| [GMCnet] Anatomy of a good news story - part two [message #153008] |
Wed, 14 December 2011 23:27  |
glwgmc
Messages: 1014
Registered: June 2004
Karma: 10
|
Senior Member |
|
|
This is the second of the two part Felder forum post which you can read if interested or skip if not.....
..........................
Here are some early observations on the VFD controlled RL200. First, my plumbing is far from optimum. It is a combination of an 8" main trunk, two (three planned but the third not yet implemented) 6" laterals going both above on the ceiling and below the floor, each of which have 4" drops, most of those using inefficient flex hose. With the Clearvue and another previous 5hp cyclone, I could effectively work with at most two blast gates open if the filters were clean and the bin empty. More than that and the air flow dropped below acceptable levels, sometimes resulting in plugged laterals (what a mess).
With the RL200 running at a programmable 50 hz with all three blast gates open on my MM CU-300 Smart combo machine, I get as much or more air flow than I did with one blast gate open with the cyclones. With the programmable soft start, amp ramp up peaks at less than 13 amps and then only for less than a second. Normal run with those three gates open is just under 9 amps. Also open the 17" open side wide belt sander blast gate and the amp draw is 9.7 amps. Also open the Jesem router table blast gate and amp draw is 10 amps. Also open the gate on the MM 24" band saw and the amp draw is 10.2. At this point I am plumbing limited. Also opening the lathe 4" blast gate only increases the amp draw to 10.2, then also opening the oscillating belt sander gate and the draw is 10.3, then opening the rest of the blast gates only raises the amp draw to 10.35.
The noise level with the 200 against one wall where the gallery and studio meet is about the same as with the Clearvue cyclone in its sound deadened closet. When I get time I will experiment with a paint like coating called Silent Running made for the marine industry to quiet down engine and generator compartments. It works amazingly well in those applications so may help the noise coming from the RL series DCs as well. Remember, I have programmed the VFD to run my 200 at 50 hz. If I move it up to 60 hz, the noise level and the suction/air flow both increase significantly. I actually think I will be able to run in my normal production sequence with the DC at around 40 hz which will really quiet things down and dramatically reduce the running cost, but time will tell on this one.
Another feature I really like is the smart run monitoring the VFD does of the motor. It keeps track of how often the motor starts, the amp draw and how long it runs. From that info it calculates likely heat loading on the motor and will adjust in real time to make sure the motor never over heats or is over amped. If the filters clog up to the point that amp draw increases, it will monitor how much the amp draw has increased over time and will begin to issue warnings if it thinks the motor is working harder than what you program as your desired max amp draw profile (15 amps in my case).
I have yet to hook up the manometer, but will do so tomorrow. That will ramp things down if the differential in air pressure above and below the filter plates exceeds a set value. It works kinda like the auto over temp circuits on the rolling condo (a bus style motor coach) we full-timed in for four years about ten years ago. When the Cat diesel engine reached a certain temp, the controller would derate the engine by 25%. If you kept pushing it to the point that the temp rose a bit more it would derate by 50%. If you still didn't get the message it would derate by 75% (barely able to move) and then shut the Cat down all together if it got any hotter to keep you from doing something really stupid. This VFD does much the same thing for the three phase motor in the RL200 or other three phase machines.
If any of you are interested, the VFD is available from Glenn Woodbury, Power and Control, Inc., Medford, OR. 541-779-8062, glenn@powerandcontrol.com. The "Quick start guide" is 213 pages long and it comes with a full set of manuals on a DVD. The cost was in the mid $500s plus shipping. A very worthwhile way to make virtually any three phase machine work on US 220-240VAC single phase power. The normal disclaimers - no compensation, etc. - just a very satisfied customer at this point. I can't imagine why Felder doesn't ditch the mechanical soft start and motor protection stuff and bury a VFD inside. It would be far cheaper and by simple programming would allow one machine to operate all over the world.
Jerry
Jerry Work
The Dovetail Joint
Fine furniture designed and hand crafted in the 1907 former Masonic Temple building in historic Kerby, OR
Visitors always welcome!
glwork@mac.com
http://jerrywork.com
541-592-5360
www.southernoregonguild.org
www.siskiyouguild.org
Jerry Work
The Dovetail Joint
Fine furniture designed and hand crafted in the 1907 former Masonic Temple building in historic Kerby, OR
Visitors always welcome!
glwork@mac.com
http://jerrywork.com
541-592-5360
www.southernoregonguild.org
www.siskiyouguild.org
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
Jerry & Sharon Work
78 Royale
Kerby, OR
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] Anatomy of a good news story - part two [message #153024 is a reply to message #153008] |
Thu, 15 December 2011 07:58  |
 |
Matt Colie
Messages: 8547
Registered: March 2007
Location: S.E. Michigan
Karma: 7
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Jerry,
I'm glad you got back in operation to save the delivery dates, but my idea these days of a good news story can often be found right here. Someone posts that he needs help with his coach. It comes. It comes out of the blue from people with nothing at all to gain. It keeps coming until the situation is resolved. That is so much like the community of waterman that I used to live in that it is very comforting.
I'm glad you are impressed, but with the cost of VF drives still being what it is, those of us with hobby shops with a single phase feeds will continue to use a cheap and sleazy phased adder to power our mills and lathes. Until the fancy thing gets to be less expensive than a used 3ph motor and a big capacitor, that is the way it is likely to stay.
The earliest practical VF drives were available in 1974, and first I used one was drive a Paxton blower on a test bench in about 1980 and have been watching the development all along.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
|
|
|
|
GMCforum
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
