Well, I’ve just had an AI session in which the AI Guy walked me through the process and ensured that the coil of the magnetic starter is what gets controlled by Centroid, and not the full load of the collector itself. It keeps the thermal overload protection of the magnetic switch intact, or so AI has assured me.I’m cheap, so we were working with a Vevor unit in which the controller is not quite “standard.” I wouldn’t know - I’m a trombone player. Anyway, it involves creating a “pilot cable” that runs a very small current from the relay into the coil of the starter, and keeps the dust collector itself on its own dedicated, grounded 230 volt shop power. It has been running for an hour now, and there is no smoke, there are no arcs of lightning, none of the machinery is glowing red or any color from heat, and there is no pit of the stomach wrenching smell of “something burning,” I think it is working. For anyone interested, here is a finalized analysis/checklist of what “we” did to get things going. CAVEAT! As Sparky," the old electric company mascot used to say, “Careful kids, electricity will KILL you.” There are clearly different schools of thought on what method does what, what the tradeoffs are, and what is safe and what courts disaster. This appears to be working for me - YMMV. Moderators, if you see something here that you deem to be unsafe or out of spec for AVID standards and practices, by all means, yank it. If you do, though, please let me/us know what triggers your concern.
The Archived Blueprint: Controlling a 240V VEVOR Dust Collector via CNC Relay
For routing a pilot control wire from an Avid CNC Auxiliary Power Relay Box (L6-30 Output) to a VEVOR 2HP Dust Collector using a TECO CU-11 Contactor.
Core Hardware Requirements
- Pilot Cable: Round, rubber-jacketed 12/2 or 14/2 SOOW/SJOW flexible stranded extension cord (to handle machine vibration and match the physical clamp diameter of the plug).
- Control Plug: Industrial Bryant or Hubbell L6-30 Twist-Lock Plug (wired using only the two main hot terminals; the green ground terminal remains vacant on the pilot cord).
Electrical Connection Checklist
1. At the Bryant/Hubbell L6-30 Plug End:
- Connect the Black Wire to the first hot prong terminal (Brass/Silver).
- Connect the White Wire to the second hot prong terminal.
- Leave the Green Ground Terminal empty.
2. Inside the VEVOR Switch Box (TECO CU-11 Block):
- Step A (Bypass Factory Controls): Locate the two recessed, ceiling-facing terminals at the top-rear edge of the white TECO block. These are the A1 and A2 coil inputs (measuring ~614 Ohms of resistance). Completely disconnect, tape off, and isolate the factory yellow control/pushbutton wires attached to them.
- Step B (Land the New Pilot Cable): Pass your round, jacketed extension cord into the VEVOR box.
- Connect the pilot Black Wire directly to the Left Top-Rear Coil Terminal (A1).
- Connect the pilot White Wire directly to the Right Top-Rear Coil Terminal (A2).
System Power Isolation & Operation
- The High-Current Motor Feed: The VEVOR’s main heavy 230V 30A power cord plugs directly into a native shop wall receptacle. It is completely isolated from the CNC cabinet.
- The Switched Logic Loop: The Bryant L6-30 pilot plug inserts into the Avid Relay 1 outlet. When the Centroid software triggers the toolpath cycle, the Avid relay delivers an isolated 230V loop down the pilot cable to safely drop the TECO contactor and spin up the collector.
Also, I’m not sure what it is about our basement, but with a correctly implemented ground path for the dust system, electrical noise from the machinery down here still causes the occasional hiccup in the EX box. My next task is to implement a fiber-optic pathway for data to get from the control computer to the EX box (the Aux Box when it gets here). Fiber is unaffected by electrical noise, and the huge headroom should ensure that if data bottlenecks, it will be at the computer or at the EX box. The whole deal for this with careful shopping for brand-name parts, including the 2 media converters (one hardened for placement inside the Aux Box and one commercial unit for the control computer ) from Eaton and the fiber optic cable from Tripp-lite has been, I think, about $150. A LOT less than a ruined slab. I can document and post if there is interest. If it works, GREAT! If not, well, we’ll keep trying.
Jim