This might be a very beginners question but does anyone know how to set the RPM of the spindle to 1or 0(even better)? I have the standard 4hp Hiteco spindle from the avid website. I want to use a dragknife for cutting cardboard boxes, I can’t however select the box setting the RPM. It is set to a miminum of 1000 by Avid. In the older mach4 version I was able to change this but since I updated I can’t anymore.
Also out of curiosity; Why is there a minimum rpm’s set on the spindle? What is the danger of being able to set the spindle as low as you want?
It’s air cooled by a fan attached to the rotor. I’m guessing 1000 rpm is the slowest it can turn and still effectively cool. I also believe that depending on the windings it could overheat the coil wiring. You probably could slow it down, but the spindle isn’t rated for it and it would probably decrease the life expectancy.
I would just turn off the Spindle/VFD main power switch while using the drag knife. Benefit: there’s no chance of it turning on at a bad time.
Optionally, remove the M-code from your program so it never sends the spin-up signal to the spindle. If there are multiple operations, you have to make sure you catch them all, or else.
Just leave the power off on the spindle box when you use a drag knive or a diamond drag bit. Then you don’t have to mess with making sure your Gcode doesn’t turn it on.