choosing a spindle.

I am in the process of building my first cnc which will be a flat bed router to be used mainly for cutting surfboards from eps foam however i will also be cutting some wood also. I have been trying to research as much as i can on here and have spoken to a few friends but not really to sure what size spindle i need to be looking at. because of some of the depths i will be cutting i will require quite long bits which i assume will mean it will need a larger collet size. The other thing i will need to have is the ability to adjust the speed during the cut and would all so like the ability to cut mdf and ply wood in the future so having enough power for that is important. I have read a older thread on the 2.2kw water cooled chinese spindles which was briefly mentioned to me but it sounds like it is a bit hit and miss with what you get and that there were some suppliers that were better than others but im really not sure if that would actually be over kill for what i need?
Can any one provide and advise? the only spindles i have really found are the kress ones and the chinese ones on ebay.

many thanks charlie

Avoid Kress... Even the 1500 will limit you; noisy and poor duty cycle (the amount of time running v cooling off).

Surfboards are big things so unless your machine is very fast the machining times are going to be long especially if you plan to profile them rather than just cutting out the blank. You need a spindle that can run for long periods and the water-cooled 2.2kW spindle is ideal. Yes there have been a few duds but most are ok. I'm sure there'll be a few recommendations coming along...

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Originally Posted by irving2008

Avoid Kress... Even the 1500 will limit you; noisy and poor duty cycle (the amount of time running v cooling off).

Surfboards are big things so unless your machine is very fast the machining times are going to be long especially if you plan to profile them rather than just cutting out the blank. You need a spindle that can run for long periods and the water-cooled 2.2kW spindle is ideal. Yes there have been a few duds but most are ok. I'm sure there'll be a few recommendations coming along...

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Cheers many thanks for the info there thats good to know. Is there a recommend supplier for these 2.2kw spindles as there seam to be quite a few on ebay, i read in a thread something about a seller called Chai but cant find anyone by that name on ebay. And just out of interest are people getting import duties on most of there orders from china or are the getting away with it? i have never purchased anything this size before from there.

best regards charlie

ive had mine around 3 years from this seller,i know many others have to but this one there now doing looks slightly different at the business end.im not sure wether its an improved model on what im using but can vouch for the seller.
Four Bearings 2 2KW Air Cooled Spindle Motor ER20 Inverter Drive | eBay

One of the water cooled spindles does sound like your best option. Since you want to use long tools, don't get the 1.5kW version as it only comes with an ER16 collet and not ER20. That leaves 2.2kW or larger and larger wont really gain anything here so go for the 2.2kW spindle.

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Originally Posted by deisel

ive had mine around 3 years from this seller,i know many others have to but this one there now doing looks slightly different at the business end.im not sure wether its an improved model on what im using but can vouch for the seller.
Four Bearings 2 2KW Air Cooled Spindle Motor ER20 Inverter Drive | eBay

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It looks different at the business end as you've accidentally linked to air cooled version. This is the one. I got mine from that seller only a couple of weeks before/after diesel and it does have 4-bearings as advertised.

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

One of the water cooled spindles does sound like your best option. Since you want to use long tools, don't get the 1.5kW version as it only comes with an ER16 collet and not ER20. That leaves 2.2kW or larger and larger wont really gain anything here so go for the 2.2kW spindle.



It looks different at the business end as you've accidentally linked to air cooled version. This is the one. I got mine from that seller only a couple of weeks before/after diesel and it does have 4-bearings as advertised.

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many thanks for the link, i have looked at a lot of them on ebay and although some of the thumbnail pictures on the front of the listing look different most of the ones in side the advert look the same which is a little confusing. the only thing i see different is one says china bearings and the other says germany bearing which i think i read something about them somewhere.

what are peoples with import duties from china?

many thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

One of the water cooled spindles does sound like your best option. Since you want to use long tools, don't get the 1.5kW version as it only comes with an ER16 collet and not ER20. That leaves 2.2kW or larger and larger wont really gain anything here so go for the 2.2kW spindle.



It looks different at the business end as you've accidentally linked to air cooled version. This is the one. I got mine from that seller only a couple of weeks before/after diesel and it does have 4-bearings as advertised.

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DOH Right you are, not enough sleep.i thought it looked vented:beaten:

If you don't fancy shopping in China;

Spindel-Shop.de - Index
Spindle
Micromech Products - Isel CNC - Spindle Motors
Spindles
http://www.eltesrl.com/index.php?lang=en
2.2KW "HERTZ BRAND" SPINDLE MOTOR AIR COOLED | eBay

Or get one from China via Portsmouth:

2.2KW WATER-COOLED SPINDLE MOTOR 2.2KW INVERTER DRIVE VFD GRINDING ENGRAVING q5 | eBay

Might be a good idea as it avoids the customs fee lottery...

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

Since you want to use long tools, don't get the 1.5kW version as it only comes with an ER16 collet and not ER20. That leaves 2.2kW or larger and larger wont really gain anything here so go for the 2.2kW spindle.

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Typo through speed typing?! My 1.5kW water cooled spindle came with an ER11 which is max ~7mm or 1/4" collets. 2.2kW is usually ER20 so max ~13mm or 1/2" collets.
I can easily cut any wood with 1.5kW so power is not a problem, but to give best range of cutters I would also suggest 2.2kW water cooled.

Can't remember exact import duty but it was in the range of a few tens of pounds - still good value overall.

Chai trades under the name 'linearmotionbearings2008' on ebay. Good reputation, good communication.

If you go water cooled you'll the you might be asking next about cooling systems. In short nothing special is required so search this forum for methods used. I used a radiator and fan designed for overclocking water cooled PCs, but have discovered through use that this is overkill. Others have just pumped the water to a large metal bucket on the floor and been fine.

has any one had one from the Portsmouth supplier are they actually the same thing? the pictures all seam to vary and there is no mention of if its 3 or 4 bearings. I was going to get one from cnc4u but they are out of stock for 8 weeks till there next shipment.

1.5KW WATER COOLED SPINDLE MOTOR ER16 & VFD DRIVE INVERTER 80mm Diameter | eBay

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

has any one had one from the Portsmouth supplier are they actually the same thing? the pictures all seam to vary and there is no mention of if its 3 or 4 bearings. I was going to get one from cnc4u but they are out of stock for 8 weeks till there next shipment.

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Apparently all these spindles come from one of two factories. I wouldn't worry about the pictures.. just pick one. If you're application warranted getting a better quality spindle, then I'd suggest a specific one from www.aliexpress.com (which would cost quite a lot more), but for cutting foam / wood any of them will be fine.

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Originally Posted by routercnc

Typo through speed typing?! My 1.5kW water cooled spindle came with an ER11, not ER16, which is max ~7mm or 1/4" collets

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1.5kW spindles are available with ER16, but you're right - I meant to say ER11.

This thread is rapidly becoming a duplicate of this one, mainly due to me admittedly.

cheers many thanks will toss a coin and go for it then, last question i suppose would be the spindle mount. It appears the only one i can find is from china? are there any other options as google doesn't seam to throw up much
many thanks indeed.

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

cheers many thanks will toss a coin and go for it then, last question i suppose would be the spindle mount. It appears the only one i can find is from china? are there any other options as google doesn't seam to throw up much
many thanks indeed.

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Just ask on the forum I am sure that there are a few people on here that would make one for you...Clive

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

cheers many thanks will toss a coin and go for it then, last question i suppose would be the spindle mount. It appears the only one i can find is from china? are there any other options as google doesn't seam to throw up much
many thanks indeed.

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check out the 3rd post down in the thread below its a decent alternative spindle mount i and others have used, theres a little work to do like pull out the bearings slit it,and a few holes put in,
http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/market...dle-mount.html

cheers that a great little idea may well do that then.