240V spindle to Altmill?

Community Discussion 📄 General
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I’m still waiting for my Altmill to be shipped over to Europe, and I’ve been considering my spindle options. Since my local voltage is 220/240V, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a spindle that works natively with this voltage.

I understand that going for the 110V spindle offered by Sienci might be the simplest solution, but it seems more logical to avoid converting from 220/240V to 110V if possible. My current plan is to use the power adapter included with the Altmill and run the CNC using a transformer.

Does anyone have experience with a similar setup or advice on a better approach?

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Hi Ville,

Welcome to the forum.

240V here too, but a longmill user, so a bit easier to decide what route to take for a makita router can be bought local and be rated for pocal power. But, if/when I would get me that monster of an altmill, I would go the same route.

I got me a small step down coil convertor to run the machine but I wouldn’t want a power tool to run on a coil. Inductive peaks can do nasty things to more sensitive equipment.

So… I would go and find me a spindle that speaks our native grid language. Good news is, that with double the voltage, we Euros can run double the power into our spindles without taking down the whole neighborhood. That would be something I would take into account aswell. Can’t let a good bonus go to waste. One does not have to use 4kw but surely it’s nice to have it hanging around on a machine that can handle such beasts. Spindle size might be a deal breaker though. Keep in mind it’s easiest if the spindle fits the mount. Other things to keep in mind is the VFD. It needs to be able to communicate with the slb, so no deviation from what sienci says at the bottom of this page.

So the only thing now is the pricetag. I have not looked into spindle set pricing, but I allready know you prolly will not find one under siencis pricetag so yer looking at $541,- adding vat and all to have a low aim of $700,-

Well… I’ve looked a few hours into finding something and I too am pretty lost. There is more to this than simply find a unit and bolt it on. I am allergic to ali express when it comes to something I want warranty on, so nogo on those.

You know what, your approuch is the right one, when the mill is ordered. You gave me something to think about though. I think I will research this topic a bit more and maybe get me a spindle on my longmill and get that to work before wanting an altmill.

I know a guy I need to talk to first.

Sienci has guys too. Maybe drop the question there. They must have looked into this problem one way or the other. Maybe they can even recommend just replacing the VFD with another unit. There are too many routes to take to be able to get this right in a few hours.

Anyhow, thanks for the rabit hole. :grin:

Oh, it might be wise to run the spindle unit on a seperate tranformer than the altmill.

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Hi Eddie,

Thank you for your detailed response. I really appreciate how you’ve looked at this from different angles to help us high-voltage users find a suitable solution. Upgrading the LongMill with a spindle before considering a completely new machine does seem like a smart approach.

This is my first CNC, so I’m quite new to all of this, but I’m keen to dive into the topic and learn as much as I can. I truly value the advice you’ve shared and would welcome any further input from you or others in the community.

I’ll also check back with the Sienci team for more guidance—last time they suggested I turn to the forum for advice.

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I just received a notification that my AltMill is with customs, so I need to order a spindle as soon as possible. I reached out to the Sienci team, but they mentioned they haven’t tested 240V spindles yet and might explore this in the future. If anyone has recommendations for a 230V spindle compatible with the AltMill, I would be very grateful.

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I have not looked any further into the topic, but had this page bookmarked in the initial search. Maybe it’s helpfull for you. At least you have the option to choose 220v and it will fit the 80mm altmill mount, as is.

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I ordered the PwnCNC 240v 2.2K Spindle Kit. I’m at the assembly phase where I’m trying to get the spindle turning. I can jog/move it a few days ago I could get it to spin. I have no idea why I can not get the spindle to turn again.

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Hey John, can it be that you have the order in wich you turn things on wrong?
The slb and the vfd need tomhandshake, and if you turn things on in the wrong order, they can’t?

In bold here:

Screenshot_20250129-084701_Chrome
Screenshot_20250129-084701_Chrome1920×1093 120 KB

Found here:

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I do not have my Altmill yet (over 300 in the que before me) but plan to use my water cooled 2.2kw 220 volt Haunyang spindle that I have on my home built CNC. Everything I read on the Seinci site seems to suggest it should work with the RS485 interface from the SLB. Sure hope it does! Here is the one I have from Amazon: Amazon.com: 220V 2.2kw vfd/Spindle Package: 220V 2.2KW VFD+ ER20 Water Cooled Spindle Motor+80mm Spindle Clamp for CNC Router Engraver Milling Machine : Industrial & Scientific

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Sienci support remoted into my PC connected to the SLB. After confirming all settings were correct and some power checks we managed to get the spindle spinning. All seemed to be working correctly and more test were preformed. In one of the test we noticed that the VFD was reporting RPM twice the setting. As we explored for a reason, suddenly again we encountered the alarm 10 that could NOT be reset. After support made numerous checks, we could not get the darn spindle to turn.

Support suspects that something is wrong with the SLB and has sent me a new board. I should arrive Monday (02/03/2025). After installing and applying the firmware changes I will test. Hopefully, it will work as it should. OH PLEASE!!!

After completing the remote session with Sienci, I called PwnCNC and requested that they remote into my PC and see if they could see any possible problems. Unfortunately, they don’t have the ability to remote into my PC. I have my fingers crossed, hopefully the new board will resolve the issue.

Rearding the VFW displaying 2x speed setting. Somewhere on the PwnCNC site I found a discussion about a VFW setting (p2.0.15 = 5) that might resolve this issue. Because I was unable to clear the alarm 10, I was not able to confirm this setting. In an email I ask Sienci support if the SLB was 10 or 5 volts. I’m waiting for an answer.

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Some how i was able to clear the alarm, made the change to p2.0.15, no effect. However, the spindle did automatically stop turning after 10 to 15 seconds and produced an alarm. I’ll wait for the new board.

Any thoughts about this setting?

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New board received, I still have the same issue Connected PwnCNC, they requested I send my VFD, SLB, and control cable. They will check on their AltMil, if possible make adjustments and return to me. Hopefully, I will have an answer next week.

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Hi
I’m thinking of ordering an Altmill just not sure what spindle I will need In uk.

Did you find one that worked with it ?

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Hi,

I’ve gone ahead and ordered a Makita RT0702C router to use temporarily, since I’m still not quite sure what spindle would work best for us here in Europe with 230V power.

I know the Makita isn’t ideal for the AltMill, and I’m also not sure yet how I’ll make it fit the 80mm mount but I figured it’ll do for now until I get a better sense of what to go with long-term.

I’d really love to hear if anyone has had success using a 230V spindle with the AltMill. And if the team at Science has any recommendations—or even better, if you sell one that would work—that would be awesome.

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Hi Ville,

Here’s a sienci blog post on spindles for the altmill. There is a section o 3th party spindles and I think it is an interesting read.

I have a vague memory on a post or mention I read/heared somewhere that sienci is going to source their own 240V spindle kit, but have not found it yet. If I stumble accross it again, I’ll post below.

While I search, watch this fun vid on the altmill pushing a 4k5 spindle..

I can’t reproduce any evidence for 240V sienci spindle atm. So.. no luck. If I stumble over it again I’ll post.

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I ordered a 230v spindle from PwnCNC >> Spindle System – PwnCNC This is a water-cooled unit and is VERY quiet.
I’m very much a newbie to CNCs and just surfaced the top board of my AltMill.
I’m also using the AirWeights vacuum table and hope to make my first cut this week using it.

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Hello,

I am curious how was the process of getting your PwnCN spinle connected and working? Was it plug and play or was there setting issues you had to go through? Also curious why you choose the water cooled? I am debating that as well. I am very new to CNC, but do have some industry knowledge, and just purchased a Altmill. Loooong wait time for me which absolutely sucks, But I do think this is the best machine at this level. This 3 + months wait time will be tough.

Thank you!

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I ordered an Altmill also and was searching for the same info . The PWN website did say the watercooling was recommended if cutting aluminum frequently. There was some things about PWN’s spindle offerings I didn’t like. The 18awg cables running a 2.2kw spindle, most everyone pushes 16awg as recommended. Their Delixi EM61 VFD obviously works, but I think it was chosen because of its cheap price from China in bulk. Just a guess but the HY and H100 VFD’s have a lot more users on forums and on youtube. Their G-Penny spindles from PWN are steel bearing not the ceramic upgraded that you can get from the manufacture. Not saying the PWN kit is bad, but it made me think I can do a little better for the cost. Piecing it out yourself is obviously not plug and play though. I have done a few VFD conversions already.

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Thanks Don
Great info! I do not mind piecing something together as long as there is some bullet proof resources/instructions out there. I just don’t want to be frustrated with a bunch of trial and error. Email back and forth with tech support, etc. Budget is not too much of a concern (within reason). Sounds like I should spend the time researching I guess. My only issue is I have zero frame of reference with respect to experience, brands, set up methods, etc..

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Yes research can lead you all over the place. There is the advantage of being able to push any problems to PWN if there are any, if you purchase their plug and play kit. Something that a pieced together kit owner can’t do. I went with a China made H-100 3kw VFD under the Vevor brand (label), just because Sienci uses that under their label in a smaller model with their Altmill kit and there is a setting for it in the software. I will probably go with Gpenny 2.2kw spindle with ceramic bearings and water cooling. G-penny did write on their website that the ceramic bearing upgrade was recommended when cutting hard wood or aluminum.

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This is the info on the G-penny ceramic bearing upgrade. Note #4. I went head and ordered the 2.2KW flat nosed 220v G-penny spindle with ceramic bearings from Amazon in the USA last night. I wanted the bullet nosed model from their website in China, but it looks like we get hit with a 54%? tariff now from China to the USA. So I grabbed what I can get thats tariff free.

bearing
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