x2 spindle motor replacement options ?
Just curious as to what guys have done or if its been done to replace the wimpy spindle motors on the x2 mills , I originally thought that the spindle motors were all the same on these things but it turns out that by luck I got the .47 hp motor which appears to be the smallest motor supplied with these machines . Anyhow , with the belt drive from little machineshop the machine is seriously missing any amount of torque . I know that once I get into any serious cutting at high rpm then I will blow a fuse and any tool that happens to be in the spindle at the time . I tried the belt drive a while back and changed back to the stock gear system , but at this point I'm stuck with the belt drive since the machine after its first real use ate its gearing (so glad I bought chinese quality)
As it stands I've polished the spindle shaft and the bearing seats to cure the chinese version of what a tight fit is , I figured it was necessary to do so after blowing a half dozen fuses trying to get the spindle to turn with the high rpm belt setting , now the spindle turns at high rpm after a warm up on low and seems to be use-able as long as I'm not overly aggressive with my cuts(i think) , I plan to push it to its limits to see where it fails , so I'll have some fun destroying some new carbides
I'm considering a replacement motor as long as the cost isn't too great , otherwise I'll use and abuse this until there isn't much left then move onto something with some oomph to it .
has anyone come up with better spindle motor alternatives
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The spindle isn't a joke!
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Originally Posted by
dertsap
replacement KBLC-19PM (on order)
put it through a quick test as is and it seems ok , I did a bunch of milling on an aluminum block and it cut pretty well on the outside profiles and internal bore ,
I started small with a 1/4" 4 flute end mill , 50% engagement with a .05 depth of cut(ramped) , 50ipm at 4500 rpm . I'll test it later with some bigger tools and see what happens , if it holds up as it has then it should be ok , it's certainly nothing to impress with but it may turn out to be ok ,and hopefully much better with the new electronics , it still seems to me that the spindle setup is a joke as is the plastic gearing
There is nothing wrong with either the spindle nor the gearing if used within their capabilities. If you want to get more out of the unit then the engineering is up to you.
That sounds like an incorrectly assembled mill.
The point I was making is that the mill is not inherently bad, especially for the price, but in your case it looks like you got a poorly assembled mill right out of the box. That sucks actually. It might have been reasonable to just return the mill. It amounts to buying a new car and having it seize up on the drive home.
The only difference that I can see is that your local car dealer has the people in place to put a new engine in the car. Most of the machine tool dealers seem to be wanting in their ability to service what they sell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dertsap
the very first time that I had used the machine to do some cuts the spindle stalled and broke the end mill , a 1/4" end mill that was taking a .1 depth of cut and 50% engagement . it also destroyed the gearing after i put in a new tool to finish the part , its not as though i was abusing the machine with that size of tool . 45 minutes of cutting time and the gearing is toasted .
If that is pushing it beyond its capabilities then what are its capabilities ? it is rated to use up to a 5/8 end mill , i don't see how i can expect to use it as is with a 5/8 end mill when a 1/4" can stall the spindle at such a light cut ?
If this is what i have to expect from the $800 that I spent then it is a joke , its no intention to insult anyone and their happiness with their machine but maybe my disappointment can be understood .
I do want to get more out of it which is why I originally asked for help , something which i rarely ever do in the forums . In the meantime I was able to do some research and found what I hope will help with doing some re-engineering .
I'm always open to better suggestions if anyone cares to offer them , otherwise i think that I've found all of the info that i need anyhow
I see that you have a better motor controller, that is a good thing. However you now have the capability to put even more current into the motor, so you want to be careful about how you set up that controller. In the end I would be surprised to find out that you need a new motor too. That isn't a bad thing as the new controller should allow you to drive many makes well.
The sad part here is your spindle. It still sounds like something isn't right there.
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I will do what it takes for me to be satisfied with the spindle performance and if the new board isn't to my liking then I've found a number of other alternatives . So far everything else is good , so in the meantime it works , and at some point very soon i will get the right spindle setup on it and I'll be happy
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Sounds good! If you are like most of us you will never be 100% happy. Like I said the machines are impressive for the price but they do require a bit of tinkering to keep working well.