What spindle motor should I use?
I consider a motor something like this one:
(I have a 1.5Kw Toshiba VFD).
Air or water cooling?
All the same or should I consider a special brand/model…?
Other spindle I should consider (not to expensive) ?
I use a 65mm 1.5kw watercooled spindle on mine with a VFD drive. I made a cooling tower for it that you can ckeck out on openbuilds
http://www.openbuilds.com/builds/spindle-cooling-setup.4080/
Water cooled will run much quieter than an air cooled spindle, and bearings seem to last longer.
I updated my CNC with one of this 800W air cooled.
The standar cooled required a min speed of 7500 rpm and recode the VFD to 2 poles motor. Max speed is 24000 rpm.
I use these 1.5KW chinese water cooled ones with a cheap 400Hz Hunanyang VFD and I control via RS485 from MACH3.
Works very well.
Don’t use an air cooled one unless you don’t care about the terrible noise for hours and hours. I’m currently planning to upgrade to an expensive ATC spindle that needs a 1000Hz VFD and won’t use mine anymore.
Huanyang Inverter is the brand of my VFD. I have spoken to other makers who use the same VFD and they all seem to be pleased.
Will you be selling your 1.5kw setup @Marcus_Wolschon ?
Go 2.4kw so you get a 13mm collet and water cooled is quiet.
@funinthefalls sure. Including VFD, 2 sets of collets and already set up for RS485 control. The next 3 weekends I’ll have 3 jobs to run. Then I can order the new spindle. After delivery I estimate 2 weekends to set things up.
I have a 1.5kW VFD ari cooled setup but its not installed yet (bit nervous) but reading the go watercooled its quieter makes me glad I’ve built a sound deadened den for it all.
@Ritchie_Wilson You may have wanted that even with a water cooled one because the cutter meeting the material is anything but silent too.
@Marcus_Wolschon sent you a message on hangouts
@funinthefalls didn’t receive anything
@Marcus_Wolschon where do you buy your VFD? Would you please give me a link?
@Peter_Spiess I got my VFD together with the CNC mill from Carving-CNC.
For me I use this
http://www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/products-page/cnc-spindle/2200-milling-spindle
With Glycole 50%/water 50% for cooling,
How much does the spindle have to do with the ability to machine aluminum plate? I am well down the path of building a router but need to decide on a spindle. Also, I am trying to decide what size collet I might need. The most common smaller 1.5kw Chinese spindles only has an ER11. The larger 2.2kw spindles have the ER20… Very curious how much these factors (power and collet) matter. Thoughts!?
I milled aluminium just fine. With a reasonable stiff machine and alcohol mist for cooling.
@Marcus_Wolschon thanks. Did you feel like all the end mills you needed could be found to fit the ER11? Or were you wishing for a collet that could take a 1/2" bit?
ER11 allows for a maximum of 8mm.
That’s all I need.
Very seldomly I may want something flatt and with a perfect surface. Then the largest possible end mill would be nice butso far even my 8mm digital 3D probe fits fine.
@Marcus_Wolschon so the 1.5Kw er16 I plan to use should be fine then