Hello everyone - I purchased a 1.5kw spindle a long time ago and recently installed it after my Makita burned up. I’m getting Err 01 occasionally in the middle of an op – the spindle stops entirely but the machine keeps moving. I’ve been able to save the bit twice now but both my luck and patience are running thin.
I’m using the Onefinity Blackbox controller, but the Spindle is in manual mode with no connection the OF or the BB.
The job is rather long at 50 mins with some heavy cutting in hard maple but I feel like my feeds and speeds are relatively modest - 150ipm at 0.25’ DOC for pockets, and 0.1" DOC for profile. I decreased my DOC for the profile cut after the last failure, but this time it failed in the pocket. I can change the cut depth again but that only drags out the op.
I’ve searched a couple places and “the internet” says:
A VFD error code of Err01 indicates that the output current is higher than the over-current value while the frequency inverter is running at a constant speed.
So, am I simply overwhelming the spindle and it is stalling? Could it be over heating in some way (it is air cooled rather than water cooled)?
If it matters, the VFD is on a separate 15amp circuit (might be 20 but I don’t think so).
Hi Chris – I did not. I reduced feed rate and DOC and was able to finish the session, though 2x longer cut time than I wanted (or is necessary). Based on their website the error is just as I described - over current.
If I had reached out, I suspect the answer would have been (1) slow down, (2) get a bigger spindle, or (3) don’t use hard maple
Every time it failed it seemed like a change in wood density - maple can be pretty gnarly at times. I think that presumed change in density caused the spindle briefly slow down or increase current requirements, which caused the error. For the record, I did eventually break the bit on the 3rd failure – so I want $40 back!
Curious if I can increase the overcurrent limit in the settings? I’ve not dug into the settings in any way – simply trusted the device to be reasonably configured upon arrival.
Seems dumb that a $100 router outperforms a $850 spindle with relatively reasonable feeds and speeds. Yes my Makita would have been too hot to touch afterwards and vibrating like nobody’s business, but it would have finished without 4 wasted parts and a broken bit.
Not PWN’s fault IMHO - likely any 1.5kw spindle would suffer the same outcome. Disappointing nevertheless.
I imagine it would be very frustrating and confusing for a beginner.
Yeah, this is a tricky case.
Don’t want to slow down feedrate because the chips produced serve as a cooling agent for the bits. Don’t want to speed up for the same reason.
I started out with a 1.5kw and found that when i had problems with dense hard woods, slowing down like 5% helped while reducing DOC. Now that i have a 2.2kw, I’ve broken a $120 1/2" bit in white oak, so sometimes it’s also we can’t push the hobby machines as hard as we need to and likewise the spindles either.
The reason your makita would have made it thru is induction motor vs electric motor. Induction motors (as found in spindles) are electro magnetically driven meaning magnets flip polarity to drive the shaft. This is opposed to the router which is like a direct drive driven by electricity. That’s the reason your makita would finish it, and the spindle was put into a self protect mode.
I’m not 100% but i believe if you were to change the overcurrent protection you would either trip the breaker (most likely) or burn the motor (possible, but not as likely… the first time). The benefit of a spindle is that while yours tops out at 12A, it runs normally under a light load at less and as the load increases it uses more power. Your job required more power than it could give. Error 34 is another one with similar circumstances, but 99% means taking too big of a bite for the bit at one time.
Thanks Chris – totally get it. That said, 12amps is 12amps – that equals some amount of “horsepower” – I would expect the spindle to deliver as much “power” as the Makita regardless of technology involved. But I’m not so foolish to believe all the technology making the spindle “variable” isn’t also “protecting” itself from instantaneous current spikes leading my problem. But I would expect the spindle to clamp the current and “operate through” like the Makita rather than simply stopping. I guess if the VFD was connected to the controller, the machine would have also stopped and I may of had the opportunity to save the workpiece or the bit.
Semi-related, I’m not sure your characterization of the motors is quite accurate. Both motors drive the shaft by coupling magnetic energy from electrical current into mechanical energy – that is, both are “electro magnetic” in nature. The difference being in how the magnetism is turned into mechanical energy. With the Makita, the magnets are fixed and move the shaft because the AC current changes over time around commutator and the brushes. I believe the spindle moves the shaft because the VFD is changing the magnetism over time rather than fixed magnetic positions – did I get that right?
You’re right about the difference, i gave an overly simplistic explanation to speak to someone without as much technical knowledge.
A dull bit could cause it since the vfd is calling for the spindle to work harder. Google chipload if you don’t know what it is, but a low chipload for the bit dulls them like nothing else
