VFD...no joy so far...

[Josh Bowman]

Lets just look the motor up. What's the Baldor model number on it?

[David DeCristoforo]

Looking at the plate to find the model number and noticed that this is a five HP motor not a three HP! Of course the FM50 I have will only handle up to a 3hp motor. I don't know why I failed to notice this before... it was advertised as a three hp motor and I just assumed... well you know how that goes...

[Dale Miner]

Looking at the plate to find the model number and noticed that this is a five HP motor not a three HP! Of course the FM50 I have will only handle up to a 3hp motor. I don't know why I failed to notice this before... it was advertised as a three hp motor and I just assumed... well you know how that goes...

The vfd should still be able to make the motor run under no/light load.

[John McClanahan]

The running sound you hear might just be the VFD applying some voltage to the motor. I run a machine at work that has a VFD. It makes a variety of sounds, depending on the Hertz from the VFD applied to the motor. It also has a kind of fluttering chirp sound.

John

[Mike Cruz]

The VFD does not care what HP you motor is. I cares how many amps the motor is drawing. So, you could run that motor on a "1 hp" VFD...only under light load, as Dale suggested. Your "3 HP" VFD will likely work just fine. First of all, you won't often be pulling the full amps of a 5 HP motor on a lathe. Secondly, even if you are, it won't be for long. The VFD is made to handle "over surges" for short periods/bursts. So, you can overclock your VFD (over 60 hz) and you ought to be fine. That is, at least, how I remember it being explained to me by the person (local Creeker) that hooked all mine up for me.

DD, I do remember that that you do need to program the VFD before it will work. As someone said earlier, there are a number that need to be set for it to work. The latest one I got (a less expensive one than the TECO FM50 that is actually made for shapers, I believe) had a bunch of hoops you had to jump through that was akin to beating the Master Monster in an XBOX game by hitting XXO++++OO+XXX--XOOO+-. We finally got it to work! Tricksy little creatures those Bagginses...I mean VFDs.

[Josh Bowman]

The vfd should still be able to make the motor run under no/light load.

I agree with Dale. And that noise is quite strange. It sounds like something starting, rotating and stopping. Just with a rubbing sound.
BTW I found where I bought my drive. http://dealerselectric.com
Looks like a 5 hp VFD is a whole new ballgame. Much more expensive!!!

[terry mccammon]

It sure sounds like low voltage on the output side and/or single phasing a three phase motor. As has been said previously, double check voltage level phase to phase.

[David DeCristoforo]

OK... here's what might be going on. the motor is configured for 220V but I think for a 3hp motor the motor needs to be configured for 460V. Does that make sense? I was looking at the manual again and the specs for output are 460V 3 phase. So I need to reconfigure the motor connections?

[roger oldre]

no the hp is the same wheather 220 or 440. I do not know of a VFD that takes 220 single in and outputs 460. if you are putting in 220 single phase then your motor should be wired for 220-240 3 phase. It sounds to me that you have not properly connected the wires at the motor pull the cover off the motor connection box and check the wire numbers and connections.

[John Nesmith]

I feel your pain. I have the TECO FM50, and I had to have someone on Woodnet walk me through the whole thing. My first mistake was mixing up the #6 and #9 wires at the motor. WRT to programming, I was completely lost. Finally got it working, but only because of the extensive help I received. Good luck.

[David DeCristoforo]

This morning I checked the output voltage across T1, T2 and T3 after pressing the run button and running the readout up to 60 with the "up/down" buttons. there does not seem to be any output or if there is it is very low. I will call the mfgr today...

[Dick Strauss]

I really can't tell a whole lot based on your picture being small and not very sharp. You only want to have two hots (no white neutral wire) to the VFD L1 and L2 inputs with ground to the chassis. Make sure the switch is between the wall power source and the VFD, not between the motor and VFD. Try to disconnect and cap off the the neutral (white?) from the VFD to see if you can't get the motor turning. If that doesn't work, make sure you have 110V between L1 and grd, and 110V between L2 and grd.

The motor should be connected to T1, T2, T3, and ground. Check your motor connections to make sure that it is set up for 220V/3p not 460V/3p. Under the motor nameplate should be a wiring diagram. Post a larger picture here of the the wirting diagram if the removal of the neutral wire doesn't get the motor spinning.

[David DeCristoforo]

The motor is wired correctly for 220V, The input across L1 and L3 is 220V as it should be. After being on a call with "customer support" at FactoryMation it was determined that the output voltages are all out of whack. So now I have to box the thing up and send it back to them for "evaluation" after which time "it will be up to TECO to determine if it is covered under warranty". This is most disappointing. I had hoped they would send me another unit and let me return this one but no such luck. "Unfortunately we don't have that option" I am told. I have had a number of similar situations in which the vendor immediately sent out a replacement along with an RMA ticket and a return shipping label, charging me only if I failed to return the original unit. That is what I expected from FactoryMation. But that is not to be. What they "offered" was to sell me another unit and then wait to see what the determination on this one was. So for the time being, the project is once again on the back burner. I am not at all happy with this "customer support" and would not recommend this vendor to anyone.

[Rick Markham]

David, I'm sorry to hear of your woes! I hope they get it sorted out quickly. If they tell you that you need to buy a new one, look up KB Genesis VFD's and get one of them, nice people, based out of Florida. I've got one running a 3HP leeson on an industrial belt grinder. Sorry to hear about the lousy customer service at FactoryMation.

[Mike Cruz]

I, too, am sorry to hear how they treated you. I've had nothing but good luck using them. For me, their CS and TS have been perfect. Wonder what happened...