Spindle for sable 2015

Hi everyone,

I have just ordered a sable 2015 and am on the lookout for a spindle solution.

I will be using it to mill PCB's and possibly the off bit of acyrilic if the machine is up to it.

Ideally i would like to have a go at building a spindle but i dont have access to a lathe so cant make any parts which is unfortunate.

Ultimatly i think i have 4 options and would appreciate your opinions on which you guys think is most appropriate, i ahev listed them below:

1. CNC on a budget spindle I would need to import this from the US but some people on CNC zone say its a good spindle.
   
2. 400w Chinese spindle I am unsure about the quality of these and not sure what the runout will be like
   
3. SPD-ER11 Seems like it good be a good bet, plenty of videos on youtube with the sable using this spindle. Has anyone on here used one?
   
4. Last option is a 0.8KW water cooled spindle, one like this I understand this is similar to the very popular 2.2kw spindle that a lot of people use on here for larger machines and i could possible use the VFD again when I inevitably want to build a larger machine!--------Not suitable - Too heavy

There may well be some other spindles that i havent considered that would be more appropriate and would appreciate any advice!

Thanks in advance

I use my small machine mainly for PCBs. It came with a spindle basically the same as your 400w Chinese spindle. I get 40 microns runout and it is OK for PCBs. I do SMT, but not the really tiny pitch stuff. It will cope with sheet alloy too. The downside is it's speed of 8000RPM means that you can't run the machine all that fast.

CNC on a budget spindle. This looks very similar to the Wolfgang spindle which is supposed to hit about 20000RPM. I bought one of those before I got my machine. They are very accurate, but I have heard they are only any good for isolation milling not actual cutting out of PCBs, so I never bothered trying mine. Perhaps I should!

The SPD-ER11 looks similar, but only 10000RPM.

Lastly, I've also got a 0.8kW water cooled spindle. It's great, but I haven't dared to mount it on my machine as it weighs 3kg and with the leverage due to the amount the spindle hangs off the rails I think it's too much for my little machine. So I haven't bought the VFD for it yet.

So despite me buying two other high spec spindles I'm still making PCBs using the cheap spindle that came with my machine.

If you are thinking of using the vfd purchased with the 800w spindle with a more powerful spindle I do not think the vfd will cope. G.

Thanks for the replys guys,

As the machine has a fixed gantry and moving bed make it possible to mount heavier spindles on it, or is it due to the strength of the Z axis?

Im wondering if there is much weight difference between the 400W and 800W spindles.

Had a look into the VFD for the 800w water cooled spindle and it seems like they are sold in a bundle with a 1.5kw VFD HERE

Does anyone have any knowledge of this?

Thanks

With a strong fixed gantry I don't think the spindle weight will be a problem. If weight became a problem that can be overcome by use of a spring or counterweight, but keep the spindle centreline as close as possible to the gantry. G.

The 0.8kW spindle is a lot heavier than the 400W. I didn't weigh mine, but by hand I would say it's almost double the weight.

Thanks for the reply, received my machine today and dont think the 0.8kw spindle is suitable pretty sure it would be way to heavy so i think we can cross that off the list!

Any more opinions on the others?

Any more opinions on this?

Thanks

Got one(Sable) and fitted a 3speed Spindle from Paul Jones - a good guy and a giver of good advice - all I can say is that it works for me , quiet ,easy to install and no fussing with water cooling/converters etc... just a plain old 110 volt supply required - can't say more than that - Kev