Air Bearing and Ball Bearing Spindles Compared
Spindle choice on a PCB machine is not a preference. It follows from what the operation needs which is speed for drilling and torque for routing.
Spindle choice on a PCB machine is not a preference. It follows from what the operation needs which is speed for drilling and torque for routing.
Published 2023-09-11 by Chengdu Jindali Technology Co., Ltd
Drilling Needs Speed
Drilling machines prefer air bearing spindles because their high speed improves drilling precision. The DLCNC D1X runs at 160krpm and the D2X D3X and D4X run at 160-200krpm which is what allows drilling down to φ0.15mm.
Routing machines prefer ball bearing spindles because of their good torque. Since routing does not need high speed DLCNC designs one motor to serve one or multiple spindles which is what makes a multi head router cost effective.
It is also why a routing machine is not simply a drilling machine with a different tool. The spindle the drive and the tool capacity all follow from the operation. Routing normally manages 66 tools and drilling normally manages about 200.
A water cooling system with real time monitoring on cooling temperature and water flow protects the spindles on the drilling range. On the planer type router an automatic water recycling cooling system with thermal monitoring does the same job.
DLCNC supplies Westwind and domestic spindles as spare parts along with bearings collets armature and disc springs.
Machines Covered in This Guide
D1X PCB Drilling Machine
One Z axis carrying one or multiple spindles with a maximum of four spindles on XYZ ball screw drive. The entry point into the DLCNC dr...
4 Heads PCB CNC Routing Machine
Four head routing machine independently developed by DLCNC for steady production routing of circuit boards.
PCB Drill Bits Milling Cutters and Consumable Parts
DLCNC fully supports customers for spare part sourcing and supply on the machine.
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Questions On This Guide
Can I use one machine for both drilling and routing
The DR series is built for high precision drilling and routing on one platform. For volume work the spindle requirements pull in different directions which is why the two operations normally sit on separate machines.
What spindle speed do PCB drilling machines run
160krpm on the D1X and 160-200krpm on the D2X D3X and D4X.
How is a high speed spindle protected
Cooling temperature and water flow are monitored in real time so the spindle is protected before an overheat condition develops.
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