X3 Relay for Motor

[HackMax]

OK I ordered and got 2 solidstate relays from ebay and I'm going to hook one of them to the coolant pump and the other to the motor. My question is where do you hook this in for the motor?

I saw some have rcommended the one from Surplus Center and I was going to get them there but I always check eBay first in case I can find a better deal. This time I did. I was quite impressed by the quality of these parts. For $7.99 each and free shipping (took 6 business days) I got these pictured below and the free gift right next to them. Much better connection solution and has an LED to show its activated and even comes with a safety plastic cover.

Thanks,
Rick

[Al_The_Man]

Do you need the input and output hookup? What system are you using to switch them?
Al.

[HackMax]

Do you need the input and output hookup? What system are you using to switch them?
Al.

I'm using the C10 BOB with Mach3. I'm thinking I have to bypass the forward/reverse switch since the power switch won't turn the mill on unless the rotation is turned to the off position. Does that sound good? I'm also hoping I can set up my game pad to turn on and off the motor and coolant when its not running a program.

Thanks,
Rick

[Al_The_Man]

I am assuming you have one of the DC controllers that reverses the motor leads for Fwd/Rev and prevents changing dir without taking the pot to zero?
If so you may have a problem as you will be switching the AC input to the drive with the SSR.
This means you would have to drop the pot to zero.
There are possibly other means of doing it so you get an automatic start by putting a relay contact in the positive lead of the pot that operates simultaneously as the SSR, this could also include switching the direction by relay also to get around the need to manually drop the pot, maybe someone has tried this?
Al.

[HackMax]

I am assuming you have one of the DC controllers that reverses the motor leads for Fwd/Rev and prevents changing dir without taking the pot to zero?
Al.

No on the X3 you dont need to change the speed to turn the motor off and on. I just leave my power switch to the on position all the time unless I hit the e-stop then I have to turn off everything. I just turn the power on to motor by turning the forward/reverse switch on no need to change the speed unless I need to. I'm gonna reroute the wire going to the foward circuit on the motor control and give that a shot. The only thing is I'll always need to use the pc to turn it on which is why I hope to turn it off and on with the gamepad as well. I need to research it tonight. I just figured someone would chime in that has already done this to make sure I'm thinking straight.

Thanks Al,
Rick

[cadmonkey]

I used a 3 pole contactor - the switch for F/R is a 3 pole switch which closes another signal line as well as connecting the DC lines to the motor.

[HackMax]

I used a 3 pole contactor - the switch for F/R is a 3 pole switch which closes another signal line as well as connecting the DC lines to the motor.

Thanks Greg. After a bit of research I found I cannot hook a solid state relay directly to the motor dc line. I think this is due to the back current generated by the motor when power is removed from it. I was worried about this when I got them but I always buy two of something anyway if its cheap enough. I see Arturo has DC relay cards very reasonably priced but I was thinking that since I would be ordering from him I may as well get the speed control instead and get it over with. Actually I would probably hook the relay, be it mechanical or electronic, to the speed control and then I would still have use of the speed and forward/reverse switch. The specs for the relay says not for dc though and the voltage is 0 - 10v from the speed pot which is too small for the SSR as well. Unfortunately I'll have to put it off for a a while longer until I get some spare cash to buy the C6 board and a 12v power supply.

Rick