I’ve ordered an AltMill to replace my (far inferior) current CNC router. One thing I like about the M12 Hitachi Router on my current CNC is that it supports a 1/2" collet. I only routinely use one bit in that collet - a 1/2" ball end mill - to shape the back of bass guitar necks or similar contours. When I get the AltMill I will almost certainly get the spindle to replace my router, but the largest collet it can use is 3/8". I’ve not been able to find a 1/2" ball end mill with a 3/8" or smaller shank, which sort of surprises me. Am I missing something? Big ball end mills are great for this type of shaping!
Take a look at PWN CNC spindles, I have their 80mm 240v air cooled spindle which does have a 1/2" collet. I have it on a longmill mk2 with superlondboard, works great.
Hey Andrew,
Congrats on the future shop addition. Must feel great to have an altmill comming.
I’m a bit comfused on the ballnose question. Is there something special about your ball nose endmill or does it translate to the bowl bits sienci is selling.
I own the 3/4 and 1inch of these beast and they are awesome. I bet with the right stepover they would work with shaping too.
If you ever only use the one ball endmill, there is another option - get a 1/2" collet. Although the spindle is rated for 3/8" maximum, there are 1/2" collets available. I wouldn’t go that route if I was expecting to change bits frequently but it is fine for the occasional use. You will have to remove a minor bit of metal from the collet nut (like a thou or less) which can be done by hand and doesn’t affect runout.
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My Chinesium Spindle has an ER20 collet chuck and came with 28 collets. They are sized 1mm to 13mm in half mm increments plus, 3.175mm, 6.35mm, and 12.7mm. Those odd sizes are 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 inch respectfully. I have only have 1/4 inch bits, so the 6.35mm is always in the collet nut.
If it is a standard ER20 collet you should be able to get a half inch collet for it. Standards are a wonderful thing.
Just looked at the AltMill Spindle in the store, it has an ER16 collet so the clamping size is lower than the ER20. The range is 0.5—9 mm or 0.020—0.354".
If you are shopping for a Spindle and you plan to keep using 1/2" bits - look for an ER20 collet.
Here is a handy table of collet sizes at LittleMachineShop.com ER Collet Sizes
I assume that would work with the Altmill controller and has the same 80 mm mount? Do you have a link? @jpnharris
Stupid me, I didn’t even look on the Sienci site for bits. I was looking at places that probably mostly target metal working, which is probably what comes up when you search for “ball end mills”
Do you have a link for your spindle? Does it work with an 80mm bracket and would it work with the Altmill controller?
It does work with the superlong board/altmill, link below
I bought my CNC ( 1515 ULTIMATE Bee CNC Full Kit) from Bulkman3D - I replaced my xPRO V5 with a SLB (this is documented somewhere here and is the bases for some of the SLB documentation) - so it should work with the Altmill.
They sell the spindle/VFD combo separately here: 2.2kw-air-cooled-spindle-motor-bundle
Their 2.2 KW spindles are 80mm and have ER20 collets. Their 1.5 KW spindles come with a ER11 or ER16 collets. The units with ER11 collets are 65mm diameter and ER16 are 80mm diameter. The spindles are also available as water cooled - I got air cooled as my workshop is not heated (or cooled… 
) The bundle kits come with a Huanyang VFDs. Kits for 110V and 220V are available.
The only downside of the kit is that you are on your own for most of it. You even have to solder the wires to the plug. Not my best work, but it does work.
Reviewing this whole subject, I’m wondering whether I should just stick with my Hitachi M12VC router from the old CNC rather than going with a spindle. A spindle would be quieter (though I don’t know how much with air cooling), but apparently the M12VC would have more torque than a 1.5 kw spindle, and I have precision collets for it in 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2. The RPM range of the M12VC is 8000-24000. The bearing quality and runout seem good - based on my experience cutting fret slots for bass guitar. The problem is that the mounting diameter for the router is about 82 mm, so I would either have to machine some mounting clamps, or modify the 80 mm clamp that Sienci has for the Altmill (and convince them to sell me one without the spindle). With this plan, I could wait until I’m really ready for water cooling and/or ATC (which I guess Sienci is working on) and/or 240v. ATC would be a game changer.
What does everyone think?
Hi Andrew,
A while ago, a member of this forum had his altmill all set up, but had to wait for the certification somethinsometuin of the spindle, so it would not arrive untill somewhere in the future.
He mounted a 80mm mount sourced with sienci on the excisting one and started carving with his trusted 9ld rusty router.
Maybe an option for you, to look into?
Here’s one with a 3d printed mount.