What is the best way to mount a RotoZip

[thackman]

Hi everyone,

I have a cnc mill that tops out at 5,000 RPM and I'd like to side mount a RotoZip RZ2 for woodworking purposes. I made a bracket out of 1/2" aluminum plate that would clamp to the spindle nose on the mill and the nose of the rotozip. The bracket clamps very solidly to the mill but the rotozip rocks around about 10 degrees. It turns out that the nose of the RotoZip is .015" out of round and I can't get it to clamp at more than two points. I also can't tighten the clamp very much because it puts too much pressure on the Rotozip bearings. I could move up to 3/4" plate but I don't think it's going to solve the problem. I also tried sanding down the high spots but the spindle nose is more oval than round.

What have some of you tried? I'm considering a second clamp higher up on the rotozip but that will be harder to fabricate.

[TOTALLYRC]

Originally Posted by thackman Hi everyone, I have a cnc mill that tops out at 5,000 RPM and I'd like to side mount a RotoZip RZ2 for woodworking purposes. I made a bracket out of 1/2" aluminum plate that would clamp to the spindle nose on the mill and the nose of the rotozip. The bracket clamps very solidly to the mill but the rotozip rocks around about 10 degrees. It turns out that the nose of the RotoZip is .015" out of round and I can't get it to clamp at more than two points. I also can't tighten the clamp very much because it puts too much pressure on the Rotozip bearings. I could move up to 3/4" plate but I don't think it's going to solve the problem. I also tried sanding down the high spots but the spindle nose is more oval than round. What have some of you tried? I'm considering a second clamp higher up on the rotozip but that will be harder to fabricate.

1. The plastic housings on the rotozip stink.
The cutting forces will cause the end of the housing to deflect.
Take a look at the aluminum end housing rotozip

2. You are correct, applying more than a little presure causes the bearings to bind.
3. The way I mounted mine was to put a gauge pin in the collet and set this level in my milling machine, I then milled the side to a nice large flat area.
I drilled through four of the six case screws and the tapped my mounting plate to match. Holds the machine real rigid except for the flex of the housings.
I am looking into the bosch colt which has been recomended by many here on the zone. I took a look at it the other day when I was at Lowe's and like what I saw. Doesn't come with 1/8" collets however.

[johnmac]

I have read the same thing about the Rotozip as TOTALLYRC. I would recommend using a trim router, too.

John