Im gathering supplies for a CNC (Sphinx C Beam type setup but a bit larger, hoping to get to 1200x600) and would appreciate some advice on the spindle choise. I would like to cut aluminium up to 12mm, and do some 3d carving. Im in no rush, do not care about speed, just precision. Its just a hobby at this point, and for cutting larger things i have a laser (130w co2). There is one thing i really want though.. auto tool change. i really like the idea and dont want to spend the money for a manual spindle now only to upgrade later. Even if i dont use it in the beginning, it will feel really good knowing its sitting there in the garage Also i can get some of the equipment through my employer but this is a 1 time thing so im overspeccing, linear rails, larger bed etc. Have around a 4K budget, not including tooling, i can get that later. Sofar i have found 2 viable options: -Chinese watercooled 1.8KW ATC spindle - AMB (Kress) 1050 FME W Di The chinese model is a big unknown, warranty, documentation etc, its probably all s**t But its water cooled, big power, and the regular models seem to be quite popular and work well on multiple builds. On the other hand, can i actually use the power on a C frame machine, even if i beef it up? The AMB will come with a 2 year warranty, support etc. But a smaller collar size, and half the power.. Choices, choices.. Any thoughts?
I am new at this as well but here is the thing.... the c beam frame will touch only take so much weight & you can only beef up so much. Second we all want as much power as possible that is fully plug & play....but its not. So we make compromises...the chinese setup may work ok but how much fiddling do you want to do...how comfortable are you working without great documentation or factory support? AMB has brought out a 1400W spindle...will the ATC work with it...no idea. might be worth checking out. Will your prospective controller card handle an atc? also maybe worth checking out frames or upgraded parts from someone like [spam link removed] . You can hang more weight on those. But as a one time thing I would suggest you may want to be a bit more conservative in your approach. Good luck.
