Need help to setup Spindle Chiller properly...

[mmurray70]

Hi guys i have a 94 Fadal 4020 thats been retrofitted to Kflop control and the spindle chiller has some issues i need to sort out. Doing some long runs last week and noticed spindle starting to warm up a little.

I've done some reading and it appears like the pump should run continuously when turned on, and the chiller should be turned on and off as needed to maintain tempereature right? Can somebody confirm this is the way it should work? Please let me know if im on the right track and ill try and get Kflop to control the chiller.

My machine had the plugs backwards so chiller ran continously and pump was connected to the switched plug, but this was never included in retrofit so pump never ever cut in at all. lol. Good news is that when i plugged in the pump i get 25psi or so on the guage and it appears to be circulating fluid fine. Bad news is i dont seem to be getting any cooling. Should i be able to feel or measure a temperature difference between the two fittings on the cooler? They feel and measure the same. The compressor in the chiller seems to be running, but not cooling anything. Anybody ever try to repair these units? Anything obvious to look for?

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[denmar]

hose coming into reservoir should be warm, hose out chiller unit cold; pump should be on all the time; chiller with a thermostat on and off.

[mmurray70]

I got it all sorted out after. Have it setup now to cut in and out after a slight difference in temp. I also had a leak in my chiller and had to get it fixed and recharged. All working now.

If anybody else ever tries to setup a fadal chiller with a different control, then temp sensors use the bare wire for ground, red for power and black for analog signal out. I powered with 5v through a 390 ohm resistor and got a usable signal out. There is a SSR on a small PCB in the rear cabinet thats used to switch chiller on and off. And it needs to be programmed with a minimum 2.5 min delay before restarting to allow compressor pressure to equalize or compressor will not be able to start. Also good idea to program a minimum run time of a few mins too as it seems like "short cycling" compressors can be bad as well.

Thanks for the info denmar.

[arc8d-drmn]

We never repaired those chillers in the field when I was at Fadal. It was always replace and I do not remember changing very many in the 8 yrs I worked on Fadals. Maybe less than 5....Your pressure depends on if you have cool power ballscrews. More back pressure. 25-30 psi. If you ever pull the little filter on the pump head out(pump unplugged) and you see a green like clay.. that is bearing grease and one of your seals on your bearing mounts has failed. We just ran the spindle at 10k and waited 5-10 minutes to verify the chiller turned on. Then monitor the temp to see it go steady. Plus if you feel warm air out of the vents that meant it was doing its job.