65mm Spindle Height

Anyone here running a 65mm spindle? They seem taller than the Makita router, any suggestions on what to do about the height? Seems like it could be an issue bumping into the Z axis motor.

Thanks

Seen lots of folks photos and remark that it barely clears.

Hey pwsusi,

Many reported to use one (see here) but some of them switched to a 80 mm spindle later.

yes, with the original 65 mm mount the spindle does not clear the stepper. That is why you have to slide the spindle much downwards into the mount in order to not bump the Z axis stepper, like shown here:


– Image appears by courtesy of @curtisreidart

This however does not prevent many users using a 65 mm spindle. The disadvantage is because the spindle has to protrude the 65 mm mount that much, the leverage force that acts over the spindle on spindle mount, Z bushings and subsequently on X rails while milling is greater than it was if spindle was clamped closer to the axle end.

But it should be noted that this disadvantage is by design, the Makita trim router for which the Onefinity CNC was designed does not clear the stepper either and has to be slid that far into the mount the same way. It is a design issue.

As Bill also stated the other day:

But back to spindle. If you want the leverage force exerted on the spindle and subsequently on the mechanics of the cnc machine to be reduced by not sliding the spindle that much into the mount, you have three possibilites:

  1. You do not slide it that much into the mount, but then you loose some amount of Z travel (and Z motor will do stall homing against spindle back (not recommended))
  2. you raise the stepper by using taller stepper mounting blocks and extending stepper axle with another coupler
  3. you install the optional 80 mm mount which was designed to respond to the demand for the ability to mount 80 mm spindles. With this mount, the spindle clears the stepper so you do not have a limitation on spindle length or Z travel:

– Thanks for shooting this photo to @MikeH!

Further Reading

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@ AlphonseAlan H. Thank you very much for the detailed response. This is everything i need to know and have been searching the forums for in one concise message. Thank you! of the 3 options the 80mm mount sounds like the best option for me.

The great info here was posted by Aiph5u, not me! He is always full of great insights. I wish we knew what his first name is!!

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yes, sorry … copy and paste oversight on my part.

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Do we know anyone who has done this with success? I don’t really want the extra weight of the 80mm spindle and think it’s a bit overkill for the machine. I am curious if there are any side effects of extending the z-stepper linkage. I would love to hear from someone who’s done it and see some photos if possible as I think this is the direction I am gonna go when my water-cooled 65mm arrives.

Also, that link provided is going to an 80mm spindle mount, not the z-stepper blocks.

Hey Felix,

yes, with an aluminium extrusion profile here!

Be also aware that 65 mm spindles…

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Ahh! thanks for the info, that other thread you linked to looks like good reading and I’ll get into it tonight. Maybe I will rethink the 65mm!