Originally Posted by
Ron Bontz
Here we go again. Does the 1.7kw spindle run on 220v? I have 220 available so that's not a problem.
Next, does the 1kw spindle use the same bracket as the 1.7kw or even the 3.0 kw? What about the wiring. Other than 110 vs 220 is the rest of the wiring the same. In other words, if I initially went with the smaller 1.0kw during the learning phase to keep the initial cost down, how difficult is it to jump up to the 3.0 kw spindle if I were to go out and buy one and keep it to the side? Silly question, perhaps?
If you buy a large enough VFD to support a 3kW, you could start with a smaller spindle. However, the mounting is likely different between the sizes. On top of that the different sized spindles likely use different size collets (you could use the same endmills, but the parts that hold them are likely not interchangeable). I did a very cursory eBay search and I'm seeing at least one 1.5kW for $125 and one 4kW for $235. If you can afford the $110 difference and your machine allows it, I'd go for the larger spindle. Do keep in mind a larger VFD will costs a bit more ($70 more?), but I'm assuming you were going to buy it regardless so you could upgrade spindles down the road.
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