Sherline 10,000 RPM Industrial Spindle ?

[tjstraz]

I'm building a moving table cnc machine (48"x30"x8") and am trying to decide on a spindle to use. I'll be cutting aluminum, wood and foam.

I'm not completely sold on using a hand router due to the noise and inability to modify (i.e. toolchanger).

I'm interested in hearing what people have to say about the 10,000 rpm spindle from Sherline and their opinions on whether to use a hand router or a sherline spindle?

Thanks.

[JFettig]

well I dont know the specs on this, or if its just the spindle or what the deal is. BUT from my own experience using high rpms on a small motor just leads to stalling. I have been running my seige x2 (homier mini mill) at 6000rpm and I can grab ahold of the spindle and stop it(partly because of the current overload protection).
Its mainly because when you get the speeds, you lost the torque.

If you have something 2hp or more to power it with, I would say go for it, but if its under 1hp its pretty pointless for the most part.

I have also had the motor stall drilling at lower rpms with that pully ratio.

Jon

[CrazyRonny]

I'm interest in this post to because I have hard time choosing a spindle or router for my first mill/router project. I want to have the capacity to cut some aluminium to.
What do you think of this router, will it make the job?

---------- MAKITA RF1101 ------------

He have a couple of fine feature:

- Variable speed (8,000 - 24,000 RPM)
- Electronic speed control maintains constant speed under load
- Soft start feature for smooth start-ups
- Rugged aluminum motor housing with small 3-1/4" diameter for easy handling
- Sub-base accepts industry standard template guides for convenience
- Durable flat top design for stability when changing bits
- Industrial cam-lock for fast and easy depth adjustment and removal of motor
- Powerful 11 AMP motor
- Bits are installed/removed with two identical size wrenches
- All ball bearing construction for long tool life
- Large calibrated depth control ring for easy depth adjustment
- Accepts 1/2" and 1/4" shank bits

I wish it is not to bad because I already bought it, But I prefer to know now if it will not do the job.

Ronny

[tjstraz]

After posting my original question, I did some research on hand routers and decided to buy the RF1101 also. A lot of positive feedback for this router on this message board. My only concern is the lack of quick change option that can be had with the Porter-Cable models and aftermarket chucks.

[MikeAber]

Originally Posted by JFettig well I dont know the specs on this, or if its just the spindle or what the deal is. BUT from my own experience using high rpms on a small motor just leads to stalling. I have been running my seige x2 (homier mini mill) at 6000rpm and I can grab ahold of the spindle and stop it(partly because of the current overload protection). Its mainly because when you get the speeds, you lost the torque. If you have something 2hp or more to power it with, I would say go for it, but if its under 1hp its pretty pointless for the most part. I have also had the motor stall drilling at lower rpms with that pully ratio. Jon

Hi Jon,

Did you say you could stall the the spindle with that new 1.5 Hp motor you installed?

I wonder if you changed the power resistor in the motor controller to increase the current available to that new motor. Most of the mini mills use the KB Electronics KBIC-120 or KBIC-125 motor controllers. Without changing the power selection resistor your controller is still limiting the current to that big motor to only produce .47 Hp. The manual indicates a .01 ohm power resistor for a 1 Hp motor. http://www.kbelectronics.com/manuals/kbic.pdf
Make sure you add a heatsink to the motor controller if you are going to run the motor at the higher power level.

How hot does your spindle get at 6000 rpm and how tight are you running the bearings (preload)?
Does the spindle seem to stall easier the longer you run it at high rpms?

Mike

[JFettig]

with the gearing I had I could stall it semi-easily, now I am running my spindle at 3000rpm with a lot more torque and its quite a bit harder to stall.
the controller your looking at is a different controller than the one I am using, I am pretty sure mine is putting out around 1.5hp, it is pretty decent.

and because I have put different bearings in my spindle, it did not get too hot.


Jon

[MikeAber]

Jon;

You are on top of things and really know what's going on.

Would you please point me to the vendor for the bearings? I have a mini-mill spindle & housing I would like a better set of bearings for.

Thanks,

Mike

[JFettig]

I got the top bearing from reid tool, I actually bought 2 of them thinking that it would be the same for the bottom bearing. I have no idea where I ended up buying the bottom one, its an odd size and I had to look everywhere, go to skatebearings.com and e-mail the guy with the size. I forget the sizes off hand.

Unless your running over 4000rpm(maybe more) dont bother changing them, its a pain in the butt to change them.

Jon