Spindle Will Not Start From Commander or M3/M4 Commands
There are a number of reasons why this could happen.
If you have a fully-assembled CNC3D machine eg: QueenBee, QB2 or Metal Storm
Your VFD is not controlled by the Nighthawk or Commander; you will not be able to use any software to control your spindle and you will need to manually control your spindle using the control panel on the front of the VFD. The green button will start the spindle, the red button will stop it and the up/down arrows will control the speed while it is running.
We have done this for 2 reasons:
1. Safety.
Even assuming the setup and wiring has been done perfectly, users often do not include the dwell command needed after an M3/M4 command to allow time for the spindle to spin up before plunging into the stock, causing a broken cutter, wasted stock or an overcurrent fault in the case of a stalled spindle. This is often because the wrong post processor is used when exporting the job from your CAM software.
2. Legalities and Regulations.
The Invertek VFDs used on our fully-assembled machines are IP66 rated and have full EMC/CE/AS-NZ approvals for their design.
These approvals do not allow for any physical modifications to the VFD housing.
In order to control the VFD your Nighthawk controller needs to be able to communicate with it via a cable and CNC3D cannot modify the VFD chassis to allow a cable to pass through it.
You are within your legal rights as an end user to modify it as you see fit, however we as a vendor supplying a machine cannot legally modify the VFD in any way.
If your machine IS NOT a fully-assembled CNC3D or your VFD is wired to your controller
1: The most common reason for the spindle not starting when given an M3 or M4 command is an issue with the wiring from the VFD to the controller. If the wiring is in the wrong orientation or wires attached to the wrong ports it will not receive proper commands and will not start/stop.
2: If your wiring is correct, the next thing to check is that the VFD is configured to accept external control from your machine controller. This will be a setting in the VFD and will be unique to your brand/model. Consult your user manual or your vendor for the correct setting to change to allow this.
3: Another common issue is that the M3/M4 command is not sent correctly. The M3/M4 command tells the spindle to spin clockwise or counterclockwise respectively but does not set a speed, you will need to specify a speed with the command for the spindle to start and get to the correct speed.
Eg: M3 S24000 will tell the spindle to run clockwise at 24000rpm. M4 S0 will tell the spindle to run counter-clockwise but without an assigned speed, it will not turn.
Please Note: As there is a huge number of VFDs out there in the market, CNC3D cannot provide help with detailed wiring or VFD programming. We have a cheat-sheet available on the Nighthawk Controller page for common setups but we cannot provide individual support.