[Stevenh111]

has anyone used this? or know if it works with the SX3 as advertised?
for $99 it seems like a decent fix to the earlier long running thread i have seen here.

LittleMachineShop.com - CNC Spindle Control Upgrade Kit

[H500]

Interesting product. You should ask them to create a video of it working. I assume they allow returns if it's NFG.

[devers6]

I bought one of these, just to have one more way to try to speed-control my SX3. I have been working on this for over a year now, with many tribulations and false starts (see the big SX3 speed control threads for details). At the moment I have my motor running using a separate servo amp (ADC B30A40 on 220V AC) under control of a G540; although it is on a bench and not in the mill so I don't have any stress or performance metrics. I have spent much of the last few months designing an entirely new front panel with manual speed control, on-off and CNC/manual switches; but creating a panel with a non-functioning mill has resulted in a chicken-and-egg problem that usually just frustrates me into going into the house and watching TV.

I also have an intelligent DriveBlok drive from Ebay that I would love to get working (it seems to have a resonance stall above about 400 RPM), but it would be a great drive because it has an RS-422 port that will output parameters such as drive temp, current, and speed in real time.

So now I have this apparently Sieg-made controller for the stock drive that looks to do exactly what is needed. I have to repair my original drive in order to test this new module, but I would like to try it out to see how it compares to my other solutions. For $99 it seems to be an economical solution, but it also requires a new front panel since it relies on discrete switches for on-off and fwd-rev. I don't know when I will get to it, but I will post here with my results when I do.

[mattm55]

Update: I asked LMS for some more information. It looks like the module needs to be conected to a breakout board and not to "switches" as I might have thought to simple. I'm not good with electronics so I'll have to do some more investigation. Maybe a breakout board from Keling? ..might work?

I'd also be interested in setting one of these up. It looks like you need:

~ 120v AC maybe from L1/N1
~ switch for Start
~ switch for Fwd
~ rotary 0-10VDC with a 10VDC PS?

I have an email into LMS for some more info. If they can provide just a little more info, I grab one and do a write-up. I'm no EE but can follow directions.

Looks promising if it works as designed.
Matt

[3space]

I'm surprised that there haven't been more comments on this thread. I will receive my SX3 mill next week, and plan to CNC it shortly after receipt, once I can collect all required parts. The lack of spindle control was annoying. So, I was psyched to see this board. $99 seems like an OK price for this.

@Devers6 (same one that I am subscribed to on YouTube?): have you made any progress with this?

Anybody else know whether it yields solid results?

Thanks!

[Vatorman]

I also purchased this kit from LMS and am currently installing it. I am using the g540 and smooth stepper. I did as instructions were written and having issues with configuring in mach.
Talked to chris at lms and he mentioned to do the simple connection first to see if motor will work with the new chip furnished in the kit . So that worked and I went on . Still have problems.
Anybody else going through this.

[manley86]

Has anyone made progress with these? My conversion is stuck at this point. I (and a few others) would love to see a video of one working.

Rob.

[kooka]

gday all, just want to let yous know that i purchased , installed the lms spindle control board and after initially cooking the 110v transformer( using 240v) replaced it with a suitable one, have it working well- on/off ,speed control within around 10rpm of selected speed through out rev range >3600rpm. only have a slight issue which i have not bothered to diagnose yet, if e stop out and comp on without mach3 opened spindle will start. am sure this should be an easy fix ( configuration or even disable the m4 reverse signal as not really needed ). cheers

[manley86]

Any chance you could post a video. Very interested to know how quickly the speed control works and whether is makes that annoying beeping sound while its working?

Cheers, Rob.

[mattm55]

Yes, I would like to see any info on this as well. Great to hear it works... Matt

[kooka]

no beeping , response is good very similar to a normal vsd with a small ramp up set. videos and such not my thing and may be hard to get it to show op well but will have a crack at it when time permits.

[kooka]

forgot to add my setup is direct from g540 no switches etc

[rwskinner]

Are you using the Charge Pump Feature? When Mach exits, or locks up, the charge pump will quit sending the signal and the G540 will turn off all outputs.

Richard

gday all, just want to let yous know that i purchased , installed the lms spindle control board and after initially cooking the 110v transformer( using 240v) replaced it with a suitable one, have it working well- on/off ,speed control within around 10rpm of selected speed through out rev range >3600rpm. only have a slight issue which i have not bothered to diagnose yet, if e stop out and comp on without mach3 opened spindle will start. am sure this should be an easy fix ( configuration or even disable the m4 reverse signal as not really needed ). cheers

[cjdavis618]

gday all, just want to let yous know that i purchased , installed the lms spindle control board and after initially cooking the 110v transformer( using 240v) replaced it with a suitable one, have it working well- on/off ,speed control within around 10rpm of selected speed through out rev range >3600rpm. only have a slight issue which i have not bothered to diagnose yet, if e stop out and comp on without mach3 opened spindle will start. am sure this should be an easy fix ( configuration or even disable the m4 reverse signal as not really needed ). cheers

I had this problem also with my motor controller from Keling, I finally added a key switch to it that I had laying around so that it prevented the signal from going through when I was not around. Works very well but I couldn't get it to stop electrically by any other means.

[Vatorman]

I am not using the charge pump feature, I had issues at the time and never went back to diagnose. Never had any more issues.
I am also not using the lms spindle kit for the sx-3, I spoke with lms and my particular machine had some differences then the others. Could not get it to work. Now that I'm reading this post it looks like now they offer a new chip . I decided to go with the x4 spindle kit 5000 rpm motor, New face plate, and Spindle board. Also installed new ceramic bearings and had a 45 tooth htd 5 pulley made to match the spindle pulley. Currently got it it running on manual mode and am working on wiring the cnc part. X4 spindle board uses PWM 0-10v.

[cjdavis618]

Did you get your X4 kit from LMS?

[rwskinner]

Wow, that is strange. I so far ran a VFD, the Keling BLDC Kit, and then emulated buttons on the standard SX3 controller and never had any issues.
The ONLY time I had an issue is when I had the charge pump turned off and the PC boots up and the parallel port can go into unknown states. My coolant pump would always come on when I powered up the PC but a soon as Mach came on line it turned back off. With the charge pump on, all the outputs on the G540 are forced off until it gets a valid signal.

I mainly run the RF45 and tool changer and I hadn't messed with the SX3 any in the last 18-24 months but I decided to get it going. Besides for the PC capacitors going bad, the ole gal fired up and ran good. My spindle controller from LMS came in today so I will wire it up tomorrow to see how well it works. I'm torn between selling it, or possibly a custom base and linear rails. Not sure yet.

Richard

[cjdavis618]

That was probably it, I didn't use the charge pump. I can't remember what the reason was now but there was some reason it didn't work with my setup.

By adding the key to the spindle output, it solved the issue and added an extra level of control anyway.

[emu69]

after initially cooking the 110v transformer( using 240v) replaced it with a suitable one

Thanks for blazing the trail for us 240v users. Are you able to provide specs, part numbers, photos, or any other details on the replacement transformer? I've got one coming for my SX3 (also G540).

Craig

[rwskinner]

Even with the charge pump, I did finally witness the spindle running with Mach closed and the G540 LED being Red. First time I have ever seen this and I have been running G540's for some time now. Although it did it only once out of many tries it was a little weird. The G540 manual even says that the outputs are turned off and the VFD voltage will go to Zero volts if the G540 is disabled (via charge pump or Emergency Stop).

I noticed one other thing about this SX3 controller. Even though the Display Tach shows 1800 RPM, the actual spindle speed is only 1710 using the factory chip and keypad. All other RPMs are fairly close from 100 RPM to 1700. With the replacement chip and board, 5 vdc is indeed 1710 RPM. This has nothing to do with the replacement board and is probably just my controller on my mill.

The spindle speed is pretty linear to the voltage, spin up and down is nice, fast, responsive, quick reversing, and of course plenty of torque.

The cnc conversion board I have does not require the Start/Stop input to be grounded. Speed input controls Start/Stop and then you have Forward/Reverse which actually works out better for the G540 but doesn't provide much of a safety check.

Richard