Originally Posted by ihavenofish  5000 on everything. top speed of the machine. i actually tried other speeds down to 1000rpm and the spindle torque begins to outshine the frame of the machine  . on my machine, the strategy is usually high rpm, high feed, shallow cuts - either side or axial.
little crown gcode has been redone to use the 1/2" cutter at .02" depth, 100ipm, 75-100% width. it runs far far better like that, and will only take 10 minutes instead of 25 with the 1/4" for the roughing. it ends up being more efficient use of the machine and less strain - and noise.
on the nm-135 i think youd take a different approach. nearly 3 times the spindle power, and more rigidity and mass would make deeper, slower cuts more efficient. |
Do you have a tachometer to verify your actual spindle speed? Tachs are nearly free on ebay. I bought a model "DT-2234C+" (search "New Digital Laser Photo Tachometer Non Contact RPM Tach" on ebay); I tried various pulley configurations on my drill press, and the tach readings almost perfectly match the RPMs on the little pulley drawings tattooed to the drillpress cover. So I'd say the tach "works good".
However, my NM135 spindle seems to top out around 3500rpm
But I think this may be due to a spindle problem (high runout, very noisy, gets hot (the spindle, not the motor)), which the good folks at Novakon are taking care of.