[ssashton]

I'm currently in the early (all in my mind) stages of designing a vertical cnc router. I want to choose the spindle first so I can work outwards from the Z axis in my design.

I know that I want an ATC system and (thankfully!) it was pointed out to me by a kind chap that the dust shoe will need to retract so as not to mess with the tool changes. Knowing this I am leaning towards one of the watercooled spindles rather than air-cooled becasue the smooth cylinder body looks easier to build a retracting dust shoe around.

So here is the thing - >This spindle< looks ideal to me, but it is advertised as BT30 and the seller says they only have BT30. Since this is a router I want ISO30 or the dogs (fork, what's the correct term?) on the spindle will need a mechanism to align it with the tool holder, won't it?

Looking at the photos though, I can't see any dogs / fork on the spindle!

What's up with this? Is it actually ISO30 but the dogs / fork just bolt on for BT30? I've only used ER collet before.

EDIT: Bit of further reading - Is the difference here only the pull stud? Is this a BT30 pull stud without the dogs? So I could go ahead and use it without any way to index the alignment of the dogs?

Thanks!Attachment 459668

[ger21]

You need to find out from the supplier exactly what toolholders and pullstuds that spindle needs.

BT30 has the same taper as ISO30. So they are similar. The main difference is BT30 toolholders have notches for the drive dogs.
Since BT30 toolholders are usually used for milling machines, they are not always balances for high rpm use, so you need to make sure of that.

Also, pull studs must match the spindle requirement. There are many different types of pull studs than can be used on both ISO30 and BT30, and you need to use the correct ones.

[ssashton]

Thanks for the reply! The seller sent me some pictures from the actual spindle and there are no drive dogs. So provided if I attach the correct pull stud I could buy ISO30 tool holders that are balanced for 30K RPM? Is that right?

Oh! If anyone has a retractable dust shoe design I'd love to see it