Hi everyone
I am a newbie in cnc…
I am planning to make my own cnc machine.
I hesitate about the motor… I got a dremel that I could install…
I would like to install a brushless motor and use it with my dremel accessories…
My projects are cutting and engraving wood, acrilyc, thin aluminium…
So, my question is : what kind of motor should I use ? Power, rpm ?
I can’t spent a lot of money for that…
Thanks for help…
People seem to get quite along way with Dremels on machines like the Shapeoko. I also looked at whether I could use a brushless motor for a spindle. The problem seems to be that the bearings in most brushless motors aren’t built for side loads like you’d get in a CNC machine. I did wonder about using one of these: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/ER11-motor-shaft-extension-rod-shaft-5mm/1199616232.html on a motor with a 5mm shaft. That would let you use any accessory (with a suitable collet) and might be fine for light loads. I’d be interested to see what others rekon.
I think by the time you’ve combined the cost of brushless motor, controller, adapter and collet, you might be near the cost of one of the cheap ebay spindles, which are at least built for the task.
Hi, welcome to cnc world. You should start with the dremel, it’s perfect for cut wood, acrylic, and aluminum (slow feedrate).
Hi Stephane, I too am new to CNC and am building my own machine. Look at my video and you will see a 400 watt spindle motor that you can buy on Ebay for under USD$100. It is specifically for CNC and some of them have 3 or even 4 bearings for handling increased side loading.
Good luck with your machine and post a video…Cheers!
400 watt spindle motor then add a plunge router for a bit more speed.
I would just start with your dremal tool to learn. Then upgrade later once you have fine tuned your machine.
I would use your dremel as several have suggested. You can use it to create a better one down the road. I have seen several people with spindles created with R/C car brushless motors, an ER11 collet, and some aluminum!
Dremal is limited in collets and bit’s not to mention noisy.
@Marc_Schaefermeyer google it, here is a link to an easy one, but there are many more builds that have been documented: http://www.buildlog.net/blog/2011/09/new-brushless-dc-router-spindle/ THey used UHMW, but it could be aluminum too.
The Proxxon rotary tool is far superior to the Dremel - under 100 euro.
http://www.proxxon.com/en/micromot/28481.php?list
I use the Kress 1050FME-1, which is a little more expensive, but they have a smaller one, the 800FME
Both of those are far superior to a Dremel, at a modest price increase
Had a dremel in a Shapeoko 2, but switched to a decent spindle: Kress FME 1050. The dremel is not bad (especially when you already got one at hand) while you are learning to handle your machine, but soon more power is desireable.
@Werner_Drasch
I thought the big problem with Dremels is that they are just not designed for fixed use. They have a lot of slop, and run out. They’re made to be held in a hand.
A Dewalt 611 router would do better than a dremel I think. Inventables even sells a mount for it… $35
https://www.inventables.com/technologies/x-carve-dewalt-611-spindle-mount?utm_source=All+subscribers&utm_campaign=a6a63e1480-Regulate_it_7_10_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f89ffd2bc3-a6a63e1480-198131925
Router $100 + $7 shipping
or even better, a “Quiet Cut Spindle” from SMW 3D. $80 for a 300watt and $96 for a 400watt…
@Mat_Helm
Quiet and cutting do not go hand in hand with a variety of materials. The tool does have to contact the workpiece after all.
@Paul_Frederick as I never measured any of these factors I can’t give a qualified answer to that. But you can mount them with relative ease (made my mounting brackets from hardwood I had on hand) and achieved fairly good workpieces again mostly from wood or hdpe. I must confess I have also seen others do astonishingly detailed things with dremels on shapeoko’s. But my main point would be that they would deteriorate quite fast and your mentioned shortcomings in preciseness would show relatively soon, even if they would not have been too bad at the start. I had the dremel only for two or three months or so and realized it getting worse towards the end. Especially those bearings are not so great at all.