Something I noticed with the X2 in particular is the added rigidity you get with direct spindle collets. Because the join between the column and base is the rigidity 'bottleneck' on a stock X2, the higher up the column the head is, the lower the rigidity. This is particularly noticeable on the X2. Using direct collets, the head is lower in the Z travel than it would be if you were using any type of collet chuck. So for me, I saw improved cutting performance with direct collets. This was not enough to offset the shank gripping range and quickness of change that is offered by the ER-collet system though, so I always run an ER-25 on my X2.
It is something to bear in mind if you are running your X2 in steel a lot. |