Probe/Spindle at speed/Spindle Lockout

Hi,

So following from my issues having the spindle turning on during probing and trashing my probe... I now have a spindle lockout, which I have implemented by toggling the global VFD enable pin externally. My VFD reports spindle at speed via rs-485, which it doesn't do if the VFD is disabled... which leads to the probing routines not working due to timing out (I think)... (Defeating the point of the lockout in the first place!)

I'm contemplating moving my spindle lockout to a contactor on the motor side of the VFD so if it's disabled the motor is physically not attached to the VFD.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Jim.

spindle.N.inhibit - (bit, in) When this bit is TRUE, the spindle speed is set to 0.

jimwhiting wrote:

I'm contemplating moving my spindle lockout to a contactor on the motor side of the VFD so if it's disabled the motor is physically not attached to the VFD.

Thoughts?


 

Every VFD manual I've read cautions against installing contactors or switches between the VFD and the motor.  The VFD can be damaged if it's disconnected from the motor during operation.

To expand on @Mecanix's suggestion, you could do the following:

• Connect spindle.N.inhibit to a motion.digital-out pin
• Edit probe routines
  • Set spindle speed to zero (in case there is an active feedrate Fnnn)
  • Set spindle.N.inhibit true using M64 Pnn
  • [probe routine stuff]
  • Set spindle.N.inhibit false using M65 Pnn

Another option, how i solved this, when using Axis:

In remaped toolchange,  in change.ngc  enter  S0 M5
This entry in usercommand.py file sets spindle.0.inhibit 1, while probe is in spindle (my probe is T999).

Thanks for the responses.

Eventually I have found that I messed up the bitmask mask for the at speed signal out of my VFD. The at-speed is now working correctly.

I still get some weird behaviour out of the probing every once in a while... but that is for another subject.