Applies to pretty much every CNC controller on the market:

Spindle control via PWM

 

Nearly every single CNC controller will support controlling a spindle motor via PWM control.  The question always boils down to how exactly does one wire up their specific CNC Controller into our VFD to control the spindle.  In this article I'll cover the very basics of Spindle Control and how we've exposed certain functionality to make it possible.

Our Spindle Control Cable has 6 wires or cores, each one or pair offer a different function.

 

0. Shield Drain - All of our cables are shielded to protect against EMI interference from other components.  That interference must be "drained" into a ground rod to prevent any signal interference to the other wires.  Wire this to a ground rod or someplace to drain interference away from the control cable.

1. PWM - At a bare minimum all CNC Controllers provide either a 0-5v or 0-10v PWM control signal.   Our spindles run between 0-24000rpms... thus at 0volts the spindle should run 0rpms.  For a 0-5v PWM signal, sending 5volts the spindle should run at 24000rpms.  Likewise with a 0-10v signal, sending 5volts the spindle should run at 12000rpms.

2. GND - PWM is nothing without the related ground and this wire pairs with PWM to accept the signal which tells the spindle to run at a specific speed.

3. 10v - It is rare, but there are a few CNC controllers that require a 10 volt power that it'll vary and send back out over the PWM wire.  Thus this wire works in conjunction with PWM/GND for those rare controllers.

4. Forward - The forward function is the wire that'll trigger the spindle to move in the clockwise (CW) direction.

5. Reverse - The reverse function, when triggered, moves the spindle in the counter clock wise (CCW) direction.

6. Digital Common - This white wire will switch between Forward (yellow), Reverse (green), and Standby (nothing) in order to trigger each function.

 

Knowing if and where to wire each wire into your CNC Controller will vary depending on the brand and manufacturer of your CNC machine.  We're happy to help you decipher this elusive information with the help of some photos and details of your machine.

 

As we uncover how to wire our spindle kit into various CNC controllers, we'll publish a quick-start guide here:  https://support.pwncnc.com/kb/section/30/

 

If you're interested in hooking up our spindle systems to your CNC machine, please send details, photos, and any other information you can think of to [email protected] and we'll be happy to help.