So is upgrading to the water cooled spindle worth it? Here’s the context I don’t trust the air cooled spindle with a cut per pass greater than .1, unless it’s a compression bit, I have experiential reasons for this. If I use a 3/4 b&t bit I take it down to .09. So in asking if it’s worth it I’m looking at time saved, spindle longevity and quality of cut at higher speeds/depth of cut
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The spindles have multiple bearings inside. The air cooled likely get hotter than a water cooled. How much hotter only the users of either or both can tell us. The water cooled would run cooler because they are running chilled water through the body of the spindle. The 80MM water cooled spindles take a bigger mount and you have to perform maintenance on the water and chiller so it is a toss up between wear and tear on air cooled over the maintenance of water cooled.
There have some reported failures of the C3D air cooled 66MM spindles but usually it is start up problems and not so much in running after initial problems.
The main difference is the cost. If you are running a business the cost is absorbed by the tax savings you get by writing the expense off. If running as a hobby the water cooled might be over kill. So it depends on your wallet size. Nothing is maintenance free but the air cooled is simpler and over time who knows which one would last the longest. Everything wears out and breaks down.
I got the 65mm water cooled from PWNCNC.
I wanted water and my Pro with ZPlus couldn’t support the 80mm.
One huge advantage is that there is no real way for dust to get up into the spindle bearings. It’s quieter, but once you start cutting that doesn’t really matter.