i would be interested in knowig what size collets your new spindle takes?where you got it? rpm? thanks greg
Hello..
I know a lot of people ask the question about where to get a real spindle ect ect.....
Well hopefully I will be able to shed some light on that subject in some threads soon as I have upgraded to a real spindle. (see pics of real spindle..)
Will post details on the install in future threads.
b.
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i would be interested in knowig what size collets your new spindle takes?where you got it? rpm? thanks greg
But that means my Porter cable is now able to find a new home.
Anyway offering it to CNC zoners as I'm sure there are plenty looking for a good one around here. Else it will eventually hit ebay I suppose.
would come to a cnczoner with the following.
Porter Cable 7518 3.25 hp variable speed router
Wrenches & Porter cable Collets 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2"
Actual Quick route to Porter cable adapter.
7 - 1/2" quick route holders
3 - 1/4" quick route holders
And the items that might interest a CNC zoner the most...
2 cut aluminum router clamp plates for mounting the PC to a gantry
and the dust shroud that matches the plates.
the clamp plates have 3 - 1/4-20 threaded holes in the back for bolting to gantry plate.
Router has not see to many hours of use in my opinion. and no real hard use. As much as I hate to say it, it's like new..
Plates should save some time for a builder..
Send PM's or something..
b./
The collets in the new spindle are ER25's and there are 9 sizes. I got the 1/2" collet with it and should have the others in the set today and will let everyone know.
RPM is 8K to 18k (or 133hz to 300hz on the VFD)
Spindle came from http://www.ekstromcarlson.com/
As I only just installed it this past weekend I have not had much chance to actually do any cutting with it so will have to report that in future posts.
b.
Review of the spindle would be most welcome.
I will be posting about the spindle as soon as I run some stuff on it..
b.
What size did you get? I am looking at the 6 hp model... I can say that they are "PROMPT" with emails....
Did you get thermal protector? Or the Thermistor relay?
Hey check out my website...www.cravenoriginal.com
Thanks Marc
Hello..
Well just got done using it for some runs of paths I used to do on the PC..
Dropped it from 4 passes to just 2.
Things to note...
you can tune out cutter freequencies (ie varry the speed of the spindle on the fly) till the cutter produces as little noise as possiable..
That is very cool so far..
Other things to note..
The darn tool does NOT get warm. By that I mean. The bearings in a router run HOT. Compaired to this after running some 30 min on a job. The bearing, housing, bit, shaft, collet are not hardly warm by the touch. I don't have my touchless temp gage but not hot or even hardly warm to the touch is very cool..
Sad thing was I increased elements of this tool path cutting passes from 4 to 2 and stepped up the speeds 70% from what I ran the PC and and it was NOT even thinking hard about it.. WAY WAY WAY cool..
Spindle model is the SM-C73
Uses ER25 collets
That is coupled with the following from automation direct
GS2-23P0 VFD drive (1 or 3 phase input to 3 phase output) (I'm running 1 phase in)
GS-23P0-LR-1PH AC LINE REACTOR, 230V, 3.0HP, 1PH, FOR GS2-23P0, INPUT ONLY
32DRT1W3C EMI INPUT FILTER 230V 32A USE W/ GSx-23P0
GS-23P0-LR-3PH AC LINE REACTOR, 230V, 3.0HP, 3PH, FOR GS2/GS3-23P0, INPUT/OUTPUT (sed for output
GS-CBL2-3L KEYPAD CABLE GS SERIES 3M
and pick out a latching 22mm button to use as a separate On/Off control button for the spindle on your machine. Also a contactor for you estop switch to might be nice.
Anyway very cool..
Also wired in a 30 amp twin pole switch for powering things on and off
I'll go into details of wiring later, and settings. But it's quite streight forward to wire in my opinion
b.
I can measure resistance in the leads that are marked thermistor from the unit. How ever I don't have them tied into a thermo switch just yet. But would be easy to do I suppose..
b.
I am sure it's much better than a router, for one basic reason. You could buy 6 or 8 routers for the price of that spindle...
I am sure that the wireing is really simple...
They offer a thermal switch for it...
As for an on/off switch, why not use a M03-M08 for on/off spindle control?
The E-Stop should be connected to the entire machine... If you stop the spindle, you are still moving? Not to good, when you have a $400 tool in it...
Hey check out my website...www.cravenoriginal.com
Thanks Marc
b,wcarrothers1,
I suppose you like the peace and quiet.Do you miss the screaming PC?
Larry
L GALILEO THE EPOXY SURFACE PLATE IS FLAT
Nope I don't miss the screaming PC. It isn't 100% quieter but a different type of noise. Aparently it was not loud enough while running that job to keep my wife from working out on the tread mill though..
The estop takes out the drives and has a second contactor on it to send an error command to the VFD to shut it down as well. Course when errored it only coasts to a stop rather then using the break.
Lack of using M commands for spindle on and off is a function of being low on I/O. Since I have 3 jog dials on my pendant for separate XYZ movement I've used up a lot of my parallel port IO.
I do how ever have a basicly unused G100 wired in my controller and could tie that in for even more IO. Just lack the time really. And never really trusted the thing all that much.
The latching push button runs from common to one of the digital IO's which is configured to spin up the spindle when on. Beats using the small keypad run and stop buttons which is why I suggested it.
And I'm fairly sure this unit will out last 6-8 of any brand router..
If you do lots of plastic I can see the real spindle being an even better investment as the machine does NOT heat the tool like a router motor does thus does not melt plastic while running as much..
b.
I would agree I will eventually hook up the spindle so it will shut down on command at end of programs. My R2V3 bridgeport does that and it's very nice. Don't have to get up to shut off the spindle of that after each job..
Anywho.
b.
I have a few questions into the differences between using a router and a spindle. I understand that a proper spindle has much better bearings than a router, but I thought that cutting depth/speed was largely governed by horsepower.
As you've dropped in power from a 3.25hp router to a 2.68hp* spindle, how come it makes such a positive difference to the speed and depth you can cut at?
* The figure on the Ekstrom website.
Well it comes down to power under load. ..
And I"m rated at 2.68hp at 18,000 rpm. I'd bet the PC isn't getting to 3.25 till around it's max of 22 or 25K rpm.. Seeing HP calculation has a lot based on times RPM power is not exactly the same.
For example.. I have a 25 year old 12 hp john dear tractor... And I'd put it's power (ie torque) up against any over trumped 18hp or more sears or other brand tractor out today. The only reason sears can claim 18 hp is because their motor spins up to 2 or 3x the RPM of my 12hp JD.. So in other words they aren't making much power till they are beeing reved the crap out of.
Also the torque curve is different as the spindle can take more load, staying at the selected speed by applying more electrical input.
2.68hp out of my spindle does not have the same torque curve as the 3.25hp of the PC.
Long story short. I'm comfortiable cutting 1/2" plywood with a 1/4" cutter in 1 or 2 passes where I'd run maybe take 5 passes with the PC. I never really pushed my PC anywhere near it's limits but I'm more comfortiable pushing the spindle.
Also it's not as loud (which is one of the bigger reasons for a spindle) it still makes noise but it's not the same. If the cutter makes more noise then you want you can tweek the drive speed by a few hz and tune it out as well wich you can't do with a router. Least not as easily.
I'm sure Ekstrom could give a more convincing discription of why 2.68 is more power then 3.25..
b.
well
sounds like the new spindle is far superior to the pc ,
so if the pc is still for sale and will you take an offer of 5 bucks since it doesn t sound so good
just kiddin looks and sounds like youve got yourself a great toy happening there , i'm sure you'll be having your fun
A poet knows no boundary yet he is bound to the boundaries of ones own mind !! ........
1HP = ~746 watts. 110V x 15 amps = 1650 watts, which is only 2.2 HP, so I'm not sure how you can actually get 3.25 HP out of the Porter Cable?
Gerry
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Ger the PC's are rated at 3.25hp.. weather the electrical watts make math sense who knows.
Becides it's torque x rpm and the RPM is high at it's highest point thus boosting the HP rate.
Anywho..
The PC is much better then 5 bucks. But assuming you have the $$ for a vfd spindle it's not as good.
It is probably among the best choices for a router in a router mill. After all it's the biggest router and scores well in all the wood mag tests.
Ah. Good point about the torque issues.
I wonder if it would be practical to use a belt or gearing system to keep the router motor at full speed, but reduce the collet speed. I suppose a very good set of bearings and reliable transmission would be required.