Turning VFD on and off

So I’m setting up my spindle and VFD, 220v or 240v technically and I just realized there is no “power” or “on/off” switch on the control panel. Am I missing something? So I read the manual and it states to not use electromechanical contactors for the RST ( 240v) input. A relay is not technically a contactor but it is an electromechanical switch, so not sure if I should use that or a 240v switch. How are you guys powering up/down your VFD? I’d rather not have to plug it in and unplug it from the receptacle every time I use it.

I used a simple power switch mounted in a custom control box, I flick it to turn the VFD on and off

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You need a switch inline somewhere. It doesn’t have to be a relay.

I have a big magnetic paddle switch for a router table that controls a 3 pop relay. The relay controls the 2 220v hots to the spindle and my chiller, and the single 110v hot to the power brick for the cnc.

This allows me to push one switch to power up everything. And it works well as an emergency stop switch h.

Any idea why a contactor isn’t recommended? A lot of the examples here include them. I just finished a build and while I have a switch, it’s controlling the contactor.

Thanks for the replies! I was thinking a regular old 240 switch would be fine I just wanted to double check. I couldn’t say why they state specifically not to use a contactor. My only guess would be the concern of arcs, but there are contactors that address that issue and your typical relay does not. So I couldn’t say for sure that’s why I posed the question.

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