Got tired of reaching around a spinning work piece to start, stop, and
adjust lathe speed and built this pod out of crap in the junk box.
Works with any VFD-S series motor controller, including those used on
the Jet EVS, Powermatic, Delta, and any other which uses this series
of controller. Just an idea to consider for those who might find the
stock controls as annoying as I, as it's certainly not rocket science.

Five user defined speed presets allow quick selection of favorite
speeds, and since the labels are Photochopped, they aren't necessarily
representative of the final settings. The sixth selection enables the
infinite variable speed potentiometer, which is actually a bit of a
misnomer, since the granularity of the controller doesn't allow for
"precise" speed selections.

http://webpages.charter.net/videodoc...LathePod01.jpg

6 feet of 4 conductor w/gnd shielded cable connects this pod to the
controller (M0, M1, 10v, AVI, GND). Magnets and a nitrile backing
allow it to be placed on metal (and other) surfaces without slipping.

The use of 10 turn pots was overkill, but on hand, and allowed for
rear adjustment and the sturdiness desired. The rotary switch is a
2P6T. Since the controller's 10v source is limited to 10ma, the five
5k ohm linear taper potentiometer sources are switched as well as
their wipers to limit current to 2ma, rather than the limit of 10ma. A
10uf electrolytic and 1k resistor dampen switching transients.

http://webpages.charter.net/videodoc...LathePod02.jpg

Use of this pod requires reprogramming registers in the controller to
enable the appropriate multifunction/AVI inputs. This may be done on
the front panel of some controllers, but requires the use of software,
a RS485 interface, and a computer on those that have had the panel
programming interface disabled. If you have to ask...

http://webpages.charter.net/videodoc...chematic01.jpg

What a way to waste 2 hours, and yet I believe it will save time in
the long run, in addition to being a more safe, sturdy, and eloquent
solution than using the controller membrane buttons and that dinky PC
mount potentiometer.

FWIW


Greg G.