I’m considering the PwnCNC 1.5kw air cooled spindle for my Shapeoko 5.1Pro. I’ve read as many threads on here as I could find, but I still have some questions if you have knowledge and a working experience.
How plug-n-play is it?
Does the auto bit setter still function?
Longevity issues?
Does the pause function still work?
Did you need the gas strut on the Z axis?
I think this is all I have for now, but if you have any hints and experience with this spindle I’d appreciate hearing about it.
I had the 1.5 water cooled on my Pro XXL and have just put the 80mm water cooled on my 5.1.
How plug-n-play is it?
It’s good. Specify the machine you are installing it on and they include the right cable. It does not use the spindle port on the controller, they give you a pig tail to hook to a port inside the controller box. They have a video showing how to hook it up. I followed that and put a hole in the controller box cover to add the port for their cable.
Once installed there is a procedure you have to go through to make the spindle start up when it gets the signal from the controller. It’s updating about 10 settings in the VFD. Takes about 5 minutes and it’s a one time thing.
Does the auto bit setter still function?
Yes, there isn’t really any impact to bitsetter.
Longevity issues?
I had mine for a year or so and didn’t run it hard. It’s beefy. I am sure equivalent to the one from C3D. I would recommend the water cooled one though. It’s not really much more. I use a bucket filled with RV antifreeze and a pond pump rather than a chiller. My shop is climate controlled and that is really enough. I got their Superthane tubing and Koolance connectors. The tubing is quite a challenge to get into the drag chains. I will put a picture below showing the radius on the chains with the tubes installed. The water cooled ones are quieter and prevent any dust intrusion in the system.
Does the pause function still work?
Compared to what? If you do the procedure I mentioned above the controller will start and stop at the proper times.
Did you need the gas strut on the Z axis?
I bought the 80mm for the 5.1 and went ahead and ordered the strut.
I had the 65 on my Pro XXL with the Z Plus and the spindle would randomly drop when I shut the machine off. Sometimes it wouldn’t happen for months and then it would happen every day for a week. Then it would be fine again. So iffy for the 65mm but probably should for the 80.
That is extremely helpful. As far as the pause button on the e-stop pendant, if you push it during operation will the program pause and then be able to restart with the start button on carbide motion?
I’m not sure. Seems like when I paused with the pendant I always restated with the pendant. More though that the pause on the pendant or CM with the 5 does not stop the spindle from turning, only stops the gantry. That is not particular to the PwnCNC spindle though.
There are a lot of threads about this. Search for messages about feed hold. There are messages exposing why it is the proper behavior because that’s what the big machines do. Proper or not, lots of folks preferred the spindle to stop and raise as it did on the earlier models but capacity in the controller limited that when the second Y proximity switch was added or something like that.
What I plan to try once I have the machine ready to roll it to hit pause on the pendant or CM and then hit stop on the VFD control panel if it stops the spindle then I can hit run on the VFD to see if it restarts. I still won’t be able to retract but at least with the spindle stopped I could make dust boot adjustment if needed.
With their spindle the control panel is relocatable. You can pop it out and position it somewhere not convenient. You need to order a mount and cable from them. I rigged mine up like this:
