Need help with VFD for stroke sander

[Jaromir Svoboda]

I'm thinking about buying minimax l55 stroke sander with 4.8 horsepower three phase motor. Are there vfd for 5 horsepower motors I can use? I have no idea where to look and what to look for.
I have rotary phase converter in my shop but it's on other side of shop. I would have to hire an electrician to install outlet. I also don't like go through extra step to turn on 15 horsepower phase converter. I would like to flip only one switch.
Thank you for your advice.

[Kevin Jenness]

Yes, you can get a vfd for that motor. I have sourced a couple of TECO vfd's for smaller motors from Factorymation which I hooked up myself. They have worked out, the documentation was relatively straightforward and I was able to get some useful advice from Factorymation tech service. I have an L55 with a single phase motor and wish that i could put a speed control on it for more sensitive sanding tasks. Even with single speed it is a very useful machine, used with skill. Best of luck.

[sean meltvedt]

Jaromir-they do have them available starting just north of $200 on Amazon. I have not used one, but was looking into it for my woodworking neighbor who just purchased a 5hp 3phase shaper for his yet to be built shop. So I do not have any personal hands on experiences with these Chinese vfd’s.
This is the one I was considering for his shaper:GT-5R5G-2.
If you end up getting it (or one like it) let me know how it performs.
Cheers
Sean

[Bill Dufour]

Easy job since you do not really need remote speed control just remote on/off. Use at least 3-5 seconds for acceleration and deceleration curves. I would recommend 50-70HZ as min/max.
Bill D.

[Mike King]

I bought a 5 hp VFD from Jack Forsberg to run my 5 hp oscillating edge sander. Jack has great support for selecting and installing the vfd -- here is a video on the matter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HP_...9k-Xb439MygYwt

Mike

[Jaromir Svoboda]

Thanks for your help.
That's really nice video.
How do I connect vfd to my 220 outlet?

[Van Huskey]

Get in touch with Jack as Mike K mentioned. He is a member here.

[Darcy Warner]

I will never buy another Teco.

I have been buying Fuji's. Nice drives, great price point.

[Peter Christensen]

I bought a Powtran P19000 series VFD for my 5hp CV-Max. Specifically P19130A 004G1 for $170 +$70 shipping through Alibaba but you can buy direct. It took about 2 weeks to arrive. It's the same one the Aussies sell with their Clear-Vue cyclones to boost their 50 cycle to 60 cycle to match our airflows.

http://powtran.com/en-us/product/show-2196.aspx

[Tom Trees]

I don't know if many VFD's have the auto cooling fan shutoff capability, like with Jack Forsberg's specified design, apart from the Isacon/askpower drive.
For me, a fan running all the time for something other than a machine that I would be using in long runs would be annoying...especially if you know another brand inverter exists
with this tech.
I swapped the Huanyang drive on my bandsaw, over to the tablesaw, because the bandsaw for me is a go to often machine and is running with an Isacon/Askpower drive.
Jacks VFD's would have a hefty shipping fee to Ireland.

Another consideration on VFD choice is depending if the motor is dual voltage or not, meaning designed to run off 220 volt (three phase) and a higher voltage 380 or 400 volt also
Newer VFD's are out now to power fixed star wound motors...high voltage only "star" wound with a Y symbol, not low voltage "delta" 220 with a triangle symbol.
The newer VFD's suitable for fixed star wound motors are a bit pricier by half.



Jaromir
How do I connect vfd to my 220 outlet?

A hefty "4 core" wire coming from the motor
Three hot wires from your motor plus an earth wire, the earth gets paired with the other earth from your 220 household supply.
Ideally you want a dust shroud, which is either mounted inside a machine if suitable conditions for the inverter to live apply,
or a metal box mounted close to the machine, or mounted on a wall...the VFD needs a bit of space around it.
Good practice would be to bolt both these earth wires to the VFD cabinet or machine, with a single short earth wire stacked along with them going to earth terminal.

Three hots from your motor go to the three output terminals. if the machine runs backwards swap any two of those wires.
The input supply live and neutral go into either of the input terminals.

Get some crimp connectors for the job, cheap as a box of matches
You might want to get cable glands for the box to make it dust proof and lessen the chance of any damage.



Three important rules with these VFD's/inverter/AC drives should be heeded !

1. Make sure the VFD has powered down before going near any input or output terminals...
These things have large capacitors that hold a charge for some time afterwards! .

2. Make sure not to put a plug inbetween the motor and the VFD, as it could damage the VFD if unplugged if running! .

3. Make sure you have entered the correct values (parameters) for your motor before you hit run,
as these VFD's could have a factory setting default at eight times the speed which your motor should be running!
So its important to enter the RPM correctly, aswell as the motor pole number.. relating to the motor running speed being either roughly@ 1750 RPM(ish) for a 4 pole motor
and 3000 RPM(ish) for a 2 pole motor.

Tom




The closer to the

[Dan Friedrichs]

I don't know if many VFD's have the auto cooling fan shutoff capability, like with Jack Forsberg's specified design, apart from the Isacon/askpower drive.
For me, a fan running all the time for something other than a machine that I would be using in long runs would be annoying...especially if you know another brand inverter exists
with this tech.

Tom, it seems like all the "cheap" VFD's I've seen have only run the fan when they need cooling. I don't recall having seen any drives where the fan runs constantly...

[Jaromir Svoboda]

Do I need any enclosure for vfd?

[Tom Trees]

Do I need any enclosure for vfd?

Yes as said, you need a dust proof/resistant metal box for the inverter to go in...or on a large lathe for example, some folk mount the VFD inside the machine itself for dust protection.
On my bandsaw I knocked up some sheet metal around an old exit sign to make it deeper for the VFD, and mounted that where the original switch was, with just enough space.
On the tablesaw I mounted another box with the noisy Huanyang VFD at the back, away from the dust, attached to a bracket on my mobile base.
VFD enclosure .JPG
See pic of bandsaw, note the pair of earth wires are a squeeze to get that single terminal, these terminal screws can strip easy, so a better job would be as mentioned above.
Parts needed
Any auld sheet metal, 1 cable gland for three core thick as you can get household wire, 1 cable gland for four core motor wire, crimp connectors and a really cheapie crimping tool,
You might need to replace the 4 core wire if its too short of a distance, for the desired location of your VFD
Some clear plastic for a wee window
Strip some thin household wire for the start/stop switches, switches can be decided on when the VFD is acquired, on the Isacon/Askpower drives you need a relay between start and stop buttons, but if you don't want or need separate buttons, a cheap toggle switch will suffice if its not a dangerous tool like a tablesaw.

Remember that these VFD's hold a HUGE charge, long after the unit has being plugged out!
Don't go near the terminals until the power has drained from the VFD.


Tom

[David Kumm]

Make sure the enclosure is large enough as heat is a killer to the VFD. Some holes and a filter for ventilation isn't a bad idea. Dave

[Tom Trees]

Agreed David, it gets a tad hot in there for my Isacon/Askpower VFD in the height of the summer inside that exit sign.
I keep an eye/feel/chinese plastic smell check on it though and never have to do an hours of sawing on the bandsaw, mainly use it for short periods often.
The tablesaw has a bigger box for my Huanyang drive and I tend to use that for a longer period of time, before evacuation to let dust settle...going to build a Pentz DC in future.

Another thing is not to let a machine bog down with these VFD's as the VFD and the motor might get fried, like when I was trying to cut with a banjaxed blade when my teeth set was destroyed
from recycling timbers with putty...
Same principles apply with single phase motors, the motor needs to run at its designated speed to cool itself or it will overheat.
These VFD's kick butt and I can easily rip 3" tall iroko stock on my tablesaw supplied from my 13amp plug without worries, for an hour or more at a time..
I keep in mind what price I paid for the inverter, so don't "challenge it".... but I do rip those iroko planks with speed and ease.

Dan
Thanks for schooling me, as that is music to my ears
I was not aware that many brands of inverter had the auto shutoff technology.
I was talking to a buck selling the new types of 380v inverter for fixed star wound motors for 150 euro, compared to a 100 for the Isacon 3HP drives...
It seemed these still had the same issue with the fan running constant, instead of activating only when the motor was on.
I asked him about the device needing a relay between start and stop buttons, but was unable to determine if he knew anything about the devices he was importing and selling.
Thanks Dan
Happy to answer anything that might be confusing for a newbie, you can do way more with these inverters but seldom need to for woodworking machines.
Good luck
Tom