quick-change system for dremel

[2muchstuff]

A router is nothing more than a universal motor with bearings on either side of the armature with one shaft longer than the other. At the end of the shaft it is machined to recieve a collet and threaded for a nut.

The armature is made up of many layers of steel plates with grooves cut in them for wires to fit. This whole assembly is them pressed onto the shaft to form the armature. To get it off, remove the wire, I use a high speed air driven cut-off tool. Cut a groove lenghtwise across the plates down to the shaft. Be careful as you get to the shaft as not to cut into it, a slight nicking is ok. Pry the goove open and remove the plates from the shaft. Yes it is labor intensive but it can be done. Or you could have a shaft made up to recieve a collet.

[DrStein99]

It would be easier just to mount the router w/ the quick-change system in use and use that as the tool - lol!

I think the routers just have a splined shaft that come out - just like the dremel; only it's larger.

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I've still been looking for a small tool changer and havent found it.

[mhiggins]

Originally Posted by DrStein99 It would be easier just to mount the router w/ the quick-change system in use and use that as the tool - lol!

The router isn't all that smooth running. I suspect cheap bearings and a less than perfectly balanced motor. I hope that once I get the shaft out and add better bearings, it will run true and vibration free in a new spindle assembly.

[mhiggins]

Thanks for the info. I suspected that I would have to cut the shaft out but wasn't entirely sure what I would be up against.

[DrStein99]

You have a good idea. I was working with testing differnt things with my system. Currently, its a dremel attached to a dremmel aluminum handle flex shaft. I use the flex shaft for many reasons; primarily to allieviate pressure from the z-axis w/ viabration, and also building a silencer for the motor.
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In short: The dremel system is a fast, light-weight and workable solution. Once I started adding things like a chuck - or a hevier flex shaft designed for a router - it started producing problems. When I adapted a different system that has more weight or resistance, then the motor and drivetrain for dremel hardware started to become a maintainance issue, as well as losing speed and power, rendering the motor somewhat useless in it's normal high-speed advantage. At that point it would have been more reasonable to hookup a flex-shaft to a sears router and use that - given all the HP behind that system, altough - it simply does not have the 30k rpms I need.

The dremel motor relies on a light-weight, low resistance drive - like a hummingbird.