I'm starting to spec out a new bench top machine build that I'm hoping to put together for some small scale project work in various different materials, though probably with a focus on aluminium plate. Realistically I'm probably looking at the more budget friendly spindles and VFDs available on AliExpress to get this moving so budget is something I'm keeping in mind when making my parts choices.
One of my first questions on this is what I should be looking for in terms of power and features for my spindle and VFD choice, so I was hoping some people with a bit of experience on this could provide some guidance.
I guess the easiest point to address is probably what spindle power I should be aiming to go for. I'm guessing that in general more really is more in this regards and that going for the highest power spindle I can support on my existing wiring system (230V, single phase). This probably means I'm looking at a 2.2 kW spindle and VFD at the top end but see other 1.5kW and 0.8 kW options that I could consider if the lower power doesn't have too much of an impact when cutting aluminum at the sorts of speeds that most of the spindles seem to run at.
As a bit of background to the above, the prices for the spindles I've seen are around £130, £170 and £200 respectively for a 0.8kW, 1.5kW and 2.2 Kw spindle from G-Penny.
The next point I've been considering is linked to the previous question and is whether it is worth trying to pick up a 4 pole spindle, rather than a standard 2 pole spindle. As I understand things this should let me get a bit more usable power/torque at the lower spindle speeds but again I'm not sure of how much real world difference this would make. Is it worth the extra to go for the 4 pole spindle of a 2 pole variant of an equivalent power? Going for the 4 pole spindle would probably take me from £200 ish for a 2 pole 2.2kw spindle all they way up to £300 for a 2.2kw 4 pole motor (though this does look to have a few additional improvements in build too)
My final question (for now) is if it is worth trying to go for an inverter that offers sensorless vector control of the spindle rather than the standard V/F drive used on most of the common units? I've seen that it is possible to pick up a Huanyang GT-2R2G-2 vector control inverter for around £150 which isn't a huge amount more that the more common HY02D223B which would probably cost me £120. I suspect on this one (unless someone advises otherwise) its is fairly easy to justify the GT series inverter as the price difference isn't huge and I can always just run it in V/F mode if the vector control mode doesn't play nice with the spindle I end up buying.
