Prt standard spindle

[paul60]

looking for information on adding a spindle to prt96 standard.
is it just a matter of replacing your router with the spindle and plugin it in?

[richards]

Paul,
It's not difficult (at least on the Alpha). You will receive a VFD (motor controller), a spindle, and some cabling. The instructions that come with the spindle will clearly tell you how to connect the pieces. Be aware that the instructions will clearly instruct you to have an electrician do the installation. (Some of us did it ourselves - and were lucky.) Be sure to ask about electrical noise suppressors (EFI filter, input/output reactors, etc.). Mine cost about $500, but really cleaned up the electrical noise that is generated by the VFD. I bought everything. You may only need an output reactor for about $175 or so.

Once you have everything installed and properly programmed (a one-time job), you'll wonder why you waited so long to buy a spindle.

[brian]

Mike
I'm assuming The EFI is needed because of the computer.
Brian

[fleinbach]

Brian,

An EFI may be something to consider but it is not necessarily needed. Most electrical noise problems come from not paying attention to wiring. Gounding is the most important thing you can do. Though it is true that some electrical feeds are noisier than others it is rare. I have been running a 3 hp columbo spindle for nearly two years now without one and have not experienced any problems. I did have some noise problems in the first month but after properly grounding my vacuum hose I haven't had a problem since.

The best thing to do is hook everything up and make sure all wiring is properly installed and everything is properly grounded. Then if you are still experiencing noise problems you may want to consider an EFI.

[richards]

Brian,
The VFD is the culprit. It has to convert standard 60 cycle 1-phase 240 volt AC into high frequency 3-phase power for the spindle (unless you're lucky enough to already have 3-phase power in your shop). The conversion process causes the electrical interference. It's the same problem that you get when using any switching power supply, but on a much larger scale.

As Frank wrote, proper grounding is absolutely necessary.