Metal clearvue vs Oneida 5hp

[Malcolm McLeod]

The "high vacuum" verison of the Oneida is a smart system that adapts to changing static pressure that comes from applications that may have smaller ports and other demands. CNC, as mentioned is one of those applications.

I got a VFD to run my 5hp/3ph DC, mostly to mitigate the inrush current, but most VFDs these days also include a internal PID loop as standard. If I ever need to connect small tool ports, it is easy to setup the VFD for PID control - using the motor amps as the (input) process variable and the motor speed as the control variable (output). The setpoint for this is the FLA of the motor. Just set the max allowed speed to ~80-90Hz, and if only a small port is connected, air flow is starved, the motor amps drop, and the PID controller will increase the speed ('over-speed', up to the max allowed) to get the amps back to FLA (::rated Hp of the motor). If you throw a 6" port open, VFD controller will slow the motor - again to keep the amps at motor's FLA.

Roll-your-own 'Smart' DC.