Question Proxxon strange noise

Hi,

After having my stepcraft 420 operational for a couple of months and maybe only 10 working hours my Proxxon is starting to make loud noises. Sound something is wrong.

I only worked with soft materials like balsa, ply and depron.

What's my best option to do? Continue till Proxxon is really dead?

Congradulations,

your Proxxon is going to die!

One user had some success with opening and oiling the Proxxon. But the end is near.
I also had the first strange noises, when I bought a "james spindle head" and replaced the original head. This machine still works.



Currently there is an offer in the forum for a used james head including a proxxon.

James Head offer

Got the same problem after about 12 months intermittent use. Its the bearings! - Have stripped mine & oiled them. The screaching noise has gone. (for now) but I know I'm on borrowed time.
Has anyone ever replaced the bearings?

A dying Proxxon after only 10 operational hours??
I will send him back for repair (would think this will be fixed by Proxxon).

Does a Kress have the same kind of issue's and is a hd spindle the only good option for a cnc machine?

Thanks,
Bernard

Kress is a totally different spindle.


The Kress will stop after about 500-700 hours when the brushes get worn out. These can be replaced.

Proxxon is a really small light spindle. As soon as you can - upgrade to a kress. Its a far better experience for your milling.

Rory,

Thinking about a Kress 1050. Would this be OK for stepcraft 600 mk.1? (Same weight as 800)

I think this comes with 8mm collet - so assume I also need 3mm collet for my Proxxon bits?

Kress needs modified Mounting Collar for SC MK1 - its also not supported and voids warranty. But guys are using them like this with no problems.

Hi Rory,
Thought the Kress had a 43 mm collar?

Whoops! - forgot bigger diameter of Kress. Still I'm determined to go this route.

Can I assume that Mk. 2 Tool mounting plate will fit Mk 1?

Looks like it will.

Stuart Mellor wrote: ...
Has anyone ever replaced the bearings?

The following link could be of some help. Not shure if IB/E and IBS/E are the same thing.

Would like my Proxxon to last so I wonder if a short warming cycle at lower rpm before full speed milling could extend ball bearing life. Would it be a good idea to take the IBS/E out of the tool holder from time to time and let it run in other position for a moment? I read some interesting stuff from a Bridgeport CNC spindle guide material. For example it was written that you should avoid overloading of long tools because "this could alter the natural frequency of the spindle, causing the spindle bearings to fail". Then again if problem is caused by dust ingress, I guess the above wouldn`t help.

The problem is not the ball bearing, it is the sintered bearing of the motor itself. It simply can`t cope with the forces transferred via the spindle. The axis of the motor is not decoupled good enough and the one ball bearing that holds the spindle is more like a wipe bearing for the side load.
The side load is transferred to the motors axis which produces heat and wears out the sintered bearing. When it is worn out enough the windings of the motor start scratching on the inside magnets of the motor. This is where the noise starts. From there on it is only a matter of time that the isolating coating of the wires gets scratches away and the motor has a nice shortcut.

The single ball bearing working as a lever is why the James-Head works pretty well. It has 7 ball bearings which withstand the side load.

I had the same problem, loud noises, disassembled, lubricated, dead ... right now I'm doing a big change to mount a cutter makita

Original Proxxon IB/E had a single nose ball-bearing 14 x 8 x 4mm wide. Its successor IBS/E (except for early production) had double nose ball-bearings of the same size, which perform better as a small routing spindle. If these run dry, perhaps when dust from the material you are cutting builds up and absorbs the oil, you need to add oil from inside and from outside the aluminum nose casting. This way, you can access both bearings.

Sometimes the sintered bronze motor bushes (both front and rear) escaped the motor factory in China without oil impregnation, which is easily rectified if you act promptly, before the bushing wears excessively.

Remember also that the proxxon can only "work for 15mins before having to cool"

any longer use and you've voided warranty