Hi everyone I’m looking to get a spindle for my onefinity machine and I’m not exactly sure what to get I believe the mount that came with the machine is 65 mm if someone could please verify that I would greatly appreciated
Yup, the default mount is 65mm. Most folks start out with a Makita router, which is the recommended by OneFinity option.
thanks Mike… I have the Makita router on mine now but it’s very loud so I was looking to get a spindle
i bought a stepperonline gdz65 800W and their vfd v70-0.75s1 - i have not hooked it up as my 1f is due in 2 weeks - hope it goes ok , new to this stuff i expect to fumble thru it - kept it on the cheap side so i don’t cry when or if i pluck it up
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I have both the 800 watt 65mm diameter spindle and the 2.2Kw 80mm diameter spindle, both are liquid cooled versions. The 800 watt spindle is a great spindle and a big upgrade from the trim router. You won’t be disappointed with it.
Lots of options for a spindle/VFD. Both Amazon and eBay have several generic packages available for purchase that have a spindle and matching VFD. Your choices will depend on the following:
- Mount size - 65mm is the original, 80mm is available as an upgrade.
- Horsepower - 800w (1 HP), 1.5Kw (2 HP), or 2.2Kw (3HP). The 2.2Kw is only available as an 80mm. All 3 sizes will work for most things. I have an 800w right now but do plan to upgrade to 2.2Kw once I get my shop wiring upgraded.
- Air or water-cooled - water is quieter, and can run slower, but requires a pump, reservoir, and plumbing. I have an air-cooled spindle - and it’s way quieter than the Makita. I seem to be in the minority however, water-cooled seems to be popular.
- VFD voltage - you can run up to 1.5Kw spindles on a 110v, 20Amp circuit. You need to make sure the VFD you choose supports the input voltage you have. I’m running off of a 110v circuit, with no problems. 220v input to the VFD is widely supported, and the only thing that works with 2.2Kw spindles. The voltage between the VFD and the spindle is almost always 220 V (3-phase), so don’t get that mixed up with the input power to the VFD.
- Collet size. Smaller spindles usually specify an ER11 collet - which works for up to 1/4" bits. The 65mm spindles usually only go up to an ER11 collet. The 80mm spindles may have an ER20 collet - which supports up to 1/2" bits.
I chose to buy my VFD/Spindle from Automation Technologies (https://www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/products-page/cnc-spindles) - mainly so I could buy from a USA company and have someone to call if something went wrong. Slightly higher in price than Amazon/eBay. Many others have purchased from Amazon/eBay without trouble.
From a brand perspective, these things are all commodities and there appears to be very little difference between them. HY (Huanyang) seems to be the most respected.
Good luck!
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Thank you very much for all that information it really helped me to decide what I want to do you were the only one who provided that much information and I appreciate it
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The problem is there’s a lot of information for someone new to absorb. Mike listed it out very well (but I have seen the VFD (Variable frequency drive) for the 2.2kW spindle in 120 volts. The problem is that you will need a 20 amp circuit dedicated to just the spindle. The last thing you want is to trip a breaker in the middle of a cut because someone plugged a drill into an outlet on the same circuit.
Only you can decide what is right for you, obviously. But what are your plans? Most bits are 1/4" shank and smaller for CNC use. The 1.5kW spindle would be like buying a mid sized router and would work great for almost everything. I would let your plans dictate what size spindle you should get.
BTW, as of now you have no choice but to get the 65mm spindle. If you want the upgrade to the 80mm you buy it as an option and then install it yourself even if you buy both at the same time. To me it’s a choice between going with a 65mm 1.5kW spindle (since the cost isn’t much more than the 800w) or the 2.2kW spindle with the 80mm upgrade.
Water cooling adds more complexity. It’s not that hard to figure out but when starting out it’s another level of stuff to deal with. To me the two reasons for choosing it over air is noise (not a huge concern as the bit cutting the wood is going to make plenty of noise). Also fans and wood dust don’t play well together. Dust loves to get drawn into motors. Over the years I have torn apart plenty of routers to clean the dust out of them.
The downside (other than the extra stuff needed) to a water cooled spindle is that if the water flow shuts off for some reason while cutting you’ll most like burn up the spindle. Some people have bought a simple clear pinwheel style flow indicator while I bought an actual unit that will display the actual water flow and if the flow drops below a flow I can set it can stop the 1F and the spindle.
There’s a lot of pieces that work together with a CNC router. Just from an electrical standpoint you have the controller, monitor, and the router or spindle. Plus you most likely will have a dust collector or vacuum, a light or two, and if water cooled a pump. So you can see why some people make choices based on the power they have available to them. Based on my calculations I think one 20 amp 240v circuit will work. But that’s going to require me to balance the 120v loads as I’ll need to split the two legs for all the 120v stuff while sending 240v to my VFD.
Many excellent points in this thread. I’ll add my reason for water cooled was to prevent dust buildup in the spindle and my previous air cooled spindle exhausted out the cutter end and I saw this potentially competing with the dust collection system by pushing the chips away from the dust collection hose intake.
I’m running an air-cooled spindle, to avoid dealing with plumbing water. The down-draft of air from the spindle hasn’t interfered with dust collection at all. The spindle is a lot quieter than a router - but just a little louder than a water-cooled one would be. My dust collector (1.5hp Delta right now) is much louder than the spindle when cutting.
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Thanks for that information Michael I am also also running the air cooled spindle… I had the water cooled spindle and it leaked all over the place but I did have a chance to run it before it started leaking and believe me it is no quieter than the area cold spindle they are about the same as far as decibels go… my vacuum is also louder than anything else that I’m running
Well this is an enlightening thread! I just received my Journeyman X-50 and was all set to buy the Makita router cause that’s what Onefinity said I had to do. But apparently I can buy a “spindle” and use bits with 1/2" shank which is awesome. I also just learned what a “VFD” is (Thx Dr-Al).
So, I only have 110v. I don’t want to deal with water-cooled but do want to use 1/2" shank bits. Can you guys recommend which I should get that will fit in place of where the Makita would have gone?
I believe the answer is “none”. You’ll need to go to an 80mm spindle so you’ll need a different mounting bracket from 1F.
In 110V all I’ve found is up to 3/8" ER11 collets. You’ll need an ER20 collet which is common in the 220V spindles. Beyond that though, actually getting your hands on a VFD and spindle is going to be a challenge. Reputable ones (like Hitachi) go out of stock as soon as they pop up as available. You may find the no-name Chinese commodity ones but you’ll need to fight thru getting it setup. I haven’t followed the availability of those simply because I’m not interested in the effort needed to get them working.
I’m just keeping an eye out and will grab one when I see them in stock but in the meantime I’ve got my Makita setup (& a spare in a box).
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