Recommend a 110v spindle for 6061 aluminum

[HereinCS]

I'm looking for a good spindle to be used primarily for milling 6061 aluminum. I need for it to run on standard 110v. Thanks.

[DonFrambach]

Have you considered a Taig spindle? Here's a couple of pictures of a Taig spindle mounted on my small router:

[HereinCS]

Originally Posted by DonFrambach Have you considered a Taig spindle? Here's a couple of pictures of a Taig spindle mounted on my small router:

The motor seems a bit large for my project. How much does this cost anyways? I was looking to buy something like a chinese .8kw spindle motor/110v VFD combo, but I'm not sure how well these will do at lower speeds.

[DonFrambach]

Originally Posted by HereinCS The motor seems a bit large for my project. How much does this cost anyways? I was looking to buy something like a chinese .8kw spindle motor/110v VFD combo, but I'm not sure how well these will do at lower speeds.

This spindle, motor, pulleys, etc are a little more than $300. No experience with .8 kw spindles but I understand they don't work well at low rpm's.

Have you considered something like the Bosch colt with a super PID controller? I've seen several videos of that set-up cutting aluminum well.

[HereinCS]

I'm eying the new kelinginc self cooled spindle. Talked to him this morning, it requires a 36V vfd for another $189, around $500 total. I'm not sure about the super PID, unless they sell it as a complete turn key package. I've blown up too many things to trust myself with the installation.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...100Spindle.pdf

[rowbare]

That is an interesting spindle but 100 watts won't get you very far. It seems better suited for light engraving or pcb work.

bob

[RomanLini]

To HereinCS, I won't claim to be unbiased as I designed the Super-PID and use it on my machine, but a good sized router and SuperPID will produce a lot more cutting power than a small VFD spindle like the 0.8kW spindle you mentioned and be cheaper as well.

It's understandable that you may not want to mess with wiring, however the SuperPID does come assembled and tested, and the "wiring" basically means connecting the power wires to it which is similar to connecting the power wires to a VFD spindle. The SuperPID requires mounting of the optical speed sensor on the router, which is some extra work, but there is also quite a lot of user support in the SuperPID thread and directly from myself if you need it.

Don's suggestion of a Taig spindle is more rigid and has heavier stronger bearings than a router, and is more suitable for low-RPM metal work. But there plenty of mid-RPM cutting tools for routers and a lot of people are efficiently cutting aluminium on their routers with speeds of 7000 to 12000 RPM.

[HereinCS]

Originally Posted by RomanLini To HereinCS, I won't claim to be unbiased as I designed the Super-PID and use it on my machine, but a good sized router and SuperPID will produce a lot more cutting power than a small VFD spindle like the 0.8kW spindle you mentioned and be cheaper as well. It's understandable that you may not want to mess with wiring, however the SuperPID does come assembled and tested, and the "wiring" basically means connecting the power wires to it which is similar to connecting the power wires to a VFD spindle. The SuperPID requires mounting of the optical speed sensor on the router, which is some extra work, but there is also quite a lot of user support in the SuperPID thread and directly from myself if you need it. Don's suggestion of a Taig spindle is more rigid and has heavier stronger bearings than a router, and is more suitable for low-RPM metal work. But there plenty of mid-RPM cutting tools for routers and a lot of people are efficiently cutting aluminium on their routers with speeds of 7000 to 12000 RPM.

I think that's a great option if you can help me with a few things. I'd like to put in into a box so that there is no exposed wires. Can the LCD detach so that I can mount it on the wall of a metal box? Secondly, I'd like to make the connection wires use some sort of plug system for quick connect/disconnect. I figure the signal and power wires will be easy, but what's the sensor wire made of?

[RomanLini]

Hi, yes you can detach the LCD and use extended wires, but this requires connecting lots of fiddly wires and goes contrary to your stated issue of not wanting to mess with wires much.

There is at least one example in the SuperPID thread of a setup with an external LCD and photos, and a few people have done it. But really I think you are better off putting the SuperPID in a safe plastic box and just using a small clear window (or a box with a clear front). That way there is the minimum of wiring to do, and the best reliability and simplicity.

The Optical sensor has 2 wires and ground, so any decent quality 3-pin connector will work fine. I've heard a couple of people have ordered an extra optical sensor, and have 2 routers so they just plug in the router the like and plug it's sensor in. This allows changing between (say) a higher RPM router for engraving and a larger low-RPM router for heavy duty cutting.

Maybe you should ask these questions in the SuperPID thread, as other users will be able to advise on what they did to suit their CNC needs rather than just my personal views on it?