Getting the most from your Brushless Mill

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

This is the video to accompany Jason Ballamy’s article in MEW 340.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc-TznBuJLQ

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

EDITED

The video that accompanies the first part of the series in 339 can be found in the “workshop” section of the forum here

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Here are the links for the videos in Parts 3 of Getting The Most from Your Brushless Mill:

youtu.be/mipbeyKOIj4

youtu.be/vBvUA78KCHE

youtu.be/KZksrHuPnpQ

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Neil seems to have missed the video that goes with part 2. So here it is.

 

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

Neil seems to have missed the video that goes with part 2. So here it is.

 

It’s linked in my first post at the top of the page.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Sorry, I was classing part 1 of the series as the fitting of the feed and thought that was what you had originally posted.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Link for the latest video:

https://youtu.be/b2Fc0vKtqjE?si=sO3x2UKVdTFZveaf

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I have now added another part of the series that is running in MEW onto the website which along with the previous ones can be found under the Workshop heading.

 

Sorry I can’t do anything about the advert placement.

[Bob WorsleyParticipant @bobworsley31976]

Why the emphasis on a brushless mill? It is a motor, can’t see why the presence or absence of brushes is important.

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

They have better torque than a DC Brushed motor as well as some more advanced control systems as there are sensors that feed info back to the board.

Though having said that both the brushless and to a greater extent the brushed motors commonly found on benchtop hobby machines with variable speed just don’t have the same guts at low speed as “any motor” driving via gears or belts so they need to be treated differently to get the best from them.

My articles show that they can still remove metal at a reasonable rate and give a good finish if the spindle speed is kept high with a suitable feed rate for the given chip load and light depths of cut. All this without putting excess strain on the motor, drive train or control boards. Similar will apply to brushed hobby mills but chiploads may need to be slightly less.

The article is aimed at those new to the hobby or who may have been at it for a while and have modern benchtop mills and not got good results using the dated methods that are in the old books written maybe 50years ago  or given by those who may never have actually used one of the modern hobby benchtop machines. Where the advise is based on what they learn as an apprentice and they have been brought up with more traditional machines that are heavier in construction and that use belts, gears or other mechanical means of adjusting spindle speed.

[Bob WorsleyParticipant @bobworsley31976]

Thanks, yes, older machines don’t run anywhere near the speeds of modern stuff. Just that the faster it runs, the further it throws the coolant!

Not convinced by the increase in torque, down to current and number of windings in the end.

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Not much sign of coolant in any of those videos or in the text. Just a little something on the aluminium to stop tip build up.

Even on my CNC which can run upto 5000rpm I only use a very small amount of lubricant when cutting aluminium the rest is cut dry. Swarf may be blue at times but it carries the heat with it.

Those sensors I mentioned will tell the control board if the motor is being slowed by the load and the current will be increased to keep the spindle speed as what is dialed in. Too much load and it will switch the thing off protecting it from damage.

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