Well the seller has declined the partial refund. Now o have to send everything back to them. Looks like $100 for a large ups flare rate box back to China.
So does anyone have a seller on amazon that’s worth a damn? Looking for a 1.5kw water cooled spindle and vfd combo. 220v 4 bearing.
That’s disappointing, hopefully it doesn’t take too long to process, I wonder if they’ll “repair” the VFD or just refund or ship you a new one.
Hi Ryan, I bought mine a few weeks ago from #Best Technology Co Ltd in the Ali express confind. I have I would also recommend them for service too
I bought G-Penny, Huanyang VFD plus loads of other add ons
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/342739?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000002.2.161246f6AggnD6
I have bought loads of stuff through AliExpress for my Drone too
That is exactly the seller I have been having issues with. They have been no help in trying to get issues resolved and got 3-4 days without responding to messages. They refused AliExpress offer for a partial refund and I keep the spindle. Now I have to pay $100 to ship everything back to them for a refund.
Will never deal with this again, atleast the seller they have been blacklisted for me.
It will be a refund. I’m going to buy from a different seller on a different platform as this has been the biggest disappointment and pain in the ass to deal with.
Sorry to hear that …
I chickened out of buying Ali or Banggood for my first spindle and found a local UK reseller. Yes, it’s more expensive than buying straight from China but these guys preconfigured and tested the VFD so all I had to do was wire it up and they were also helpful with advice on power filtering etc. More relevantly, I get two years warranty by EU law on electrical goods and a UK seller to deal with if it does misbehave.
This is why I’m looking for an amazon seller I can buy a warranty through them for 4 years that is handled through a warranty admin and not the seller.
Realistically what’s the weight difference between a 1.5kw (er16)and 2.2kw (er20)spindle?
I’m seeing a 0.5kg when looking on amazon ( 5 vs 5.5 kg) but I don’t know if I trust that.
The entire reason I bought the 1.5 was to save weight and use the stock z axis. That didn’t work too well. The hdz showed up yesterday.
Weight is still a concern to me because it’s momentum flying around. But if it’s only a lbs or so I don’t care.
That I can’t answer, I only have a 2.2kW water cooled. But the HDZ and the clamp aren’t exactly featherweight either.
I would say weight at the cutter head is actually a benefit so long as the steppers can drive it. The more mass at the cutter head the harder it is for the cutters to vibrate it significantly. With a 1/2 inch cutter in it my ER20 collet 2.2kW spindle goes through ply in a way that makes me want to stand at a safe distance. There’s no real comparison with the small bits in the AMB Kress spindle.
I very much doubt I’ll ever deliberately use the 2.2kW of the spindle on this machine, despite urgings to run faster from @gmack 
So I don’t see a useful difference between a 0.8kW, 1.5kW and 2.2kW spindle on a Shapeoko from a power to the load perspective.
I do see a difference in being able to chuck up a 12mm or 1/2" shaft cutter and have it cut quickly instead of vibrating in a way that makes my teeth hurt.
Given you have the HDZ, if there’s not a significant price difference then I’d take the ER20 collet if I were you, that’s what I chose here.
More likely than not, those are constant torque spindles which are rated at 24000 RPM. Assuming they’re properly rated, that’s 2.8, 5.28, and 7.75 in-lbf for the 800, 1500, and 2200 Watt spindles respectively. Those torques would generate 22.4, 42.2, and 62 lbf respectively with a 1/4" cutter diameter (half that with a 1/2" cutter). The stepper motors on the Shapeoko can only provide ~18 lbf before they slip (lose steps). Although using a 1/2" diameter router bit with a 1/4" shank wouldn’t cause the steppers to slip, the 11 lbf would probably be too much for Shapeokos (regardless of the spindle size).
High spindle torques are counterproductive, but high spindle speeds (RPMs) aren’t. Running at the maximum spindle speed is necessary to get the most power out of the spindles (to maximize material removal rate (MMR)) as well as minimize cutting forces (at all MMRs). The larger the spindle, the better balanced it’s rotor needs to be to keep vibrations in check at high speeds. (Is that why you seem reluctant to run your 2.2kW HY at 24000RPM?) IMO this is a case where “bigger isn’t better”. Maybe someone like @wb9tpg would be willing to weigh in with his 800W spindle experiences.
Those are good numbers on my rough feel, thanks.
By running faster, what I should have said was faster feed speeds on the machine and deeper cuts, should have been clearer, I have turned the ‘normal’ speed up to 20k already and yes, this spindle hums along nicely and quietly at full speed.
Isn’t 24kRPM full (and rated) speed? I recall suggesting that increasing speed would allow you to achieve higher MRRs without increasing cutting forces by using more of spindle power.
Yep, taking it a step at a time, it’s irrational I know and I think it’s a hangover (literally) from my time with the air cooled AMB Kress making me want to do a Van Gogh when it ran at full speed. Either that or my years rallying British cars and equating “full speed” with “imminent failure” 
wow I feel like a real expert (ex-spurt: a has-been & drip under pressure) 
This is almost like talking religion or politics and nobody will agree. Most of what I’ll say below is opinion only.
I went with 800W for a variety of reasons
cost was cheaper
I do a lot of vcarving and there is not much bit engagement so power is not an issue.
I use a 1/4" bits mostly for profile cutouts for a couple of reasons. Same reason I use a thin kerf blade in my table saw (less waster and less power required). Also less material waste
800W spindle is less weight. Accelerating and decelerating the extra mass puts additional wear and tear on the machine. You also accelerate something with less mass faster given the energy the steppers can generate is finite.
While I could cut at 24,000 all the time. I don’t because I don’t like the racket the bit makes. Also I think it contributes to more bit wear and the time the feed is accelerating / decelerating it’s rubbing and making fine dust.
I’d be lying to say I didn’t want the capability to use 1/2" shank bits but if I honestly look at when I really needed it I’d be hard pressed to find one real instance.
When I look at what I like about using a CNC is precision. Deflection is a big enemy of precision in my opinion. Pushing a bigger bit through with more force generate deflections in the bit and in the X,Y & Z mechanisms. So smaller and more patient meant more precision to me. If you look at my work products I’ve posted I think you can see that.
A couple of points to others with “failed or not working” VFDs. I would definitely NOT try and repair. These are really made to toss when failed. I have several GE and other brands running various woodworking equipment and even GE says toss, no replacement parts available. Just too many things that can be damaged.
Ryan, I would connect replacement and make sure it works well before connecting back to Shapeoko. Good luck. And I would expect it was the VFD.
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