Spindle Speed Controller Question

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Hello all, another basic question here from myself!

I've managed to 'acquire' a spindle. very similar to this for nothing:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC12-48V-Air-Cooled-0-4KW-Spindle-Motor-400W-ER11-for-Engraving-Milling-Machine-/252413006441hash=item3ac4fcd269:g:a6EAAOSwEgVWTYBS

Now i know these are very underpowered and probably pretty useless for most work, but i currently don't have a spindle at all and my machine is just sitting there making nothing at the moment and i really want to start making chips! even if they are only small ones lol.

i'm only going to be cutting wood so i don't mind using a small spindle just for now until i can upgrade.

my question is though what kind of speed controller do i need?

That spindle is just a simple DC motor, so almost any PWM controller can be used. If you want to control it from the CNC software then you need something similar to this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-24V-48V-...AAAOxypthRtpaL

But if you just want manual speed control then you can also get a much simpler and cheaper one, like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-DC...gAAOSwOVpXcqnO

On the other hand... I have a similar spindle and have speed control as well, but I almost always run the motor at full speed. The motor is pretty weak and by reducing the speed it gets even weaker. So, it depends what you want to do with your CNC, perhaps speed control is not necessary at all.

or do i need an inverter/vfd? if it is the latter am i just better off buying a new spindle/vfd together like this one?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-5KW-AIR-...YAAOSwAPlXhcvh

apologies for sounding dumb, but i'm rubbish with electronics lol.

A VFD controlled brushless "real" spindle is of course much better than a DC motor, but probably not going to make life easier for you, unless you really need it. Maybe you could start with the simple DC motor and buy a VFD and a three phase motor at a later stage when you know what you really need or want or can afford. I bought a similar, 1.5kW air cooled spindle motor but I bought a better VFD, a Bosch Rexroth, because I wanted good service, support and documentation, as well as proper electrical design and safety. Buying a real brand makes it a bit more expensive though not a lot more, but the benefits are in my opinion many, so the extra cost is money well spent. I have not yet had time to install my spindle, still have the DC motor on the CNC, but have run it for test and all I can say is that for my needs and my environment it was the right decision to buy an air cooled spindle.

Many people say that brushless air cooled spindles are noisy, and maybe they are noisier than water cooled ones, but definitely not noisier at the same speed as the DC motors, or brushed motors like the Kress. Air cooled motors are easier to handle as well, since you don't need to install water pipes, cooling fluid, pump and pump control. Never the less, of course, if you are going to use your CNC 8-10 hours a day 5-6 days a week then water cooled is worth the trouble, but again, even if you buy air cooled to start with, upgrading to water cooled once you realize you need it is pretty simple.

i have the leadshine mx3660 breakout/driver board so if possible it would be nice to be able to switch the spindle on and control the speed through that. im using linuxcnc.

thanks in advance

Sorry, I can't help you with LinuxCNC or the mx3660.