Belt drive is great but killed my torque. Is this a problem?

[webgeek]

Hi all; I just added the Steele belt drive to my Sieg X2 mill because I was sick of the low RPM and the horrible noise the gears made. The belt drive is a beautiful piece of work and bolted right on - providing both much higher RPM and nice and quite operation. The build quality is excellent and I highly recommend this to anyone wanting the change.

The only problem is that the torque of the motor is terrible when in "high speed". I do almost all of my cutting with 1/8" and 1/4" end mills in aluminum and generally speaking I'll be running flat out all the time (4300 RPM) according to my understanding of feeds/speeds.

So my question is this: do I need to replace the included controller to remove the "current limiter" on it and just add some cooling to the motor? Is this a realistic option? And is this even a problem? Thanks!

Mike

[Jeff-Birt]

Well yes, if you increase speed you will decrease torque. I would guess though that your issue has more to do with feeds/speeds/depth of cut than available torque. As an example on my Taig mill, which has a 1/4HP motor and speed ranges from 1000 to 10000 RPM in six ranges. I was doing some test cutting in 6061 a few weeks ago with a 5/16" two flute end mill and could cut at 30 IPM with a 0.020" (or so) DOC. This was much faster than plunging twice the depth with a greatly reduced feed.

[mrcodewiz]

I have the same belt kit and i pretty much keep it on the high speed grooves all the time. I normally use 1/4, 5/16, and 3/8 end mills - 1/2 rarely. The only time I have ever had a problem with the decreased torque is when drilling holes with normal drills. I end up using the lower speed for that.

[webgeek]

The only time I have ever had a problem with the decreased torque is when drilling holes with normal drills. I end up using the lower speed for that.

Thanks - I guess I won't worry about it

I knew I'd lose some torque in the conversion but being able to easily stop the spindle by hand was a bit of a surprise. Also turning it on and having it shut down while spinning up with a surprise too.

Mike

[mrcodewiz]

Well,I don't think that sounds right then. Not that I have tried but I don't think I can stop my spindle by hand. It also doesn't stop while it is spinning up.

[webgeek]

Well,I don't think that sounds right then. Not that I have tried but I don't think I can stop my spindle by hand. It also doesn't stop while it is spinning up.

The Steele instruction booklet references how if you start the motor to full speed quickly on high gear, it will overload - that's exactly the behavior I see, I need to ramp it up over a few seconds. Also, I'm willing to bet you can stop the spindle by hand if you try. It's surprisingly easy.

[mrcodewiz]

Yeah you are right about ramping it up to full speed. I remember that now. I have been using it so long that I guess it is just old hat for me to spin the knob slowly. You can stop the spindle by hand once it is up to speed or by holding it as you attempt to bring it to speed?

[ibuildstuff4u]

I had the same problem and solved it by changing out the stock power supply with one that puts out more amps and a bit more voltage. I'm very happy with the results and my mill has a ton more torque and even more RPM with the power supply change. My new low speed is around 2500 RPM and the high is 6300 RPM so I do most of my work in the low speed and only use the high for really little end mills.

Here is a link for the Mod.

http://szabaga.com/x2/power/

Dale P.

[webgeek]

You can stop the spindle by hand once it is up to speed or by holding it as you attempt to bring it to speed?

When it's up to full speed, I can grab the spindle at the bottom and stop it by hand. I don't have gorilla strength or anything like it either - it's just not that hard.

I had the same problem and solved it by changing out the stock power supply with one that puts out more amps and a bit more voltage. I'm very happy with the results and my mill has a ton more torque and even more RPM with the power supply change. My new low speed is around 2500 RPM and the high is 6300 RPM so I do most of my work in the low speed and only use the high for really little end mills.

Ah, thanks! That's both informative and just what I was looking for! I'm not yet sure if I'll want to switch but that's the route I'll be going if/when I replace the controller board. Very good stuff and a helpful site you have there. Thanks again!

Mike

[webgeek]

Ah, forgot to ask in my last post - is it possible to use VFD with that board? That's actually something I really want to do going forward. Thanks!

Mike

[knudsen]

I was considering the same conversion and was concerned about the torque. Please let us know how the board swap goes and if it cures the high RPM blues...