2.2kw water cooled spindle upgrade

CNC Machines Shapeoko 3
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Well, I decided to upgrade from the router noise to the more quite water cooled spindle. Got this last evening. 2.2 kw/220v, 80mm water cooled spindle with ceramic ball bearings made by G Penny. My concern is the weight of the spindle and holder is 15 pounds and if the steppers can move this mass without damage. Secondly the 3 xl has the V rollers on the transom and x and y travels. Are the rollers rated for this? Is the transom adequate and are the steppers adequate. Thoughts? Tom

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Not sure about the XY rollers. I expect they should handle the weight.

For the Z, if it’s a problem they make the gas struts for the Pro 5. I wonder if they’d be adaptable to the 3XL, or you could find a comparable strut for your machine

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The general advice I’ve seen is that it’s more the z-axis type that’s the potential limiter. The original belt Z doesn’t cut it but if you have the z-plus or HDZ you should be fine.

I have an SO3 XL w/HDZ 80mm spindle… I did end up modifying and putting linear guide rails since that was the plan.

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C3D does not recommend 80MM spindles for Belt Z (SO3) or the Z-Plus due to the weight. The HDZ is required for the 80MM Spindle. A Z-Plus might work but an 80MM is really too heavy for that Z axis.

What machine do you have and what Z-Axis? An SO3 with HDZ would still have issues with such a heavy spindle. An SO4/SO4 Pro and SO5 should have no problem with an HDZ. Z-Plus iffy.

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I had the HDZ upgraded when I bought it - Tom

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Ran one like that for years.

The v wheels are you weak point. They don’t break. They just aren’t designed for the loads and will need constant adjustments and wear out. Will lead to surface finish issues. Similar to tramming problems.

Always ran steel belts. To reduce belt stretch as much as I can. But keep in mind the steel belts wear and fail faster. I replaced monthly but was running the Machine 60 hours a week hard.

I’ve since bought a 5pro 4x4 and the 3xxl now has a thick layer of dust on it just in case I have a break down

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