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Router speeds and belt drive questions..

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John Hill:
I am building a copy router, it is of the parallelogram type but I am not happy with it so far..



The main problem is the weight of the router motor, usually with these machines the solution to that is another arm and a counterweight but I would also like to up the horsepower and get variable RPM.

SO, the idea is to mount a much bigger motor near the cross piece (where its weight wont be an issue) with a belt drive to a vertical spindle.  But how fast can I run a belt drive?  30K maybe? (Sounds a bit scary!)


Also,  this machine will be used for wood 3D copying but I also want to cut shapes in sheet aluminium using a 3mm cutter, what RPM do I need for aluminium?  Really fast or quite slow.  If possible I want to avoid liquid lubricant.

Any thoughts?

[Yes,  it will be painted one day, at the moment it has a nice even coating of 'Seaside Ochre'.]

SPiN Racing:
You really dont need to have a motor that spins very fast.. Nor the belt itself.

Simple put a larger pulley on the engine.. and real small on the spindle.

Bernd:
John,

I've tried using a variable speed Bosch router, 1HP, on aluminum. The aluminum is/was 6061 1/4" thick. No matter what speed I ran it at the cutter got gummed up. Of course I used a 4 lipped and 2 lipped HSS mill cutter. Neither worked very well.

The idea of the motor being belt driven is fine in my opinion.

I hope some of what I tried can help out on your quest as far as trying to cut aluminum is concerned.

Bernd

John Hill:
Hi Bernd,  did you try really slow?  Did you try with lubricant on the bit?  I had a bit of success using Vaselene on the bit and smeared on the work. Friends said I should be using kerosene or CRC-56 but I would really like to be able to do this without flooding the workshop and coating the walls and ceiling.

sbwhart:
Hi John

Have you tried WD40 ?

Stew

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