Making the Connections

After the Deck Chief is installed, it is time to power it up and get your machine spinning. The Deck Chief 5HP requires a 30-amp, 200VAC-240VAC, 3-phase, 4-wire circuit (3 hot legs and a ground). There is no internal branch circuit protection, so you must power the Stagehand from a branch circuit with proper over-current protection.

If you have an older Deck Chief, or the images below simply don't match your controller, check out our

With the advent of the Stagehand Apprentice, CCI has homogonized the Deck Chief connections to allow for better modularity between components.

Power Input Connection

The power inlet on the Deck Chief is a L15-30 plug (Hubbell HBL2725). The pin-out is shown below:

200VAC-240VAC 50/60Hz 3-Phase
30FLA

Motor and Brake Connections

Power output connections for a motor and spring-set, fail-safe brake have been combined into a single connector. The connector is a 6-pin rectangular plug used in our Apprentice Motor cables (Harting 09330062602/Mencom CCEM-06). The pin-out is shown below:

Motor Power – 230vac 3-phase 16A max, variable frequency from 0Hz-60Hz
Motor Brake Power – 200/240vac 1-phase 5A max 50/60Hz.

Apprentice Motor Cable - Male Plug Picklist for 1

Motor power is provided by the internal Mitsubishi D700 variable frequency drive (VFD). When the motor is moving, power will be output on the Brake circuit. If a spring-set brake is used, it will be energized and thereby released allowing the motor to move. As soon as the motor movement is complete, power will be removed from the Brake circuit and the brake will engage.

Limits Connection

The Deck Chief is wired to accept signals from four separate limit switches. All switches should be wired Normally-Closed (N.C.). If any signal is not used, a jumper should be installed in the Limit Plug to disable the signal. The connector is a 24-pin rectangular receptacle same as in all our Signal Cable (Harting 09160243001). The pin-out is shown below:

REV Limit – When there is a closed circuit between COM and REV Limit, motion will be allowed in the reverse direction. When the circuit is open, no further motion will be allowed in the reverse direction.
REV SLOW – When there is a closed circuit between COM and REV Slow, motion in the reverse direction will be allowed at the speed set by the Speed Knob. When the circuit is open, reverse motion will only be allowed to proceed at the preset SLOW speed. From the factory, the SLOW speed is set to 5Hz (~8%).
FWD Slow – When there is a closed circuit between COM and FWD Slow, motion in the forward direction will be allowed at the speed set by the Speed Knob. When the circuit is open, forward motion will only be allowed to proceed at the preset SLOW speed. From the factory, the SLOW speed is set to 5Hz (~8%).
FWD Limit – When there is a closed circuit between COM and FWD Limit, motion will be allowed in the forward direction. When the circuit is open, no further motion will be allowed in the forward direction.

Note: Pin 11 provides a constant +24VDC supply that can be used to power NPN (sinking) proximity switches with N.C. outputs such as Automation Direct Part #PFK1-BN-3H.

Signal Cable - Male Plug

Why so many Limit Connections?

At this point, we should stop and discuss the basic operation of the Deck Chief to shed some light on why there are four separate input signals for limit switches. One of the traditional challenges with using limit switches for positioning is the amount of drift that a motor will experience after a limit switch is struck. You must calibrate the switch position to allow for a enough over-travel after the switch is struck. That works fine, until the speed of the motor is changed. The faster the motor is moving when it hits the limit switch, the farther it will drift. To combat this problem the Deck Chief uses a SLOW limit switch. Once the motor hits the SLOW limit switch, it will decelerate to a preset, constant speed. The motor will continue to travel at the SLOW speed until the final LIMIT switch is struck and then it will decelerate to a stop. This allows the motor speed to be adjusted freely, since it will always approach the final LIMIT switch from a preset SLOW speed.

When setting the switch positions, you should set the position of the FWD SLOW switch so that it will be struck before the FWD LIMIT when moving forward. It follows that you should also set the position of the REV SLOW switch so that it is struck before the REV LIMIT when moving forward. The diagram below shows a schematic of how the motor will move in the forward direction.

To describe the sequence depicted above:

The forward button is pressed and released.
The motor accelerates to the speed set on the knob in two seconds.
The motor continues forward at the knob speed until the forward slow switch is struck.
When the forward slow switch is struck, the motor decelerates to the fixed SLOW speed in two seconds.
The motor will continue to move forward at the fixed SLOW speed (not affected by the knob) until the forward limit switch is struck.
When the forward limit switch is struck, the motor decelerates to a stop in two seconds.

Remote Pendant

The Deck Chief has a connector for an optional Remote Pendant. The Remote Pendant has an Emergency Stop circuit and therefore it either must be connected, or the provided Pendant Terminator plug must be inserted to defeat the Remote Pendant feature.

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