Cover plate for GA500 VFD

Having mounted the keypad for the GA500 on the outside of the control cabinet for the CNC Bantam, I'm left with a hole in the cover of the main VFD. This isn't ideal, leaving the control circuitry exposed (albeit within an enclosure) and at the very least looks pretty crap.

But all is not lost. Yaskawa make the CAD models available for all their drives and related accessories, so it's a fairly simply matter of downloading the step file and printing it out:

This I did, directly from the STP file download into the Orca slicer. 

Looks nice, if you can ignore those ripples on the front face.

But there's a catch. That was the first time I've printed a part directly from a downloaded STP file. However, it turns out that it's actually an assembly of 3 components, including 2 covers - one for the USB cable and the other for the RJ45 cable (to the remote operator). 

Trying to remove the 2 covers doesn't end well. I got one off but the other is truly "as one" with the main body.

And when you look at the assembly, it's clear that they actually intersect. Or to put it another way, they are well and truly fused together. Damn. I should have imported them into Fusion to check them first. 

So, simple solution - hide the 2 covers and re-export the cover.

That worked out ok in the end. In another stroke of luck, I found a baby short ethernet cable (25cm or so) that was just perfect for the remote operator.

Final touch - I replaced the phase and ground cables from the VFD to the 16A receptable. They aren't screened but at least they won't burst into flame if subjected to the rated 15A phase current. I probably won't ever do the full 4kW but for low speed high torque conditions (eg tapping?), I may need to generate some high currents. Just visible in the last photo.

Wiring up the Yaskawa GA50 - mounting the remote operator on the cabinet

I need to remove the original Xtravert VFD remote operator keypad from the cabinet and replace it with the Yaskawa one. Like the Xtravert panel, the Yaskawa one simply unclips from the front of the main VFD and can be mounted on the outside of the cabinet where it can report parameters such as the output frequency, current, power etc.

Unfortunately, although they provide 3D CAD models for most of their drives and accessories, the Remote Keypad Mounting Kit for GA500 ZPBA-GA500 isn't included. They suggest that as this is a simple part, you could easily make it yourself from the 2D PDF drawings provided. 

This is what it looks like:

Hmm. Not a lot of use. However, all is not lost. I downloaded the relevant CAD assembly (STP file) from Yaskawa website It was then "just" a matter of perhaps 2 hours buggering about in Fusion to isolate just the main cover, then chop off the majority of the features, then tidy it up.

This is the complete assembly:

It's surprisingy complete, although clearly doesn't include PCBAs, caps etc.

This is the remote operator bit. I want to create a part that mates with and accommodates it:

And this is what I ended up with. All the mating edges, clips, supports etc are inherited. They would have taken me days to replicate.

Turned out OK:

Now that I seem to have got that working, the final step is to create a mounting flange. As well as providing some additional mechanical support, it also covers the nasty screw holes that were inherited from the original Xtravert keypad.

Printed it out:

Looks good to me.

I need to open up the previous cable hole so that I can get the RJ45 connector through - without showering the VFD and other electronics with steel swarf.

Deburr and fit, then vacuum up the swarf:

Looks almost workmanlike. This is what you will see when looking down on the cabinet when it is finally fastened to the end of the lathe:

That will do for now.