If you remember I got a smokin deal on a 4XL this summer. I did a lot of fixing and cleaning on it and had it running great. The plan was always to upgrade to the 65mm spindle but that was going to be sometime next year.
Well yesterday I was tramming the router and one of the router mount screws stripped in the ZPlus backing plate. I ran a tap through it but it didn’t work.
So today I ordered a new HDZ, 65mm spindle kit, some cables and homing switches. Thanks to Brandon from C3D support on a call a few weeks ago where he suggested the HDZ upgrade to better handle the spindle.
I’ve been eyeing spindles for a while now and I can’t wait to receive everything and get upgraded.
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That’s gonna be fun. I am a little jealous…but my C3d trim router just keeps chugging along. 4 years and running strong.
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Oh, I can hear you now that you have a spindle….
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I like how you think, Jeff. My own thought would have been “Helicoil”… 
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Yeah I thought of that too but since I wanted to upgrade to a spindle anyway I figured why not do it now instead of waiting until next year. Besides it’s only money and you can’t take it with you 
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@cheu I have a C3D and an ER11 router and I always had good results with my them but after seeing a friends machine with a spindle I was hooked.
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My dream machine is an Avid. That’s gonna happen. 
@cheu Wow that looks like an “after I win the lottery” purchase
You need to step up your dreams lol.
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Well…my shop is 12x16. With a laser and all the other machines, there’s barely enough room for my dogs.
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I’m just saying. As someone who has two 5 pros and have run an avid, shop sabre, and a couple others.
I wouldn’t waste my money moving to an avid from my 5 pros.
It would have to be atleast a pro series shop sabre.
Would it be nice to have a 4x8 machine? Yeah. But I can’t fit one In my 30x30 shop, or shall I say I can’t justify the space usage over my current set up which is two machines stacked.
Personally I’m happy with my current setup and am dreaming of a 22hP vertical mill.
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My HDZ arrived the other day from C3D so I installed it and got it set up this morning. Just waiting on the spindle to get here…weather delays due to freezing rain here in southern Ontario have delayed delivery . Hopefully it gets here tomorrow and I’ll be all good to go.
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You have to keep the pups happy !
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Took me a while to question this but this morning I was thinking about the collet size on the new 65mm spindle. Was the 65mm spindle changed to ER16 recently?
My upgrade kit came with three ER16 collets (1/8, 3/8, 1/4) and obviously the corresponding spindle shaft size. When I look at the sales webpage it calls out the ER11 collets. I was concerned with how far into the ER16 collet the standard length endmill has to go and how that shortens the length of the endmill outside the collet nut which could impact things like pocket depths. The difference between the two collet lengths is about 9.5mm so the difference in amount of exposed endmill when installed correctly is quite a bit.
“Dang it! I scuffed the paint on this one… Guess I’ll just have to buy a new one.” 
Good thing I paint after the job is done! I’d hate to hear the sound of the collet nut hitting the material during a cut… ouch!! 
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Just had another thought… When I installed the spindle into the mount I placed it at the same position as the previous router which was 3.5" from the bottom of the mount to bottom of the collet nut. Should I adjust the spindle down a bit more to compensate for the difference in length caused by a larger collet nut? If I raised it the sweepy wouldn’t be fully engaged on the spindle. Hmmm but I guess that won’t impact the length of exposed endmill … 
- Now uses ER-16 collets, so you can use cutters with larger shanks.
- A 3/8" collet is included, in addition to the 1/8" and 1/4" collets that were previously included.
See:
https://carbide3d.com/hub/docs/65mm-er16-spindle/
My recommendation is to chuck up the shortest tool you plan on using, as short as possible, then position the machine over the T-track and adjust down until the tip of the tool just barely touches the top of the T-track.
While it shouldn’t strictly be necessary, some folks using the newer VFD spindles still make use of:
Thanks for the info Will. I’ll set it up that way. I considered the deep sweepy but the regular one has been working fine.
Oh and maybe someone could update the “What’s included” at
https://shop.carbide3d.com/collections/accessories/products/vfd-spindle-kit
Already done?
- Includes 1/8", 1/4", and 3/8" ER-16 collets