The ShopVac is the greatest contributor of “noise” to my setup, so when the bitsetter started turning on and off the shopVac, it was a game changer. Wondering if there are any creative solutions out there?
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Get an iVac system going with a tool sensor ( https://www.ivacswitch.com/ivac-pro-auto-sensor/ ). It clamps over the cable and detects current to turn on the dust collector.
Clamp it to the high voltage power cable going to your VFD.
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On my Haunyang VFD there are programable digital outputs. I have one that is on with power to control the chiller and another that is on with the spindle running to control my vacuum. The outputs are switching 5V to IOT power strips and works very well. The only thing I miss is the delayed off of the vacuum I had when running the router. With the Carbide router having locked parameters you may not have this option.
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so with this spindle being air-cooled, does this mean Winston is getting a new sock?
Serious question though,
Are there any concerns with dust or anything, or was the sock on the router primarily for the brushes?
I keep asking @Luke and @wmoy if CM will get a speed override like the feed override already in it. Without being able to reach over to the dial to adjust, I will actually have to be better about documenting feeds/speeds and not winging it every time…which I should be doing anyway. Another suggestion I have mentioned to them a lot is a pendant. The Rii keyboard is nice for jogging, but something I can operate with dedicated buttons/dials would be AWESOME. Or if we could have something like a feed/hold, and override hot keys in the UI without having to hover over a screen button.
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For the pendant, the best options I’ve found are:
(wants a few more keys)
and the gamepad from:
(has two dead keys, and two buttons are kind of confusing — really wish the faster/slower feed rate buttons from joysticks would also show up as keyboard shortcuts)
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Has it been mentioned how long the cable is between the VFD and the spindle?
About 14 and a half feet. Needs a bit more than the Compact router’s cord length to permit more flexibility in VFD placement, especially on an XXL size machine.
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Thanks for the answer, quick follow up rough dimensions of the enclosure are are there mounting points built in or not?
Looking at the Carbide Motion download page there are notes for update 551 so don’t forget up update your version of Carbide Motion if you get the spindle kit.
- (NEW) Change spindle config for Shapeoko to add VFD Spindle option
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Any reason an old version of Carbide Motion wouldn’t work with the spindle? It was already PWM’ing the output on the BitRunner port.
(I’m on v537 which doesn’t have the jogging/toolchange babysitting)
There’s a couple holes in the back to hang the VFD if desired. 113mm x 200mm spacing.
@greg5 The default “max RPM” grbl value is set very low (1000) so that basically any commanded RPM will saturate the pwm signal and activate the BitRunner. v551’s VFD config changes the max RPM to 24k so the PWM value scales appropriately.
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I guess I’m wondering about max RPM and the implications when working with wood.
24k, versus a Makita trim router at 30krpm.
More RPM makes a smaller chip… less rigidity demands? Right now I remove the bulk of my material with an adaptive clear at 27k RPM. I guess the spindle might let me run a deeper DOC, perhaps at a slower feed rate, but end up with higher MRR?
I don’t think there will be too much difference in wood between 24k and 27k. Of the materials I have cut, wood has the widest range of RPM/chipload that works well. But I think you’re right in your assumption that the increased power of the spindle would allow you to go with more DOC or stepover to have the same or better MMR. With the increased rigidity of the SOPro/SO4 I have found router power to be a limitation before the motion system. I have the C3D router bogging in a cut before I skip steps, and in many cases before chatter sets in. The router and motion system were about evenly matched on my upgraded SO3.
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Sadly I have not hit my router limit yet with the Makita - I get chatter before it has any issues. Running it at 27k has helped keep up the MRR.
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As a Shapoko XL owner, besides the spindle kit, do I need to upgrade anything else to make this work?
@robgrz as the saying goes “hindsight is 20/20” but any chance the Carbide Motion 551 release for the Raspberry Pi is coming soon. I installed the spindle kit before upgrading to 551 and when I went to download it I noticed it wasn’t available as the latest version for the Pi is 550.
Need this for Raspberry Pi setups (Only available for Windows/Mac right now)
551
- (NEW) Change spindle config for Shapeoko to add VFD Spindle option
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$30=24000 should be all that’s needed in MDI. I think Carbide Motion requires you to pre-pend something for that to work though?
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No. “$30=24000” will work.
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Except with a = rather than a -.
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