Questions about mounting a VFD

[ammcoman2]

Another way to skin the cat

Recently completed this. Way too much work but I wanted to be able to plug in other motors for bench testing etc).



I bought a 6"x6"x6" junction box from Home Depot, a 3phase, 20amp Hubbell plug and receptacle and went to work.

Geoff

[KIMFAB]

Thought you might like to look at a quality installation.



This is from my Hendey restore, another project halted before completion.

Here's one from my Shizouka restore, big box with only a transformer as another heat source.

[willmac]

This one is for a mill. 2.2KW motor VFD on right and coolant pump VFD on left. The pump motor VFD was a cheap buy, as was the enclosure, bought via Ebay. Very nice stainless steel unit. The spindle motor VFD has a brake resistor - very effective. The fans I already had and they give a constant through air flow as per the VFD manual.

This has been in place for several years without any problems. One day I will move the front panel out of the enclosure, but it really isn't necessary for using the mill.

[Chris165]

Recently completed this. Way too much work but I wanted to be able to plug in other motors for bench testing etc).



I bought a 6"x6"x6" junction box from Home Depot, a 3phase, 20amp Hubbell plug and receptacle and went to work.

Geoff

Just curious if you have any problems with heat? The reason I ask is because I'm going to put a FM50 2hp on my belt grinder and this box seems smaller than a NEMA4 VFD.

[ammcoman2]

I am hoping that I have it covered (sic).

I also made a ventilation hole on the top of the enclosure the same size as on the bottom (2" diam). They are lined up to the fan on the FM50.

I noticed that the fan speed on this model (0.5HP rating) is much lower than on the one I have running my mill (1HP). Perhaps the guts are the same?

Geoff

[lakeside53]

Here's a "dirty environment" 3 hp in a 12x12x6 NEMA 3R box. Control head is remote mounted.

Dual 24volt 3 inch fans in the bottom PUSHING into the box though a filter. Fans are switched on only when the thermostat in the top of the box detects over 105F. Exit is via louvers on the upper left side. The VFD fans run whenever the vfd runs. Running the fans all the time isn't needed and just adds more filth to the box.





A 2 hp with passive ventilation mounted on the back of a BP column (out of the chip stream)

[mayfieldtm]

At the factory, I most always use a NEMA 1 enclosure for these things.
They are relativity inexpensive at Automation Direct.
Get something plenty larger so you have room for fuses and switches and such.
You might add a fan later if it's getting hot.
The smaller units I don't even ventilate but probably should, especially if you have a hot environment.
On my Home Lathe setup, I found myself reaching over the spinning chuck to adjust speed. Figured that was not such a good idea so I bought the extension cord for the control panel and keep it close and handy. I didn't look up your unit to see if it has a removable panel.

Tom M