I am willing to put my investment on a good spindle motor, What is the best Spindle motor for Openbuilds OX? #newbie
I need people recommendation
thanks
If you are going with a router as a spindle, make sure you get one that takes the aftermarket ER collets so you can use a wider assortment of bit shank sizes.
The best is probably made in Germany and costing $15000+, so I doubt you really want the best.
What you probably mean is what is the best price/performance for a hobbyist router like the Ox.
I am going the other way - I have a professional 3kw water-cooled spindle and I want to get a Kress 1050. The pro spindle is way too heavy for the Ox and the need for a VFD and all the cabling palaver that entails is overboard for a hobby-level CNC router.
@chanchhaychhada_noun You don’t say where in the world you live - that has a great bearing on what you buy. Also what you want to do with the CNC.
For 99% of hobbyist stuff, the Kress 850 and 1050 will be perfect, but there are cheap alternatives from China that can give a great result, just as there are some good routers that will work within certain boundaries.
@David_Kirtley good call thanks,
@Mike_Thornbury I want something that best for the OX CNC, im not going pro just yet, and I just want to cut soft metal like 6061aluminum and G10 fiber glass. Thanks you for mentioning the Kress, it look fantastic but the price point is a little bit too high. Saved to an upgrade list for now.
There is no generic best you can point to. There are many variables and you have to match the needs. Do you need a tool changer? Is it going to be running long hours and need water cooling? What size tools are you going to be using? Are you going to be cutting small pieces and need engraving or are you going to be doing really deep pocketing or cutting deep relief? How much weight can you support with your gantry? How fast are you going to be cutting in each direction? Budget is always a concern.
With the spindle on a moving gantry, you want to keep it as small and light as possible because of the inertia of moving it around, the deflection of the gantry because of the weight, and the travel it will take up by the physical dimensions of the spindle.
What size cutters are you going to use? The spindle speed is related to both the material and the diameter of the cutters.Some of the really small cutters don’t perform well until you get up to 60,000 rpm and beyond (like the dentists use) Some can’t handle high speeds which is a problem that many routers run too fast for them.
You say the Kress (which is $120) is too expensive - I wonder what you think you can buy for less that will take a decent collet? I guess you really are after a router, not a spindle and if you think $120 is too much, get something basic like a MacTek trim router. You will only be able to use 1/4"/6.35mm bits, and the runout will be poor.
+Mike Thornbury $120? Last night I did a quick search what i saw was like around $300, so where can I buy Kress 800 FME for 120?
@David_Kirtley I can say most of my application will be contouring, cutting depth around “an inch” of coz multiple cutting path, and I will cut/drill using a HSS or Carbide drill/endmill, I need community approval that’s why I start the discussion basically i want to know what people are using 
@chanchhaychhada_noun I am not clear on what you mean by needing community approval.
Anything with little runout and will hold a bit securely will suffice as long as you match the speeds and feeds. The smaller the bit, the more critical the runout will be. A woodworking router would cut it easily but the problem with most of them is the limited selection of collet sizes, lack of good speed control, and the lack of cooling for long runtimes. The special made water cooled spindles will serve better for long runtime. If you want to expand your range of materials, a woodworking router won’t go slow enough for cutting steel well as example.
@chanchhaychhada_noun directly from Kress. If they don’t have a distributor in your country (like mine - they don’t) you can buy direct. And an 800 would be even cheaper - about 89 euro. The 1050 is 120 euro.
@David_Kirtley i mean i need help from the community, people like you jump in and help with advice and useful knowledge i think i will go with Bosch 1617EVS
@Mike_Thornbury Oh yes i am living in the US, I might have to contact them, but i did some research it seem like people have a good luck with 1617EVS Bosch. I think i will go pick one up at Home Depot or $150 from amazon, it cost all most the same as 1050 Kress. But I don’t know yet at this point I still have some time to dig in since i am waiting for the OX’s parts.
There’s no comparison between a German purpose-built spindle with proper collets and a router. The run-out is probably 10x that of the Kress. If that sort of tolerance is ok with you, then go for it.
It all depends on yor goals and tolerances. Routers, dedicated spindles, adapted milling heads like a Taig, high precision engraving spindles like Wolfgang Engineering makes. Maybe even a drag knife or a laser. There is not one “best” solution. They all have limitations and advantages. The materials you work with, the removal rates, the precision required, the tooling you use, the cooling and more will define what you should use.