Lathe Spindle Motors

[itsme]

Hi,

Is anyone able to tell me what kind of spindle motor would generally be found in a CNC lathe with a C-axis (e.g. for live tooling)? Obviously, it will be a servo, but would it be DC (brushed or brushless), AC etc.?

Thanks

[Al_The_Man]

Either DC or DCBL would work, in many cases in the past a servo motor has been used on the final spindle for C axis control, this is separate to the spindle motor itself.
When not in use for C axis control, the servo action is turned off and the normal spindle motor is used for turning.
Now there are many AC induction motors with drives that will simulate servo action.
This requires a feedback from motor to drive, and also an encoder on the final spindle shaft to the controller.
For example, this feature has been used for some time to orient a mill spindle for tool change etc.
Al.

[itsme]

Hi,

Thanks Al. I didn't think of a seperate servo motor. I guess this approach is functional, but doesn't seem like the most elegant solution to the problem.

It sounds like AC induction motors are the most common now. Are you likely to find DC much at all these days for spindle motors?

Regards