Hey everyone, I’m completely new to the CNC world. My wife and I ordered the Altmill that we will be getting in the next month or two. We decided against the spindle add-on as we want a more powerful spindle with, at least, an ER20 collet size to handle 1/2 inch shank bits. What we don’t know how to do and having a hard time finding any videos demonstrating is how to connect and program a third party VFD and spindle. We are looking at PWNCNC options but they are pretty expensive. It’s the option we’d settle with if we can’t figure out how to install everything ourselves. Does anyone have any experience connecting a 2.2kw or higher spindle to the Altmill? We see that Sienci wrote that Huanyang, DuraPulse, and a few others are fairly plug and play but without having the machine in our possession and being able to study and understand it we are having a tough time committing to a spindle and VFD option and we aren’t sure how difficult or not it will be to actually connect. Any info or tips anyone can give us would be greatly appreciated!
Edit: I should specify that we live in Canada so PWNCNC becomes really expensive due to the shipping and import costs.
I think you are wise to go for the ER20 collet. I have the PWN 2.2 kw air cooled which I have been very happy with. It is on the pricey side and I live in the US. It is pretty much plug and play and I was able to get it running on the modbus so very happy about that. Not much help but best of luck with your new machine, think you will love the possibilities it opens up.
Ya I just ordered the air cooled system. I simply don’t have enough base knowledge electronics yet to do it on my own. Maybe the next upgrade I’ll have learned enough to not need to rely on plug and play. We are doing things like epoxy tables, wall art, and smaller scale stuff so having the ability to use the CNC machine to flatten large slabs with a 2.5" bit or larger made the upgrade to a 2.2kw with ER20 a no-brainer for me. Thankfully I think we finally have all the gear needed and now just need to learn how to actually use it haha. Figured starting with the Altmill was the best option as our logic was buying a machine that was way beyond our skill level that we could grow in to was more cost effective in the long run than a beginner machine that we would eventually have to replace after hitting its limitations.
I’m about to cancel the AltMill spindle kit and order a 220v Spindle. I made room for the 2x4 model by selling a 220V jointer/planner. I do not have 2 separate 110 volt circuits, as recommended by Sienci Labs, near the area where I want to setup the AltMill in my shop. I do have a separate 110 and a 220 outlet. Sienci Labs does not sell a 220 v spindle kit so I need to either reword the shop or buy a 220v spindle
I have worked on 2 spindle based CNCs at my local Maker -space in Tucson Arizona. Maker-spaces are a great place to learn about CNC systems BTW. You should not be intimidated if by setting up a CNC Spindle. Yes the VFD (variable frequency device) controller has a great number of settings. However, most of the manufacturers have preset their controllers to be plug and play. Not to say you should not check the settings but that they are no more complicated than everything else you will be learning when using a CNC machine. Just make sure you are dealing with a suppler that had good after sales support. You can also download the manual prior to your purchase.
The VFD will require a power in line and a 4 wire connection to the Spindle. The rest of the connections should be supported by Sienci Labs depending on your controller configurations. You can also run the spindle manually like you would a router configuration.