ALLEN BRADLEY 1336 Plus II-Multiple Machines?

[DaveKamp]

Excellent links!

Excellent links, J!

I particularly like the latter's style, as it addresses it from a perspective of 'preventive maintenance'.

I've dealt with preventive maintenance of much larger inverters (particularly ABB traction inverters, but some others in the electric rail industry), but my little VFDs haven't been touched... and my thoughts on it, is that I've bought them as running pull-outs, in lots... in most cases, they still had bits of original wiring still attached. Perhaps they just came out of running machines, and had very little time to dry out. IN any event, I haven't had any come through that didn't work and perform well, with exception of the ones I bought that had been physically damaged.

I see that in one of the docs (the WEG?) that for reforming procedure on 200v drives, simply powering it up, and letting it sit with no motor load, is sufficient for reforming... while the higher voltage units indicate a controlled-power procedure.

The procedure I always used on old radio equipment, was to insert a common light-bulb in series with the power leads of the set... and start with a 5w bulb... let it burn for a few hours, then move to a 25w bulb, then a 50w bulb, then a 100w bulb... then direct to the line... and of course, each time I changed the bulb, I'd stand by expecting smoke. I always made it a point to place a battery-operated smoke-detector on the ceiling above the test bench, and make sure the bench was non-conductive and non-combustible, just for safety's sake. I had quite a few 'black beauties' that revealed their character, but I had plenty of corroded old wirewounds, leaky ceramics, and bidirectional rectifiers too.

(I'm still working on a patent for the bidirectional rectifier... and the vacuum-less tube... to go along with the randomly-variable infinite resistor. Next up: the oak welding-rod, for when glue and screws just-isn't-strong-enough)

 

[Richard Daugird]

Never in my life have I felt like there are so many people smarter than me!

My VFD has been sitting for years since I got it, no telling how long it was sitting before. I don't remember where it was shipped from, but it is very humid down here where I live, wonder if it will make a difference? I'll just expect it NOT to work, if it does I'll consider it a bonus.

 

[Jraef]

Never in my life have I felt like there are so many people smarter than me!

My VFD has been sitting for years since I got it, no telling how long it was sitting before. I don't remember where it was shipped from, but it is very humid down here where I live, wonder if it will make a difference? I'll just expect it NOT to work, if it does I'll consider it a bonus.

If they are going to pop, they usually pop immediately if you power them up with full voltage. You'll probably know right away if it happens, the big one that happened to me sent the cover of the drive flying off down a ravine like a frisbee (luckily I wasn't standing in front of it). I've had a couple of small ones pop too, one sounded like a firecracker, the other was more of a fizzie sound but the smell was unmistakeable.

 

[DaveKamp]

Fizzle...

Yeah, they DO go, they tend to exhibit explosive properties similar to an automotive battery...

If it doesn't physically come unglued, or emit magic smoke, you may not have any substantial indication in a VFD that a capacitor has degraded in performance... at least, not without having another like setup in another machine against which to compare.

J's note about the cover leads me to suggest that when you give it the first-time powerup, put a lightbulb in series with it, and just hook it to a 120v outlet... and of course, leave the cover off and face it in a safe direction. That'd give you the opportunity to bring it up a little bit, and if it's gonna spit cans, it'll do it when you're expecting... then work your way up from there.

Humidity in your area MAY have some bearing on wether / how much degradation occurs with time. I would expect that a high altitude, arid locality would draw more out, but there may be other factors much more likely to sway the situation. I've never had any of my A-B's spit caps... and actually, I haven't had ANY cans frag or fizzle without having some condition obviously causing it (blown rectifiers, etc), but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

[Richard Daugird]

Update a couple years later... I got my Millrite going with a TECO FM 50. Amazing little piece of technology; smaller than a Machinery's Handbook, converts 110v to 220 3 phase. Variable speed, and other features as well. Definitely worth the $180. Excellent customer support from Factorymation. Probably spent an hour on the phone coaching my dumbass.