@MikeH stated the other day:
1 Like
OK, so air it is, that was easy. 
Good choice Bob! As far as getting dust in the spindle,
may I suggest attaching a piece of clothes dryer hose to
the top of the spindle and have it attached to a box (12" sq)
with a filter on top. You could place an inline fan in the box,
blowing toward the spindle. Thus cooling and dust control.
Easy enough to hang this assembly from overhead allowing
it to move with all axis.
And some of them are familiar with their local fire department now too.
I bought a Makita which pained me as I have 8 other routers (1 Milwaukee, 1 DeWalt, 3 Porter-Cable, 1 Festool, 2 RIDGID) and none of them will fit any of the available mounts.
Iām not impressed with the Makita. Iāll use it to get started and eliminate the added growing pains that a spindle will bring. But once I get comfortable with the whole process, I will replace it with a spindle which I plan to have on hand from the start.
If that trim router sounds anything like any of the ones I have now I will not want to be anywhere near it when running for hours at a time and I doubt anyone else in the house will want to listen to it either. And when I read about routers catching on fire; well that pretty much tells me all I need to know about if a CNC is a wise use for any trim router.
Hey Bob,
donāt take everything I say so seriously. I am one of those people who do not mark every joke with a smiley 
.
Quoting Gerry from the other day:
Much is lost in written communication. Not being able to see a personās face when they speak or to hear the inflection in their voice as they speak removes most emotion from the conversation.
Without emojis or some other form of communicating your intent or meaning, be it serious or tongue-in-cheek, is what leads to much frustration for both parties and having to explain yourself when a simple would have done the trick.
Just kidding of course.
Oh, wait, I didnāt need that, or did I?
1 Like
i had the 1.5 air cooled 220 spindle and really liked the size. it fits very well with the onefinity style and application. That said, the 2.2 80mm 220 air cooled i have is a beast. just scales so much different. harder to find dust boots that work well with the arrangement and 4" dust hose. collets so much bigger, wrenches so much bigger. etc.
The 1.5 is working very well. It is quiet (!) and though it gets louder at higher speeds it is difficult to think of a feed/speed combination that would make its sound annoying. In addition, nothing Iāve asked of it - including cutting cabinet components from dreaded Melamine - has caused it to get even mildly warm or to bog.
The Onefinity, while being as stout as a machine in its class can be, is not able, perhaps, to take advantage of the massive strength of a 2.2. It is, as you suggest, a bit oversized for the Onefinity.
Dust management, since you mention it, is another challenge. I bought the PWN V8 from Onefinity and I am little bit disappointed in it. The rear mount is terrific on paper, but it really does limit what one can do with the boot carriage. In addition, having tried both a Flex and a Festool hose with an adapter at the boot end, clogs are common. Oddly enough, the Flex does a somewhat better job than the 1hp Jet DC. Moving up to the larger orange āProfessionalā hose from Home Depot doesnāt improve things much with either the Flex or the Jet. The last try with the PWN in the equation will be a 2.5" flex hose from Rockler. If there isnāt significant improvement, I will go with one of the Prime Directives in the āWoodworking Techniques for Those with Short Attention Spans:ā āLarger diameter hose with smoother interior walls performs better than smaller diameter hose with either smooth or spiraled interior walls.ā So, Iāll be looking for a 4" hose solution. Itās all in the fun of it, I suppose.
Jim
1 Like
I have a 2.2kw air-cooled. Iāve not noticed any stability issues. It was a concern I harboured before purchasing but so far, so good.
1.5 or 2.2, they are much quieter than a router, and it is excellent to control speeds from the gcode.
3 Likes
Thatās interesting. 1500W still seems like plenty of power to me. But in my case, Iām kind of fixated on the ER20 chuck capability and that appears to mean a 2200W spindle. Iām okay with that.
For my situation, I went with the HY 220V input/ 220V output VFD and the KL-2200 spindle. Water-cooled (Iām a glutton for punishment) and I also got the CW-5000 chiller. Overall, itās much more complicated than I first envisioned. Part of the fun, though, I hope.
BTW, I purchased through Automation Technologies, as mentioned in other posts. Prices were comparable to Amazon, and they had everything in stock, so I already have the items. At the time, the bundle I wanted on Amazon indicated shipping in early 2022, and included pieces I didnāt really need.
My Machinist X-35 has not arrived yet, but I have nearly everything else. I found a sturdy worktable to fit the machine, and Iām working on my wiring diagram now. Once done, I will likely try to fire up the spindle and make some electrical measurements if possible.
The spindle I received is unbranded. AutomationTech says it a four-bearing unit, and it does appear to be a ābeastā at 5.5 kg.
I need a few electrical components yet, and I also need to plan how I will arrange and mount the controls and such to the worktable. It will take me some time to get everything set up.
Dave
"I bought the PWN V8 from Onefinity and I am little bit disappointed in it. "
I am not happy to hear this because I have that same PWN V8 on order and expect it soon.
āMoving up to the larger orange āProfessionalā hose from Home Depot doesnāt improve things much with either the Flex or the Jet.ā
Just what is āthe Flexā ? I thought you were talking about flex hose but now Iām not so sure.
The āFlexā is a German-made vacuum. It looks like a red Mirka vacuum. Regarding the PWN 8, I call 'em like I see 'em. Performance is OK, but nothing to write home about. The Z limitation seems inherent to a rear mount - nothing to be done about it I suppose. Iām keeping my eyes open for a good, sturdy front mount that accepts a 4" hose. So far, this is the only part of the purchase Iād change if I were to do it again. YMMV.
Jim
1 Like
You know, hand-held routers in the 1500 range usually come with 1/4 and 1/2 collets. I wonder is some enterprising spindle manufacturer might ever come out with a 1500 with 1/2 AND 1/4 collets as part of the stock setup. I bet that would sell well. Sure would have been my first choice.
Jim
1 Like
When researching dust boot ideas, I looked at larger machines and most things I saw included a 4" dust hose connected to a boot that was attached to the spindle. I took a design that Avid had published, and modified it for the 1F. I 3D printed it as a prototype - but found that it worked so well there was no reason to go down the milling path.
I have the design up at Thingiverse: OneFinity 4-inch Dust Boot by gopher5 - Thingiverse. I have made versions that would go on an 80mm spindle, and versions that take a 2.5" dust hose.
Itās been working great for me - solid, dust gets collected, brushes stay out of the way, no run-ins with stray clamps. Changing end mills is also fairly easy. As the 1F has matured, there are now a few other designs being sold now that are the same style.
1 Like
Hi Mike,
Clueless question alert ā¦ If the shoe is attached to the spindle and thus goes up and down as the spindle goes up and down, how does the dust stay corralled when the spindle goes up and the brush leaves the surface of the workpiece?
Jim
This is why I am torn as to changing mine. It sounds like the spindle attached is better when doing long reach bit 3d type carves because it automatically gives clearance where needed. If doing mostly signs and flat work the current shoe design is great.
1 Like
In place of committing to just one maybe both versions need to be
considered and the better one selected depending on the work.
It might not be simple to switch between the two but sounds better
than breaking stuff and possibly ruining your work or damaging
equipment.
The brush on the shoe will flex some so for minor z axis movements it doesnāt matter. When the spindle goes up high enough so the brush isnāt contacting the workpiece the bit and is no longer cutting so thereās nothing for the dust collector to capture. To me the most important part of the shoe is to have the brush as close to the bit on all 4 sides as possible without risking the brush being damaged by the bit.
1 Like
Thanks for turning on the lightbulb on this. (Smacking my forehead) Of COURSE when it lifts above the surface the bit is no longer cutting. Thanks again!
Jim