Being an SX3 owner, I have had no real way to control the SX3 from the CNC controller. With ambitions of having an ATC and being able to program speed changes through Mach, I was at my witts end trying to decide what to do.
After looking around at various options such as - Replaceing the driver and keeping my existing 1000 watt BLDC motor, Replacing the whole thing with a different mill, Replacing the motor and controller with a VFD and 3 phase motor, etc, etc. I stumbled across Keling's website and a motor and controller system that he was selling. At the time, I was burnt out on the whole thing but I decided to spend the time researching what I could find out about. So I contacted John (Keling) and Syil and everyone that I knew might have an answer. I got a response back from John at Keling and he said he wasn't sure about the mach 3 connections but I could contact Syil, etc.
I contacted them and they said they had no idea. On a hunch, I just bought the set of motor and controller on a chance that it might work. my hunch paid off and now I have a motor and controller that I can run using Mach3 directly. What I have is to large for my SX3 but it will be the start of my G0516 CNC lathe build. And now I can use it with Constant velocity turning. Keling is getting more of the motors in that are the 1100 watt size soon so I will be on the list and review that as well. What I bought was a 2200 watt/3 hp size. Runs from 400rpm to 6000rpm and is powered with 110 volts/or 220volts single phase.
The system can be found here.
http://www.kelinginc.net/CNCmillingcontroller.html
These can be run using different inputs such as 0-10Volt like a standard VFD and also a PWM input directly from your Breakout board such as a C11g or the like. I am unsure about the G540, but I will be using that soon for my lathe and will determine that later on. I am using the Step and Direction settings in Mach 3 and using PWM for control. I am able to use the machine both forward and reverse spindle control and control the full speed range from 400 to 6000rpm with surprising accuracy. Overall, the speed is stable within 20 rpms around my target.
I posted a video on the system
, and it also shows the speed control from Mach and how the response is. Being the first controller I have setup, I can only say that I was either desperate and it works OK in your view, or in mine, I am extremely pleased with the outcome. Please do tell me if you think something could be done better. I do like constructive criticism.
I have attached the screen shots that show my settings in Mach 3 using the PWM settings. Being the first batch that John ordered from SangMutan (The system vendor) mine didn't have the control chip for the 0-10volt input, but John says the next ones will have that, in addition to the PWM. Both in the 1100 watt and the 2200 watt model.
I have attached the photos of the Mach 3 Settings to the thread that I used to show the above video and they should be very close to your settings. I also have linked higher res pictures to the thread that show more detail about the motor and controller, such as Size of the motor and size of the controller. Obviously, the 1100 watt model will be smaller and looks to be a dropin fit for the SX3. Myself, I will be storing my controllers outside of the SX3 chassis so I do not have to remove the mill from its enclosure to work on it, should the need arise.
As for the wiring for the device, I simply have 4 wires coming from my c11g board connecting to the driver. Those are 5+ volts, Ground(Gnd) and then wires coming from output 1 and 17 that go straight to the CN6 connector on the driver. My output 1 goes to PWM and the Output 17 goes to F/R on the CN6. The settings in Mach 3 determine my direction and pulse. One thing to note is that once you supply +5 volts to the BLDC drive on CN6, it will disable the spindle controller button panel. So it would be good to add a switch to your system that can toggle the use of the panel if you are in Manual mode. One other wiring item is on the 2200 watt model, there is a Jumper lead that needs to be connected if using 110volt power so that you get your full RPM range from the unit. This is located at the end of the driver next to the capacitors. I do not think this is needed if using it on 220 Volt. The wireing for the motor is very straight forward and the letter codes are on the wires for the motor correspond to the Driver and the same for the wires between the panels. There are also other inputs such as a temperature input and others that are listed in the manual. That is linked at the bottom of the thread.
The Button panel is the EXACT same size and layout as the current SX3 controller panel as well, so it could be a direct replacement. I believe the LCD is as well, but I have not blueprinted my existing SX3 lcd as of yet, but I would be surprised if it isn't.
I am in the process of building a plate for my Lathe control panel that will look similar to the c6 lathe control, and then I will start the Motor mount for the lathe. Then I will begin the full CNc conversion. Stay tuned, I'm going to add info to this thread as I work with this system more.
I hope this 1100 watt model gives you an option to use with the SX3 if you have one, but on the other hand. These motors and controllers would work on a Scratch build as well as anything else. Even an Rf45 or small Bridgeport could be enhanced by this 2200 watt system. You could probably even use the 22000 watt with an SX3 if you wanted, but you would have to get creative with the motor mounts. You can see below how much larger the motor is to the X3 motor below. The X3 isn't much smaller than the SX3 BLDC motor and there is much more mass to the 2200 watt one next to it. Also about a 11 pound difference in weight.
Keep the chips flying, Chris.
Motor size comparisons
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...e/IMG_0005.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...e/IMG_0004.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...e/IMG_0001.jpg
Controller Top View
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...iver-top-1.jpg
Closer view of Driver connections
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...Controller.jpg
Driver input panel
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...Controller.jpg
Driver Side View
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...river-side.jpg
Button Panel
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...eyboard-Fr.jpg
Panel Backside
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...ine/Keypad.jpg
LCD Back
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...ne/LCDback.jpg
There is a product Announcement here:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93745
SangMutan Website here:
http://www.sangmutan.com/
As for other products mentioned in this article,
The c11G Breakout board can be found here.
http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/prod...products_id=46
I also use a C3 Index card to read RPM within Mach3
http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/prod...roducts_id=129