[cyclestart]

The spindle on my X2 is having trouble drilling holes.
the drill : 5/32" HSS 135' split-point (what I had close to hand and sharp)
the material : 6061 3/4" aluminum
the rpm : near as fast as it will spin
the feed : hand feed, peck drilling
the coolant : none
the problem : spindle pops it's circuit protection at breakthrough.

I'm aware breakthrough takes extra power, but is this reasonable? An electric motor shop suggested bringing the motor in to get the brushes checked for proper seating. They want to apply something called "bark stick" to the commutator? Or at least it sounded like "bark stick". Rock'n'roll stole some of my hearing

[maxboostbusa]

Bone stock mill? High or low range? When it kicks is there any chips built up on the bit, whether packed in the flutes or on the lands themself? Is the bit coated, bright, black, makes a difference. It shouldnt have a problem drilling 3/4" alum. Drilling small holes in thick alum. can sometimes lead to chips not being removed from the flutes of the bit even with peck drilling. Speed sometimes doesent seem to help either. Without any coolant the heat on the bit can lead to the chips wanting to weld themselves to the bit especially right at the tip. Try running High Range just under half up on the dial and using WD40 or another light oil. Keep it shot to it pretty good, expecially after you start getting more that half through. When you retract from the peck look to see there are no chips still in the lands of the bit.

[cyclestart]

Bone stock mill? High or low range?

cnc'd mill, currently xy only sort of, long story.....
No spindle belt drive.
Running in high range, slightly less than 2500 according to the rheostat (or whatever it is)
The drill is titanium coated and the burr on the underside of the part isn't extreme. The drill remains sharp enough to start another hole cleanly.

Anyway to measure the spindle performance? This doesn't bode well for full cnc drilling.

I'll try using some lubricant next time.

[maxboostbusa]

I have had some problems with the smaller ti coated drills galling the chips to the bit. In fact almost every time vs. almost never with a bright bit. Some say not to use ti coated on alum. some say its ok with faster speeds. May be the problem may not.