[nervis1]

My motor housing runs about 124 F, and the spindle about 90 (on the outside) via an infared probe after an hour or so of cutting. Anyone know what normal is supposed to be, or what is too high?

This is on a Fadal VMC 15HP.

[sendkeys]

not 100% sure about your motors but the maxs i seen are around 150f -160f

124 really isnt anything gets hotter then that in arizona

[HuFlungDung]

Nervis1,

You might find a label on the spindle motor that has a rating for temperature rise above ambient temp, it might be 40°C for example. That means 40°C more than room temp. They can stand a lot of heat. There may also be an insulation temperature rating on the motor, which could be well above boiling point!

As far as spindle temp, it sounds like your machine runs very cool. On a long session, I see temps of 125°F on my quill type spindle. A machining center has no quill, so you need not worry like I do about the quill getting "stuck" in the housing bore if it gets too large from heat expansion.

[nervis1]

Good to hear. I was worried with the ambient temp in my garage hovering at 90 or even above I was overheating the motor. The interior of the electric cabs are around 80-90 f. I usually crack the cab doors a bit when it's really hot. I got a portable air dryer / air conditioner but it's only 9k BTU. It takes the edge off but it's not like true air conditioning.