Out of ControlNew controls for the BridgeportWhen I got my Bridgeport, one of the first things I did was to install a VFD. It's an Automation Direct GS-2 (2.0 hp 220v single phase in/ 220v three phase out) and has been working without any issues. I made a holder for the control panel (which can be removed from the case) with a magnetic base which sat on the BPs table. The display was set to display RPM.
This was a pretty good solution as it could be moved easily and remained where I put it.
The downside was the tiny size of the buttons. Fine for starting; not so good if I needed to hit the stop button quickly (not that I ever needed to do that!).
So, 18 months or so later, the stop button (which still works fine) disintegrated. The Run button is also on its way out.
A call to Automation Direct had a replacement panel on the way (no charge).
I think the mill was jealous of Oliver's big, Allen-Bradley push buttons. But, Oliver was built when the AB push buttons were probably $10.00 each.
A quick check showed that they're now around $100.00 per button. Don't think so. ($100 x 3 + $200 for a pot + a case + legend plates)
After a bit of research, I found a company that makes industrial push buttons in Georgia, WEG, USA. According to my local electrical supply, the WEG buttons are very high quality and priced reasonably.
Here's what I got.
After working my way through the VFD manual and figuring out which parameters to set, I had the buttons working on the bench.
So, just a matter of hooking things up permanently and mounting everything in the case.
After thinking about placement and mounting, I attached a pipe flange to some .75" plywood with threaded T-nuts and lag bolted this to the ceiling joists. Easy, as I had removed a large section of the ceiling to get the Bridgeport into the basement.
The push button case was mounted to a section of black iron pipe and threaded into the flange. I had drilled a 1" hole through the flange center in the plywood. This allowed the wire to be fed through the pipe and out the top.
The original control panel is now mounted over the DROs so I have a display of RPM.
All done. Much better. Now the Bridgeport isn't jealous of Oliver.