Spindle Speed Upgrade

[mikemill]

I have an X3 which has seved me well over the years, the one limitation it has is max spindle speed 3500 rpm, I would like to at least double the speed, the problems I see are
1) finding a suitable motor, size and speed
2) what is max speed the curent bearings are able to handle
3) will current electronics handle faster motor
Has anyone attempted the same, or can offer any advice?
Can Syil supply appropiate parts for such a conversion?

Thanks
Mike

[iGG1e]

I think if you want more speed or range selectable speeds, then you're going to have to go your own way with it. I've not seen Syil offer anything other than changing to the X4 motor and controller. Offering is one thing, getting is another...but that is a different story.

Others have run standard bearing up to 6000RPM and not reported any significant wear or heat issues. There are some "high" spindle threads on here where people have used different bearings.

I'm at the design stage of changing to a standard AC motor and drive it with a VFD. The main problem is that there isn't a lot of room on the top of the SX3 head and distance between pulleys isn't large. Getting a stepped pulley for two speed ranges to fit is proving interesting, but should be just about doable.

[Ed from NY]

I did get the x4 upgrade and although the speed control is +/- 10% (+ on the higher RPMs, and - on the lower) it is perfectly usable once you take that into account. One option would be pulleys. The usable speeds are from 1200-3500. So your range would change accordingly and you could change belts depending on the size of the end mills you are running. Keep in mind however that for a 1/2" end mill at 3500 rpm the spindle power, steppers, and machine rigidity could be maxed out already if you are already pushing the feed. So I think the higher RPMs will be mostly for the smaller cutters -- though i could be wrong cuz I have not tried. Let us know

Btw: by "usable" I mean a "heavy" cutter engagement will not produce a significant change in RPM.

[fidia]

You could just use the standard spindle setup and bolt on a high speed spindle to the side of the head to use with small cutters. We have done this and it works well once you change up the electronics