Speedio needs a new spindle bearing - any tips?

There has been this little noise, sort of like a chirping sound that shows up around 1900 rpm in my brother speedio s700x1. I think it may have been from a small crash from spring this year that either went under the radar due to how rarely I am at low rpms or had compounded since then into a real issue.

It's a young machine with under 1k hours and I did not budget for 1: this, right now and 2: the price of the spindle replacement being double what I was told it would be

That being the case I'd like to look into repair, as brother only replaces the whole spindle. There are a few shops near me that do that sort of thing but I want to know if there is anything I should look out for.

"You need a shop that can promise _____" or "Don't pay less/more than ___"

I know this may seem like a bit of a newbie/hobbyist approach but times are very tough

Thanks in advance

What specific problem are you having, besides it sounds funny at 1900 RPM? It's not clear from your post that there is an actual performance problem.

Regards.

Mike

You've made me realize I may be jumping the gun.

My assumption was that this, as a new problem, may be indicative of something worse on the horizon. I suppose I should test out some finishing cuts at that speed. Right now I am only drilling, so issues may not show up as readily.

For reference, here's a video of my cycling through speeds. the sound is around the 7 second mark YouTube

I don't hear anything bad. I heard some "chirps," but IMO those are the electronics driving the RPM's up or down. Lots of amperage is used to accelerate and decelerate. I hear the same thing with mine sometimes, when I step from one RPM to another.

Regards.

Mike

It's only around the 7 to 9 second time frame. You may be able to hear it get quieter after that briefly but yeah the chirps throughout the entire video are just the ramp up sounds.

The sound, in person, sort of sounds like an unsecured collar or something. Like what I'd expect to hear if the a fan was spinning semi-loose on its axel. A squeel that starts and stops sporadically

I crashed one of my 30 taper mills about 4 years ago, about a year after rebuilding the spindle. Afterward, it definitely was louder but it still sounds pretty much the same and I don't see any problems with surface finishes so I just ignore it. IME it is usually pocket bottoms or facing where you will first see surface finish issues. It seems the spindle will get a tenth or two of float in the Z-axis before anything else, I speculate it is from the bearings losing their preload. Keep an ear on it but don't do anything just because of a noise.

Another thing, all the spindles I have ever heard with questionable or bad bearings would get louder the faster you ran them, all of them.

Brother has been the easiest to change spindles and most afforadable of our cnc’s. The last spindle they swapped. Was around 2 hours for them to come in and do it.

Hmm alright. I did just finish a set of parts where I got some bad tool life on 3d surfacing but I'll run a new tool before settling into dispare.

Hopefully I'll get some good replies from spindle rebuilders tomorrow just to settle the sticker shock nerves either way

Just run the machine for the time being, monitor the spindle sounds and surface finishes of the cuts. If either gets dramatically worse then start thinking replacement or rebuild of the spindle.

For now, wear earmuffs...

I am lucky I suppose then. I have been told 7k for that but at the time of the sale, I was told half that, as this sort of situation was a concern of mine

Yeah the price for the spindle is basically highway robbery. One of my guys broke off a pull stud once and the spindle taper and tool holder were playing ID grinder while he froze up, so I didn't really have much choice about it, but it was definitely an unpleasant surprise that day.

Comatose said:

Yeah the price for the spindle is basically highway robbery. One of my guys broke off a pull stud once and the spindle taper and tool holder were playing ID grinder while he froze up, so I didn't really have much choice about it, but it was definitely an unpleasant surprise that day.

Click to expand...

IDK, Haas wants about the same amount for their 12/15k spindle:

SPINDLE, 40T INLINE 12K/15K W/DRAWBAR (VMC) | Spindle - Mill | Spindle | Spindle Head | Find Replacement Parts | Haas Parts | Genuine OEM Haas Automation(R) Parts Factory-Direct

Comatose said:

Yeah the price for the spindle is basically highway robbery.

Click to expand...

7k is chump change compared to some spindles.

Rebuilt spindles don't last as long as the new out of the box spindles. That has been my experience with my customers. Ask our parts department if we have a slightly used spindle ( sometimes we have spindles that were switched out to BBT on machines that are in showrooms and will not sell these as new spindles). But first run the thing until it becomes a real issue. You might be surprised that the bumped spindle will run a great deal longer than you think. It sucks that this happened but crashes do happen.


Andy Dukes
Yamazen Inc.

I am surprised at the high price? This is one topic that I covered 2 or 3 times before I bought the machine. I have in my notes, replacement cost of the spindle as "around $4k". That does not include Yamazen labor, travel, etc.

However, in reference to your noise, my Brother makes all kinds of little noises especially at low rpm. I think some are related to harmonics as it can vary depending on the tool holder (I don't know why). Some I think are related, as previously mentioned, due to the electronics used in the spindle. I did a couple one off parts that I was drilling at low rpm and there were, what I would call, electronic chirping noises. I ran the program through without a part or coolant because I could hear weird noises and thought it was my drill.

I do not think I have 500 hours of run time as yet, and the machine has not yet been crashed.

Not knowing where you are, I would ask your service tech if they are going to be in the area, could they stop by and inspect the spindle. Saves you the cost of a dedicated trip, and hopefully they can tell you if it actually needs replaced or not.

Also, in regards to the tool life on 3D finishing. Is this in comparison to earlier machining you did? I have noticed that I get very good tool life on everything EXCEPT tools that I use for 3D finishing. That isn't really the Brother's fault, because I am using ER collets for most of my tools. Not exactly recommended. If your using shrink fit, or hydraulics, and have seen a quantifiable drop in tool life, you may want to replace the spindle, it will pay for itself depending on your tool life.

GDO said:

I am lucky I suppose then. I have been told 7k for that but at the time of the sale, I was told half that, as this sort of situation was a concern of mine

Click to expand...

Buy a new one or plan to at some point. I have the base 10k spindle. My second one was 5k installed and I was back up and running in about 2 days. I consider that a good deal and fantastic service by Yamazen of Dallas. If I had to buy this machine a new spindle every year, I'd still love it.

I've heard Hurco spindles aren't as affordable.

A brother spindle should stay cool or maybe slightly warm after extended periods of milling. feel the casting near the business end. I've seen shops get years out of them after a bump and the sound changed. If it starts getting hot though... Another thing to check are the balance weights (M4 set screws) in the coupling between the motor and spindle. I have seen them back out once or twice and start contacting the casting making interesting sounds.

I was quoted $8k for new bearings and a taper grind for one of my 30 taper spindles a month ago from a local rebuilder, that doesn't have the tools to do the job. That would not include the grippers or drawbar springs so add another $3500 for those. I went with Setco for half the $8K. Don't whine about what Brother charges, it would be far worse from someone else, like 5 times that for a rebuilt from another MTB for a 15k 30 taper. Hell, just the spindle shaft is $5500 for my 30 taper Enshu, and that is just the bare spindle itself, you know, the center thingy in the middle of the spindle assembly.

If you use a Ripper style inserted cutter in aluminum at max RPM and aggressive feedrates for a couple of weeks, you won't be able to hear the chirping noise in the spindle anymore... you also won't be able to hear your wife anymore.

DavidScott said:

I was quoted $8k for new bearings and a taper grind for one of my 30 taper spindles a month ago from a local rebuilder, that doesn't have the tools to do the job. That would not include the grippers or drawbar springs so add another $3500 for those. I went with Setco for half the $8K. Don't whine about what Brother charges, it would be far worse from someone else, like 5 times that for a rebuilt from another MTB for a 15k 30 taper. Hell, just the spindle shaft is $5500 for my 30 taper Enshu, and that is just the bare spindle itself, you know, the center thingy in the middle of the spindle assembly.

Click to expand...

A new spindle for our Okuma Genos mill was around 35k... ask me how I know.