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A large servo motor/driver/encoder combo works well for me, and is fully controllable through mach3. I've geared it up so that I have about 7k rpm at the tool.
Paul
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Im looking for suggestions on what to use for a spindle and motor. Its looking strongly like Im going to probably build a CNC from scratch.
I think my chances are pretty good on being able to score linear bearing rails and ball screws at work, so I think it would be better for me to build my own instead of spending the money on a manual system and converting it.
So b/c of that, Im going to have to find a spindle and a motor to use in my build. I suppose its possible that I might be able to get one from work too, but Im pretty sure that anything they might have at work, would be extreme overkill and just physically too large to work w/ what I would want or need.
The vast majority of the work on the machine would probably be aluminum w/ occasional brass & copper. It might see an occasional steel job, but that would be rare, b/c of what I have in mind for the machine.
Milling, Drilling and Tapping obviously would be the operations run on the machine, so that would need to be kept in mind. I dont imagine I'd need more than 2-3k RPM's since most of the tooling is likely to be smaller, 1/2" mills and smaller. Occasionally might see larger boring using boring bars and such, but I wouldnt expect it to happen often at all.
A large servo motor/driver/encoder combo works well for me, and is fully controllable through mach3. I've geared it up so that I have about 7k rpm at the tool.
Paul
Hmmm, that might be something I could get from work then. They use pretty good sized motors to run the axes' on the machines they build. I'll see if I can get a picture of one when I go back to work on the 4th.
Remember that for a given spindle speed, small diameter tools have a lower surface speed than larger diameter tools. Because you're not cutting materials that need low surface speeds (ie, steel or cast iron) you may want to be looking at 6-10krpm spindle speeds rather than 2-3.Originally Posted by Adam Baker
What size motor are you using, and for what type of machine? I'm considering upgrading to a Nema34 (660W) BLDC motor from Keling as an upgrade for my Sherline spindle, geared 2:1 to get 6krpm. thanks.
Yea, your right. For some reason I was thinking smaller tools needed lower RPM's, but thats backwards.
Just throwing it out there but I retro-fitted an X2 head onto my custom mill. I get 4500RPM at full speed with my belt drive kit. I've yet to find an issue with this setup. Its a cheaper solution but still effective.
Oh yeah, if you're in the US, its easy enough getting an X2 or X3 head from somewhere like littlemachineshop. Not so convenient on the other side of the Atlantic :-/
You could also get a sherline ER16 spindle relatively cheaply almost anywhere and power that with your own motor/beltdrive. In theory those things are good to 10k, though that's probably pushing it a bit.
You probably don't want a router, though. General consensus seems to be that they're pretty noisy, don't have great runout, and probably don't have great bearing life either.
The Sherline spindles are great, rugged little units(aside from their mounting strategy). Once properly affixed, they are good for 10k+ rpms and quite rugged and true for their size and weight. X2 spindles are a bit larger/beefier units and are also a great value - for 1/4" smaller tools and higher rpms, the Sherline gets my vote - if more work will be done with larger tools, the x2 head is likely the better candidate.
www.rc-monster.com
Is it possible to buy just the head for the X2? Unfortunately the machines we build at work dont have spindle heads on them. We build Grinder, Laser Welders & Water Jet machines, so I cant get one there.
www.rc-monster.com
Thanks Mike. I looked and they sell the entire head w/ motor for 299 which I could do.
Im not overly familiar w/ the tooling, which one is better/ larger number of accessories available?
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