I routinely start drilling jobs in the shop, set a timer on my phone and come back a minute or so before they finish.
Last night, was doing a job, and noticed there was NO sound coming from the shop. Went out to find the piece I was drilling ruined by molten copper and plastic coming from the spindle. The spindle itself was seized hard, and very hot. I have religiously cleaned it, and changed the brushes once so far, but this was a shock. So close to starting a fire in the shop.
Anyone ever have their spindle seize? Trying to think would could have caused it? Dust ingress causing friction on the windings? Too much stress/workload for a trim router?
Bought a Makita replacement last night. Anyone have any issues with their Makita? It seems to be working much more smoothly than the Carbide spindle did so far… Just want to be sure I’m taking all the precautions I need to!
Bearings gone bad — usually they make a ghastly noise first which makes it obvious and gives on the chance to shut things down safely — glad it wasn’t the disaster it might have been (please don’t leave the machine running unattended).
Correct. The Carbide 3D router. I call it a spindle because it pretty much ships like one, with no accessories and isn’t really designed to be a router. I see Will responded below. I’ll send them a message.
Totally agree. While technically I’m not in the shop proper (it’s a detached two car garage converted to a full shop) I am still working on projects that allow me quick access to the shop. Essentially, I’ve got a window that’s open and I can actually hear the CNC running while I am doing other parts of the project in the house. Kind of use the CNC and my laser engraver as two ‘employees’ in the shop and bounce from one thing to another in organized chaos to get projects done the most efficiently. Totally agree though. No leaving the house with machines running. Too risky!!
Thanks for the reply Will! I totally agree about not leaving machines unattended. The shop is a detached two car garage about 20 feet from my house. I use the house as an extension of it to work on projects while the CNC does it’s thing. Definitely going to be keeping a closer eye on things!
I will send a message to the support e-mail and see what they think!
I replaced my Carbide 3D router with a Makita after it seized up. The only downside to the makita was the short cord, so after a week, I voided the warranty on it it, and replaced it with the cord from the Carbide 3D router.
Runs like a champ.
You can also install a couple fire suppression balls in the shop should things ever get out of hand to help possibly save the shop. Just know if one ever goes off while you are in the space to hold your breath and immediately exit the room.
