Hooking up your PRSalpha Gantry Tool
Powering the PRSalpha Control Box
The power to the PRSalpha control box should be wired into a fused disconnect by a licensed electrician familiar with industrial equipment.
The Power Requirements for the PRSalpha control box and Router/Spindle vary according to your configuration. The table below outlines some of the power requirements for different configurations. A schematic for the power requirements for your specific configuration can be found in the door of the PRSalpha control box
Since the power requirements for a Porter Cable router and for a spindle are different, we install different components in the PRSalpha control box depending on which you will be using. This is not user configurable. Configurations were specified at the time these components were ordered.
US Standard, 60Hz
PRSalpha Control Box and Porter Cable Router:
220V single phase, 20A circuit. The 2 legs will be split into two 110 circuits inside the PRSalpha control box: one for the PRSalpha control box, and one for the router.
PRSalpha Control Box and Spindle (3 phase):
110V 20A circuit for the PRSalpha control box plus 230V 3-phase circuit for the spindle. Specifications for full-load current of the different models of spindle are provided with the spindle.
PRSalpha Control Box and Spindle (single phase):
110V 20A circuit for the PRSalpha control box plus 220V single phase circuit for the spindle. Specifications for full-load current of the different models of spindle are provided with the spindle.
PRSalpha Control Box and two Porter Cable routers:
220V single phase, 30A circuit. The 2 legs will be split into two 110 circuits inside the PRSalpha control box: one for the PRSalpha control box, and one for the two routers.
PRSalpha Control Box and two Spindles:
110V 25A circuit for the PRSalpha control box plus the appropriate 220V or 230V circuit for the spindles.
European Standard, 50Hz
PRSalpha Control Box and 230V/50Hz Porter Cable Router (single speed)
230V single phase line with 15A circuit for the PRSalpha control box plus 15A/230V single phase line for the Porter Cable Router.
PRSalpha Control Box and Spindle (3-phase)
230 V single phase circuit (15A) for the PRSalpha control box plus 380V 3-phase circuit for the Spindle. Specifications for full-load current of the different models of spindle are provided with the spindle.
Mount the PRSalpha Control Box
Mount the PRSalpha control box to the front side of the machine, on the right of the left most leg on ShopBot models with cutting lengths 48-120”; for ShopBot models with cutting lengths 144” or greater, mount the control box on the right side of the second leg from the left.
Included Hardware
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| The major components needed for the control box installation are the mounting brackets. 2 z-shaped upper control box brackets (002579) and a lower control box bracket (002579) plus T-nuts, button head screws and washers. There are a few pieces of ½” hardware included as well in this kit. The z shaped upper control box brackets will be used to mount the control box to the inside face of the table sides. The upper brackets have been designed so that they may be flipped around if need to accommodate for table cross supports that appear in the way. The lower control box bracket will secure the lower control box to the side of the leg. |
Installation
|  | Locate the 4 T-nut ball & spring pivot inserts (000728) and place them on the inside face of the tableside in lowest slot.
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|  | Using the 3/4” button head screws and flat washers loosely attach the upper control box bracket to the T-nuts inside the table side slot.
Do this with both upper control box brackets. Be aware that their orientation may need to be flipped to keep from interfering with the existing cross supports.
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|  | Mount the lower control box bracket to the lower left tab of the control box using 2 flat washers, 1” button head screw, and nylock nut.
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|  | Space the upper control box brackets at the approximate distance of the tabs on the control box. Lift the control box into place and mount using the 2 flat washers, 1” button head screw, and nylock nut for each bracket.
Slide the control box toward the left most leg on the machine and attach the lower control box bracket to the leg.
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|  | Using the ½”x1 ½” bolt, 2 flat washers, 2 lock washers and nut, securely mount the lower control box bracket to the side of the leg.
Once the lower bracket is firmly in place tighten the button head screws fastening the upper brackets to the table sides.
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Explore the PRSalpha Control Box
| After the electrician has hooked up your control box and router or spindle, it’s time for you to get involved again. The electrician is not expected to know how to hook-up the tool itself to the control box. That process is covered in the following instructions.
Disconnect electrical power to the Control Box.
Open the side of the box with a screwdriver (quarter turn). Note that the door cannot be opened or closed unless the switch is turned off.
The control box has an interlock for the router/spindle. This interlock allows for the power to the router/spindle to be disconnected without interrupting power to the machine. The switch must be engaged for the router/spindle to run. This means added safety for manual tool changes during a cutting file. |  |
The contactors, located at the top of control box, are the large relays that control power to the equipment. They are controlled by the E-Stop and by software. The size of the contactor may vary with the power requirements of the device it is powering. Additional contactors for additional devices (example, second router or spindle) are added to the left of the standard contactors.
The Fuses in the control box (US 60Hz power) are dependent upon the setup:
Porter Cable router (single): 1@ 30A fuse, 1@ 15A fuse
Porter Cable routers (two): 1@ 30A fuse, 2@ 15A fuses
Spindle: 1@ 30A fuse, no other fuses (spindles are protected by fused disconnect before the control box.)
Troubleshooting:
Although the fused disconnect should protect the control box, if you lose power to everything in the control box, please check the fuses and replace if necessary.
Inside the PRSalpha Control Box
Your box may not be exactly the same as illustrated depending on the model.
1. Disconnect switch
2. Grounding strip
3. Fuses
4. 24v Power Supply
5. 12v Power Supply
6. Contactors
7. Motor drivers – 4
8. Roxtec Fixture
9. Inputs/Outputs
10. to separate E-stop switch
11. to 3-Button Pendant
Open the Roxtec Fixture
You will be routing cables through the Roxtec Wire Management Fixture attached to the side of the PRSstandard control box. This device gives all wires a tight entry and will seal your PRSstandard control box against dust and debris. Below is the manufactures suggested installation.
Disassembly: Reverse the order of the above steps
- For optimum reliability, wait 24 hours or longer after installation before exposing the cables to strain or pressure
- Try to route cables perpendicularly through the frame
Once you have attached all of the cables inside the PRSstandard control box, you will run the cables through the modules and tighten the fixture to keep dust out of the PRSstandard control box. You may need to run more than one of the smaller cables in the same gasket. Hold off on tightening the Roxtec modules completely (step 7) until all cables and wires are routed inside and out of the control box.
Connect the VFD and Spindle
Run power from the ShopBot Control Box to the VFD Power to the VFD must be connected to the proper contactor in the ShopBot Control Box. This is necessary for the safety systems to work correctly if the Emergency Stop button is pressed. The Yaskawa VFDs supplied by ShopBot has a power cable pre-installed at the factory.
NOTE: Be sure to turn off control box and disconnect from incoming power before starting installation.
- After your ShopBot Control Box is in place as described in the assembly instructions and the VFD is mounted, run the black cable from the VFD to the vacant cord grip in the bottom of the Control Box. You will find this near the input power cables.
- Insert the cable from the VFD into the cord grip, pushing enough wire into the control box to reach the spindle contactor(s) and the ground bus bar.
- Connect to contactor #2 for a single spindle (#1) and contactor #6 for a second spindle (#2). Refer to the “Control Component Placement Diagram” (000943-00) included in the door of the ShopBot Control Box to locate the contactors.
- Connect the Green wire from the VFD power cable to the ground bus bar, located under the main disconnect in the Control Box. (#2 in the "Inside the Control Box" photo above above)
- Connect the line conductors from the VFD to the proper contactor using the following terminals:
| 3 Phase Spindles | Single Phase Spindles |
| 2T1 – Black wire | |
4T2 – White wire
| |
| (White wire not used – clip off) | |
| 6T3 – Red wire | 6T3 – Red wire |
| Ground – Green wire | Ground – Green wire |
Connect the brown VFD cable to the Control Box.
The brown cable may have one of two possible wire combinations. One combination has three wires black, white, and red (red clipped back). The second combination has three wires black, green, and red (red clipped back). The white and green are interchangeable.
- Make sure the VFD is OFF before proceeding.
- The VFD has been pre-wired with the brown cable at the factory.
- Run the brown cable from the VFD to the Control Box.
- Pass the brown cable from the VFD through the cable access in the right side of the Control Box.
- Connect the black wire and the white (or green) wire from the brown cable into the VFD terminals on the Control Board labeled “VFD1” (For a second spindle, use the terminals labeled “VFD2”). Connect the black wire to the “FWD” terminal and the white (or green) wire to the “DCM” terminal. The red wire is not used and should be clipped back.
On ShopBot Control Board
Attach the Fan Connection plug to HSD spindle
- Make sure that power to the control box is disconnected.
- Locate the Fan Connection plug with attached 36ft cable.
- Attach the Fan Connection plug to the front face of the HSD spindle.
- Tighten the screw inside the Fan Connection plug.
Attach the cable from the Fan to the 24V Power Supply inside the Control Box.
The PRSalpha comes with a 24v power supply already installed in the Control Box.
- Locate the 24v power supply already installed in the Control Box.
- Strip back ~ ¼” of insulation from both the red and black wires at the loose end of the cable from the fan connection plug.
- Route the cable inside the control box.
- Connect the red wire to the (+) side and the black wire to the (-) on the top of power supply.
Connect the power cable from the VFD to the spindle.
- Plug the electrical connector into the HSD spindle power plug.
- Depress the metal clip until it snaps in place.
- Re-connect and turn on the Control Box. The fan should power up and start turning when the control box is turned on.
Plug the Motor Cables into Drivers
Bring the motor cables through the Roxtec opening and plug them into to the drivers which are the black boxes arrayed horizontally in the control box (#7 in the open PRSalpha control box illustration shown earlier).
Plug each motor cable into its driver. The white plug fits the white receptacle on the driver in only one way. Make sure it is aligned correctly and fully seated.
From the entry point of the cables:
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X1 (one red tape) and X2 (two red tapes) go to the two drivers at the far right. As those two drivers are both on Channel 1 (they move simultaneously), an X motor cable can be plugged into either driver.
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The Y motor cable (blue tape) is plugged into Channel 2, the 3rd driver from the right.
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The Z motor cable is plugged into Channel 3, the 4th driver from the right.
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Additional motors (Accessory Z, etc.) would be plugged into the additional drivers to the left of the 4 standard drivers.
Emergency Stop Switch and the 3-Button Pendant
The 3-Button Pendant and the separate E-Stop are bundled together for shipping. Both must be attached in order for the E-Stop and the 3-Button Pendant to function. Order of attachment does not matter.
The ShopBot 3-Button Pendant allows you to place the reset, start and extra emergency stop buttons at a convenient location away from the control box. It has been prewired so that hooking it up to your control box entails plugging the terminal block from the pendant into the control board inside the control box. Your control box may differ slightly from pictures in the manual depending on which model you have.
The separate E-Stop Switch also comes fitted with a terminal block that plugs into the control board. Power for the router or spindle is routed through the control box safety controls so that activating the E-stop by hitting the RED BUTTON will stop the movement of the carriages and power down the router or spindle. We suggest mounting this to the gantry on your machine in an easy-to-access location. See section on Mounting the E-Stop Switch.
Note: If you try to run the ShopBot without the E-Stop connected, Input #4 will flash red on the computer screen and the ShopBot Control Software will not allow the ShopBot to move.
Installing the rest of the cables
Run the cables from the 3-Button Pendant and the separate E-stop switch into the control box through the Roxtec opening and plug in the terminal blocks as shown below.
Below: The control box before the terminal block from the 3-Button Pendant is attached. Note that the terminal block for the separate E-Stop has not been attached yet.
Below: The terminal block from the separate E-Stop has been plugged in and the 3-Button Pendant block is being positioned.
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Below: Terminal blocks from the 3-Button Pendant and from the separate E-Stop in place.
Proximity Switch and Z-zero Plate
Run the cables from the proximity switches and the Z-zero plate through the Roxtec opening into the control box.
Inside the control box, take the Proximity Switch cable for the X-axis and place its black wire into Input 2 on the blue terminal block on the control board. Then take the proximity switch cable for the Y-axis and place its black wire into Input 3 on the same blue terminal block on the control board. The blue wires from both of the switches are placed in Gnd (ground). The brown wires from both of the switches will be placed in the +24V position on the blue output terminal block. Note that the terminal blocks can be removed to make wire insertion easier.
When the control box is powered up a red LED in the body of the proximity switch out on the tool will stay bright until it is triggered by coming near a target.
Now also plug in the Z-zero plate. The black wire goes in the Input#1 terminal and the white (or green) wire goes into a ground terminal (Gnd; you can use the one on the Input terminal block or the one on the Output block). The red wire goes to 5+ (it is only used by the digitizing probe).
There is USB cable connector for attaching the USB cable that will connect your control box to your computer. It is a short cable that exits on the right side of the Control Board. Plug the longer 10ft cable supplied with your ShopBot into this connector and run the longer cable out of the control box through the Roxtec fixture. Do not plug the USB cable into your computer at this point.
Seal the Roxtec Cable Entry
Ground the ShopBot PRSalpha
The Table of the ShopBot should be grounded to System Ground at the power box that supplies the control box. Attach the grounding wire (14-16 gauge) at a convenient bolt on the table, making sure to scratch off paint under the bolt.
Remember that your dust collection system should also be grounded to the system ground. See alpha Dust Skirt Documentation for details on grounding the alpha dust skirt hoses to the dust collection device.
In the next section, Getting Going, we'll install the ShopBot Control Software and get connected, get the tool moving, install and adjust the prox switch targets, and surface the table. 
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