Thread: Water cooled spindles

You have to pump it.

Is water cooling necessary is is air okay?

Originally Posted by Bupton

Is water cooling necessary is is air okay?

It is with a watercooled spindle.

For a air cooled spindle you need to set a minimum frequency so that the fan kicks in, other than that I haven't heard anything bad about them (ie. overheating ect.)

If you search the forum the subject had been mentioned many times.

Water cooling does keep the spindle slightly cooler(dependent on cooling method) and they are slightly less noisy compared to an air cooled spindle, but each will work wonders on hobby machines. Water cooled spindles however are slightly more time consuming to install in the sense that you will need to install water lines, pump, radiator(optional) and reservoir.

Daniel

It is only the more sophisticated electronically controlled fans that have a minimum speed kick in. The simpler ones just have a fan attached to the shaft so that when the motor turns, so does the fan.

If you want air cooled then specify that you want the fan to be manual rather than electronic. Ask Big_Willy about them

I drive a commercial CNC as a job. 8KW air cooled spindle, cuts virtually continuously for 8 hour shifts without any dramas, has been doing so six years to date. Fan is a variable speed unit controlled by a temp sensor in the spindle motor, but rarely gets above idle speed. Unit has a 10 minute spindle warm up programmed as part of the daily setup routine, then maintens temp quite well throughout the day.

Secret is probably the design and build quality and the fact that it is not overloaded, probably runs at about 20-30 % load most of the time.

Take a small motor with an intergral shaft mounted fan, slow it down and load it up and you may have problems, particularly if the design and build quality are marginal to start with.

Originally Posted by Bob Willson

It is only the more sophisticated electronically controlled fans that have a minimum speed kick in. The simpler ones just have a fan attached to the shaft so that when the motor turns, so does the fan.

Aren't the chinese ones electronically driven fans but just leech off the spindles power? I always thought that was the case because of the minimum frequency.

Or are they shaft driven? and the minimum frequency is to keep the fan at an optimum speed for airflow.