? If you
left the regular
motor controls on the lathe, that is definitely your problem. The VFD
supplies
voltage proportional to current, so the contactor wouldn't pull in until
the VFD
was already near 60 Hz. Having relays between the VFD and the motor is
a good
way to blow up the VFD.

Jon

Robert Swinney wrote:
Jake,

I'm not experienced with VFD's so I'll take a crack at your problem.
(Don't you love it when a neophyte is the first to respond) Anyway,
I question why you selected that particular VFD for your lathe. Did
the manufacturer recommend a 3hp VFD for your 3hp lathe? Are you
sure you shouldn't have a VFD of higher power than the lathe motor?
The symptoms and actions you gave seem consistent with a marginally
powered VFD - But, again, I have no experience with VFD's. Come in,
Don Nichols!

Bob Swinney

The TECO's are supposed to be full rated even with single phase input. I use
Allen Bradley 1305's and always derate, since I usually buy used stuff. I've
never had an overcurrent fault.



"Jake in Escondido" wrote in message
news:tswIc.7241$i_3.2328@fed1read04...
Hello All,

I have just aquired a new to me Enco 13" lathe. The lathe itself runs
very well. But my VFD is giving me fits. About every third or fourth
time I turn the lathe on, I get a OC-C fault on my 3hp TECO 100FM
VFD. The lathe has a 3hp 3phase motor. The OC-C fault is supposed to
indicate "Overcurrent during constant speed". The causes indicated in
the manual are 1. Load changes excessively, or 2. Input voltage
fluctuates excessively. The actions are 1. Check load condition 2.
install a reactor between power supply and inverter.

The fault will occur on start up with just the 3 jaw chuck as a load.
It has never occured, once the lathe has reached running speed. I
have increased and decreased the start up time, with no effect on the
problem. The load should be pretty constant. I am not sure what a
"reactor" is.

Do any of you electronics wizards have an idea of what the problem
might be?

TIA

Jake in Escondido

Thanks for the terrific responses. It looks like I am going to be busy
this Saturday. Now to answer some of the questions.

The Teco unit is new and I picked it up from Dealer's Electric.I have
another Teco unit powering my Mill (no problems). I have run the VFD
into the lathe, contro box, not directly to the motor. I was hoping to
make use of the existing switches and lamps. I have conneted everything
with about 10 total feet with #10 solid copper wire from the junction box.

The fault happens both at high and low speed. I have been starting the
lathe from the switch below the saddle once the pannel gauge has moved
to 60 hz. I do notice a good bit of chatter from the relays as it
approaches 30 hz. Until I get things running right I haven't set the VFD
above 60 hz. The chuck is a 8" Bison 3-jaw and it isn't lite.

I have run the start time from 4-12 seconds with no effect.

I couldn't find anything in the manual relating to "overcurrent" could
"Overtorque Control" be what I am looking for?

Thanks again for all the help.

Jake in Escondido

In article ,
Robert Swinney wrote:
Jake,

I'm not experienced with VFD's so I'll take a crack at your problem. (Don't
you love it when a neophyte is the first to respond) Anyway, I question why
you selected that particular VFD for your lathe. Did the manufacturer
recommend a 3hp VFD for your 3hp lathe? Are you sure you shouldn't have a
VFD of higher power than the lathe motor? The symptoms and actions you
gave seem consistent with a marginally powered VFD - But, again, I have no
experience with VFD's. Come in, Don Nichols!


I tend to use slightly over-powered VFDs as well -- just because
my shop may be hotter than the spec allows for. :-)

However -- if you are switching between the *output* of the VFD
and the lathe, you are very likely to get this sort of thing, because
the normal behavior of the VFD is to soft-start the motor -- start with
low frequency and voltage and ramp them up to full speed. This takes a
lot less current than switching the motor on after the VFD is already up
to speed.

It *also* risks damaging the VFD's output transistors with the
high-voltage switching spikes when you turn the motor *off*.

But if you are letting the VFD start and stop the motor (which
is as it should be) and are still getting these, I would suggest that
you dig into the manual for the VFD and find out how to increase the
start time (the time it takes to ramp up to full speed), because it may
be that the inertial load of your lathe and chuck is enough to draw too
much current -- without a slower ramp-up time on the speed.

Note -- you *can* use the switch on the lathe to command the VFD
to start and stop the motor, by rewiring things. Wire the motor
directly to the VFD's output (so you are *never* tempted to switch the
output of the VFD), and run wires from a SPDT set of contacts in the
(now free) switch on the lathe to the contacts on the VFD to allow you
to stop and start it from the lathe's switch. (If you have a Mitusbishi
VFD, I could look up the names of the terminals and the switch
configuration for this wiring -- but I don't have data on your VFD.)

It can be wired for either SPDT contacts to run/stop/reverse the
VFD, or individual push buttons (N.O. contacts) to start "forward",
start "reverse", and N.C. contacts for the "stop" button.

But if you *really* want to plug the lathe in and use the
switches on it without rewiring, you would be better off with a rotary
converter, not a VFD.

I hope that this helps.

Good Luck,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

In article WLJIc.38535$Ch.37465@okepread04,
Jake in Escondido wrote:
Thanks for the terrific responses. It looks like I am going to be busy
this Saturday. Now to answer some of the questions.

The Teco unit is new and I picked it up from Dealer's Electric.I have
another Teco unit powering my Mill (no problems). I have run the VFD
into the lathe, contro box, not directly to the motor. I was hoping to
make use of the existing switches and lamps.

*That* is the problem. You *can* continue to use the switches
-- with a bit of re-wiring, to use the switches to command the VFD
directly, and the motor wired directly into the VFD.

I have conneted everything
with about 10 total feet with #10 solid copper wire from the junction box.

The fault happens both at high and low speed. I have been starting the
lathe from the switch below the saddle once the pannel gauge has moved
to 60 hz. I do notice a good bit of chatter from the relays as it
approaches 30 hz. Until I get things running right I haven't set the VFD
above 60 hz. The chuck is a 8" Bison 3-jaw and it isn't lite.

Unfortunately, those relays preclude the simple test. Plug the
VFD in, set to stop. Turn on the motor switch, and then command the VFD
to start. This won't work because of those relays chattering during the
ramp-up -- and may actually do more damage.

Yank the wires from the switches to the motor, connect them
*directly* to the VFD, and see what happens just commanding the VFD to
start and stop the motor.

Once you are assured that this works, yank out the rest of the
wiring, and run the wires from the carriage switch to the VFD's command
terminals. (I think that you'll find the actual switch (or perhaps a
pair of switches) in the left-hand pedestal, and run by a keyed rod
passing through the carriage and the fwd/stop/rev lever.) You can then
also pass the signal through the master switch on the front panel of the
lathe, or (as I would be tempted to do) use that master switch and the
relays to switch the power on the *input* side of the VFD, so you are
assured that the VFD is off the power grid when you are not using the
lathe. (This reduces the chance of a lightning strike accidentally
damaging the VFD in just such a way as to leave it running the spindle
full speed forward or reverse while you are elsewhere.

I have run the start time from 4-12 seconds with no effect.

So it is not ramp-up time that is the problem -- and since you
don't have the motor load present when the VFD is starting, it could not
be the problem. :-) That start time setting only affects how slowly the
VFD ramps up its voltage and current form when *it* is commanded to
start. You're bypassing that entirely.

I couldn't find anything in the manual relating to "overcurrent" could
"Overtorque Control" be what I am looking for?

Your "overcurrent" is when you are switching a halted motor onto
the VFD when it is already producing a standard 60 Hz. So when you stop
"beating your wife", you should not need to worry about the settings.
It would probably be called a "current limit" or something similar.
Each vendor has his own terminology -- I think to make it more difficult
for a customer to move to another brand once they know one brand. :-)

Good Luck,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 21:42:35 -0700, Jake in Escondido
wrote:

Thanks for the terrific responses. It looks like I am going to be busy
this Saturday. Now to answer some of the questions.

The Teco unit is new and I picked it up from Dealer's Electric.I have
another Teco unit powering my Mill (no problems). I have run the VFD
into the lathe, contro box, not directly to the motor. I was hoping to
make use of the existing switches and lamps. I have conneted everything
with about 10 total feet with #10 solid copper wire from the junction box.

The fault happens both at high and low speed. I have been starting the
lathe from the switch below the saddle once the pannel gauge has moved
to 60 hz. I do notice a good bit of chatter from the relays as it
approaches 30 hz. Until I get things running right I haven't set the VFD
above 60 hz. The chuck is a 8" Bison 3-jaw and it isn't lite.

I have run the start time from 4-12 seconds with no effect.

I couldn't find anything in the manual relating to "overcurrent" could
"Overtorque Control" be what I am looking for?

Thanks again for all the help.

Jake in Escondido

Jack, if you are feeding the lathe with the output from the VFD and
using the lathe switches to control the motor.... rather than using
the VFD remote control terminals and directly controlling the
motor..thats your problem as so many people have pointed out. This btw
is considered a Bad Thing with many VFDs, and in truth may well kill
your VFD. That relay chatter is the first sign that things are Not
Right. And each time it chatters, you are sending a transient spike
of some size, straight into the VFD.

Its simple enough to wire your lathes control switches to activate the
remote input terminals of the VFD.

Im in So. Cal all week long, so if you want to discuss how to do it,
simply give me a call at 805-732-5308. Btw..I do machine tool repair
for a living, so I do have some small ideer of how its supposed to be
done..having done a **** load of them G

Gunner


Gunner

That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's
cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays
there.
- George Orwell

Jake in Escondido wrote:
Thanks for the terrific responses. It looks like I am going to be busy
this Saturday. Now to answer some of the questions.

The Teco unit is new and I picked it up from Dealer's Electric.I have
another Teco unit powering my Mill (no problems). I have run the VFD
into the lathe, contro box, not directly to the motor. I was hoping to
make use of the existing switches and lamps. I have conneted everything
with about 10 total feet with #10 solid copper wire from the junction box.

The fault happens both at high and low speed. I have been starting the
lathe from the switch below the saddle once the pannel gauge has moved
to 60 hz. I do notice a good bit of chatter from the relays as it
approaches 30 hz. Until I get things running right I haven't set the VFD
above 60 hz. The chuck is a 8" Bison 3-jaw and it isn't lite.

Absolutely WRONG! You are lucky the VFD has not exploded in flames!
Read the manual! They all warn, in "glowing language" about having any
relays, switches, protectors, etc. between the motor and the VFD.

You will have to disconnect the motor from all that stuff and wire it directly
to the VFD.

Jon

Well rats, there go all of those nifty bells, whistles and safety
features that made the lathe so attractive when I bought it.

Anyone interested in trading a almost new Teco 3 hp VFD for a good
working rotary phase controller? 8^)

I guess I will be rewiring the lathe this weekend.

It is interesting that when I called Teco tech support today and told
them my tale of woe. Then never even cautioned me about the relays other
that to say I ought to find out why they were chattering. But what they
told me to do didn't work either. 8^(

Thanks again to all that responded.

Jake in Escondido

In article dV0Jc.1149$%p4.422@okepread04, randy@fontaine-
etal.com says...
Well rats, there go all of those nifty bells, whistles and safety
features that made the lathe so attractive when I bought it.

Anyone interested in trading a almost new Teco 3 hp VFD for a good
working rotary phase controller? 8^)

I guess I will be rewiring the lathe this weekend.


I wouldn't give up so easily. If you think of the VFD as a
reversing motor starter, you may be able to replace the
function of the existing starter (likely a couple of those
relays comprise a reversing motor starter) with the VFD,
and leave the rest of the controls as-is.

With a bit of head scratching I did this on my lathe, which
has a moderately complicated control, without losing any
functionality. Since you already have the VFD it would be a
shame to give up too easily on all it's benefits.

Ned Simmons

Maybe I missed something in the thread, but it shouldn't be at all difficult
to add several bells & whistles to the VFD.

I'm using the original on/off/reverse (drum) switch on a Clausing
5900-series lathe to control the VFD. I just ran low voltage wire (20
gauge?) between the switch contacts and the control (input) contacts on a
Mitsubishi VFD. One of these days I'll get around to adding a remote pot to
make it easier to change motor speed.

I also just wired a KO Lee surface grinder to an Hitachi VFD. The grinder
has seperate momentary on and off switches and the VFD lacks built in 3-wire
control, but I was able to get around that by wiring in a cheap low power
control relay. Again, the switch wires were run to the VFD control input
contacts.


"Jake in Escondido" wrote in message
news:dV0Jc.1149$%p4.422@okepread04...
Well rats, there go all of those nifty bells, whistles and safety
features that made the lathe so attractive when I bought it.

Anyone interested in trading a almost new Teco 3 hp VFD for a good
working rotary phase controller? 8^)

I guess I will be rewiring the lathe this weekend.

It is interesting that when I called Teco tech support today and told
them my tale of woe. Then never even cautioned me about the relays other
that to say I ought to find out why they were chattering. But what they
told me to do didn't work either. 8^(

Thanks again to all that responded.

Jake in Escondido

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 22:47:00 -0400, Ned Simmons
wrote:

In article dV0Jc.1149$%p4.422@okepread04, randy@fontaine-
etal.com says...
Well rats, there go all of those nifty bells, whistles and safety
features that made the lathe so attractive when I bought it.

Anyone interested in trading a almost new Teco 3 hp VFD for a good
working rotary phase controller? 8^)

I guess I will be rewiring the lathe this weekend.


I wouldn't give up so easily. If you think of the VFD as a
reversing motor starter, you may be able to replace the
function of the existing starter (likely a couple of those
relays comprise a reversing motor starter) with the VFD,
and leave the rest of the controls as-is.

With a bit of head scratching I did this on my lathe, which
has a moderately complicated control, without losing any
functionality. Since you already have the VFD it would be a
shame to give up too easily on all it's benefits.

Ned Simmons


Yup. Should be quite easy to do. Start out by drawing a diagram of
your control switches and what they do and how they do it and match it
up to the TECO diagram.

Use your Power On button to close the contact that feeds power To the
VFD (think of it as turning on the lathe AND the VFD.

Although rather than using the existing forward/reverse relay
pairs..Id go straight to the run switches. and bypass the relays.

Your run forwards, run backwards lever on your compound is USUALLY a
form C switch. One way contact A and common are engaged, B is open.
Other way B and common are engaged and A is open. Most VFDs work
exactly that way also. Ill bet you a buck it will take longer to
figure out which switch does what, than to actually hook it up by 2x.

Gunner

"The entire population of Great Britain has been declared insane by
their government. It is believed that should any one of them come in
possession of a firearm, he will immediately start to foam at the
mouth and begin kiling children at the nearest school. The proof of
their insanity is that they actually believe this."
-- someone in misc.survivalism

"Ill bet you a buck it will take longer to
figure out which switch does what, than to actually hook it up by 2x."

Gunner, that is a pretty safe bet 8^)

I guess I will have to get out that paper and pencil. God, I hate
screwing around with electricity. I would prefer to deal with about any
other form of metal other than copper wire.

Thanks

Jake in Escondido

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 20:10:25 -0700, Jake in Escondido
wrote:

"Ill bet you a buck it will take longer to
figure out which switch does what, than to actually hook it up by 2x."

Gunner, that is a pretty safe bet 8^)

I guess I will have to get out that paper and pencil. God, I hate
screwing around with electricity. I would prefer to deal with about any
other form of metal other than copper wire.

Thanks

Jake in Escondido

Jake....if you get really really stuck..and cant go any farther..Ill
take a run down there some evening during the week and give you a
hand. Might cost you a Jack in the Box burger and $20 or so for gas
though..shrug. I work a lot in Orange Country and its about
what...90 miles each way from Ontario?

Gunner



"The entire population of Great Britain has been declared insane by
their government. It is believed that should any one of them come in
possession of a firearm, he will immediately start to foam at the
mouth and begin kiling children at the nearest school. The proof of
their insanity is that they actually believe this."
-- someone in misc.survivalism

Thanks Gunner,

That is a mighty kind offer. I will let you know how things go. Hell, I
might even through in a big soft drink to boot 8^)

I will probably eventually figure it out or develop some nice smoke.

Thanks again,

Jake in Escondido

Gunner wrote:
On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 20:10:25 -0700, Jake in Escondido
wrote:


"Ill bet you a buck it will take longer to
figure out which switch does what, than to actually hook it up by 2x."

Gunner, that is a pretty safe bet 8^)

I guess I will have to get out that paper and pencil. God, I hate
screwing around with electricity. I would prefer to deal with about any
other form of metal other than copper wire.

Thanks

Jake in Escondido


Jake....if you get really really stuck..and cant go any farther..Ill
take a run down there some evening during the week and give you a
hand. Might cost you a Jack in the Box burger and $20 or so for gas
though..shrug. I work a lot in Orange Country and its about
what...90 miles each way from Ontario?

Gunner



"The entire population of Great Britain has been declared insane by
their government. It is believed that should any one of them come in
possession of a firearm, he will immediately start to foam at the
mouth and begin kiling children at the nearest school. The proof of
their insanity is that they actually believe this."
-- someone in misc.survivalism

On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 18:13:28 -0700, Jake in Escondido
wrote:

Thanks Gunner,

That is a mighty kind offer. I will let you know how things go. Hell, I
might even through in a big soft drink to boot 8^)

I will probably eventually figure it out or develop some nice smoke.

Thanks again,

Jake in Escondido

Many many people here have helped me out in times of need. Its the
least I can do to help balance the kharmic scales.

Gunner


Gunner wrote:
On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 20:10:25 -0700, Jake in Escondido
wrote:


"Ill bet you a buck it will take longer to
figure out which switch does what, than to actually hook it up by 2x."

Gunner, that is a pretty safe bet 8^)

I guess I will have to get out that paper and pencil. God, I hate
screwing around with electricity. I would prefer to deal with about any
other form of metal other than copper wire.

Thanks

Jake in Escondido


Jake....if you get really really stuck..and cant go any farther..Ill
take a run down there some evening during the week and give you a
hand. Might cost you a Jack in the Box burger and $20 or so for gas
though..shrug. I work a lot in Orange Country and its about
what...90 miles each way from Ontario?

Gunner



"The entire population of Great Britain has been declared insane by
their government. It is believed that should any one of them come in
possession of a firearm, he will immediately start to foam at the
mouth and begin kiling children at the nearest school. The proof of
their insanity is that they actually believe this."
-- someone in misc.survivalism


"This device is provided without warranty of any kind as to reliability,
accuracy, existence or otherwise or fitness for any particular purpose
and Bioalchemic Products specifically does not warrant, guarantee,
imply or make any representations as to its merchantability for any
particular purpose and furthermore shall have no liability for or
responsibility to you or any other person, entity or deity with respect
to any loss or damage whatsoever caused by this device or object or by
any attempts to destroy it by hammering it against a wall or dropping it
into a deep well or any other means whatsoever and moreover asserts
that you indicate your acceptance of this agreement or any other
agreement that may he substituted at any time by coming within
five miles of the product or observing it through large telescopes or
by any other means because you are such an easily cowed moron
who will happily accept arrogant and unilateral conditions on a piece
of highly priced garbage that you would not dream of accepting on a
bag of dog biscuits and is used solely at your own risk.'

Well I got it running, but I cheated. I got a deal on a 3hp rotary phase
converter. ;-)

I still plan to to use the VFD on the lathe, but now I can take my time
and get it right. Rather than rewire the existing control pannel, I plan
to make my own pannel so I can get the best of both worlds.

Now, I can sell off my old SB 9" and hopfully recoup some of what I have
in the new lathe.

Many thanks to all that that provided help and moral support.

Jake in Escondido