VFD help

[David Lindenthal]

So I would have to program the VFD for each machine to stay within its preformance profile then? As well as a seperate breaker for each ?

[Dave Cav]

So I would have to program the VFD for each machine to stay within its preformance profile then? As well as a seperate breaker for each ?

I don't know about a separate breaker for each one. VFDs don't want anything between the output of the VFD and the motor.

On VFDs the overload protection is programmed into the operating parameters. You can run a smaller machine off a bigger VFD, but for safety you should reporgram the overload to match the actual load.

[John K Jordan]

So I would have to program the VFD for each machine to stay within its preformance profile then? As well as a seperate breaker for each ?

The one I programmed recently had the capability for programming several profiles. I skipped all that since it didn't apply to my need but you might study the manuals to see if that would work for separate machines. One complication I see is the physical switching - not only would you need to switch the three power lines but a number of low voltage control lines for things like stop/start, reverse, and speed control. The switches and wiring could be a mess unless you settled for keeping the controls all near the VFD and just switch the power to each machine. That method would not be acceptable for me. I would just buy a separate VFD for each machine; they seem to be inexpensive these days.

JKJ

[Chris Hachet]

Hi Guys. A quick question if you don't mind. I came across some 3PHs machines from a school wood shop that was being shut done. The machines ranged from 1HP to 2HP about 5 of them. I was wondering can a VFD be set up to switch from one machine to the next provided that only 1 machine was used at a time and that the VFD was capable of handling 2-3HP. Thanks for any help

I would vote separate VFD for each machine.