I have a 80mm 2.2kw spindle mounted on my LR3 and have just started printing LR4 parts. However the Printables page (snip above) says that the max tool diameter is 69mm.
Is the 69mm limit a hard limit or is it due to a lack of currently available files for larger mounts?
Hard limit, anything larger would stick out very far and make for a horrible experience. 2.2kw is pretty insane for a CNC of this size really.
Do you have a picture of it on you LR3? It should not fit that either. You must have had a cruddy cutting experience??
I hadn’t got to the point of cutting, it’s been an ongoing build for about 12 months - just a bit at a time. I recall reading that 2.2kw was optimal but I could (easily) be mistaken/wrong.
pretty sure we have a few people running the larger liquid cooled units on LR3s. I know my 1.5kw spindle is the same 65mm diameter as the Makita and works really well. Also its air cooled so no messing with water lines and all that.
The LR4 Makita tool mount’s opening, printed dimensions (natural position, not flexed), is something like:
65.30 mm diameter / 32.65 mm radius
Contrast with:
80.00 mm diameter / 40.00 mm radius
That larger size would push the spindle away from the core by at least 7.35 mm, and could be more depending on how the mount remix was done.
That extra distance creates a lever type force that works against the machine regarding rigidity (creates likelihood of runout problems).
The more distance from the core the worse the risk of flexing and runout.
Our little 1 1/4 hp routers are very hard to overpower. 2.2kw is “supposed” to be 3hp.
Doug is right, pushing the cutting bit further from the core makes performance drastically worse. 2x the distance = 1/2 the rigidity if not less. So any added power is lost to less rigidity.
Unfortunately the balance here is rigidity and power and the palm routers seem to be ideal.
Maybe another way to put that is chances are really good you are going to see lower performance with that spindle than a palm router that is closer to the support rails.
Understood. Originally I had a trim router on my MPCNC and hated it, it was loud and seemed under powered. I may have approached it from the wrong direction though. Will track down a 1.5, I’ll save the 2.2 for a router table.
And also - it’s not available anymore is it? Anyone know if the air-cooled version is coming back?
That particular one isn’t available anymore, but there are plenty of other options out there on ebay or other sites.
Allegedly Vevor says 1-2 weeks. I’m not sure how accurate that is. I registered for a notification if it comes in.
Please post if the 1.5kW one comes back in stock. All it says for me is discontinue. Aliexpress seems like such a crapshoot.
Will do, note that I’m in Australia if that makes a difference?
i have a 1.5kw spindle as well 80mm and I had to redesign my holding mount to be closer to the core to improve cutting you’ll be surprised what a .5’’ makes (my spindle is roughly 5lbs)
Thanks - if they carry it in Australia, maybe it would be back in the US as well? I can take a 220v unit, although I think I’d prefer the 110v for now. (Dust Collector is 220v which means my EV is unplugged anyway.)
I guess what I need to do is really look at the options from other vendors. Just not sure how to evaluate their quality before I get them, and returning stuff to those vendors is usually impossible.
The VFD cares more about the line voltage than the spindle itself anyway
You must have the water cooled version. The size is why I chose to go air cooled. And then a bonus was no water lines or leaks to worry about!
I was also planning to buy the Vevor spindle that @Jonathjon recommended, but unfortunately, it seems to be unavailable. I’ve contacted Vevor several times, and every time I got the same response—there is no restock planned.
There are various other 1.5kW Chinese alternatives out there, but other spindles have also been recommended, such as:
Personally, I have considered these as other reasonable options (though they are not tested solutions):
They appear to be available in Europe -
