[lamtldealer]

I'm going to be buying a benchtop CNC router but I'm stuck trying to figure out which spindle is best for cutting and 3D relief mostly Alum. I see HSD, I see water cooled, air cooled. Is there somewhere that I can read about spindles and which are best? I searched on the forum here and didnt see anything concrete.

I have been told 1.7KW 2.28 HP HSD collet spindle ~ around $2600, whats the difference between those and the ones I see on ebay for a fraction of the cost?

I'm new here so please go easy on me.... :-)

Thanks

[awerby]

Are you looking for "best" or cheapest? HSD is a European company that's been making spindles for a long time. They've got a good reputation, a worldwide organization, and they support their products. Their spindles will typically run for years without problems. Other established companies, like Perske and Colombo, are similar; their spindles are comparable in quality and price.

On the other hand, you've got generic Chinese-made spindles sold on Ebay or AliBaba, which some people have had success in using on their home-built machines. They may have good bearings and be built to some standard of quality, but they may not. Often they are shipped with ground wires disconnected or entirely absent, which is dangerous. They tend to be sold along with VFD controllers which have similar issues. If you need support or repair on these things, you're basically on your own. On the other hand, you can buy a pile of these things for the price of one reliable European-made spindle. So if you're feeling lucky...

[lamtldealer]

Are you looking for "best" or cheapest? HSD is a European company that's been making spindles for a long time. They've got a good reputation, a worldwide organization, and they support their products. Their spindles will typically run for years without problems. Other established companies, like Perske and Colombo, are similar; their spindles are comparable in quality and price.

On the other hand, you've got generic Chinese-made spindles sold on Ebay or AliBaba, which some people have had success in using on their home-built machines. They may have good bearings and be built to some standard of quality, but they may not. Often they are shipped with ground wires disconnected or entirely absent, which is dangerous. They tend to be sold along with VFD controllers which have similar issues. If you need support or repair on these things, you're basically on your own. On the other hand, you can buy a pile of these things for the price of one reliable European-made spindle. So if you're feeling lucky...

Thank You for the response. I'm trying to learn as much as possible.

[CNCMAN172]

HSD, Colombo, Komo, Perske are all quality made spindle with high quality bearings. You can't compare spindle like these to cheaper Chinese spindles air cooled or water cooled. I personally have a Chinese spindle 3KW that has been running for 10 years and it has done a good job. I think I got lucky, the big issue is the bearings they use inside the spindles. Some companies advertise their Chinese spindle contains Germany high quality bearings. Search cnczone and you will find some people who lost them and tore them completely apart after failure and found Chinese bearings.

There are some higher quality ATC spindles on ebay that look identical to a HSD spindle, they go for over $3K, so I have no idea of their quality. BUT, if I was spending that kind of money I would get a real HSD or Colombo.

Russ