Separate Spindle Fan

[fritts22]

I have a separate cooling fan motor on my spindle motor. I would like to setup a relay to start this fan on start of the spindle. Are any of the current outputs set to turn on with motor spindle. If not how would I go about setting this logic up?

[mick41zxr]

Wire a relay in parallel with spindle fwd/rev relay to the fan.
If you want you can use run on timer as well.
Otherwise you could customize your M3 M4 command to close another output to bring in spindle fan.

[Gary Campbell]

You can use the "SpindleBrake" configured output. Give you manual control of the fan via push button. AND.... if you start the fan prior to the spindle being turned on, it will stay on at the end of file run. Nice feature for heavy use, or hot weather. Or, you can simply let it come on and go off with the spindle.

[martyscncgarage]

In my opinion, the fan should come on when the control is powered up. OR if there is a temperature sensor it could be used.
I don't think its a good idea to shut down the fan just because the spindle has powered down, motor may still be hot.

My .02....

Marty

[tblough]

I don't think its a good idea to shut down the fan just because the spindle has powered down, motor may still be hot.

+1 for Marty's advice. Check you VFD - some have outputs to control cooling fans. Mine does, but I went ahead and wired mine to come on when the control is powered.

[Gary Campbell]

Many of the high RPM (18K+) European spindles have 24vdc cooling fans. Although they are not that irritating when the spindle is running, the high rpm that these axial fans run can drive a guy nuts in between files, especially for extended times. These spindles are seldom run anywhere near maximum load and cool back to ambient fairly quickly when stopped.

Due to customer request I almost always setup a spindle fan switch for my customers, and use a time delay (off) relay on the circuit for commercial customers which I assume are being pushed harder. One side benefit; these spindle fans that run continuously tend to fail more often than those that do not. They obviously have a quantifyable lifespan.

Thats why I use the Spindle Brake Release circuit, often with a time delay relay, on most of my custom builds that implement DC spindle fans.