Is OF 2200 router suitable for HEAVY DUTY CNC applications?

[Versus]

Did anyone ever use OF 2200 router for CNC heavy duty applications without the bearings or brushes burning out quickly?

I just burned out a relatively inexpensive ($190) Mastercraft 11 Amp 2.0 HP router after machining MDF for 50 hours in non-stop sessions of 5-8 hours. Ran it at full speed of 25,000 RPM. There was no dust control due to complex part geometry.

How suitable is OF 2200 for continuous operation for several hours at a time and how does it respond to dusty environment?

 

[Alan m]

welcome to the fog.
i dont know how if the of2200 is designed for continues use. ring festool and ask , they will be best able to say.
i can  say that festools are designed to be used by busy profsional woodworkers.

as for the dust extraction. the of2200 has amazing dc. it will want a shop vac  to power it. not sure how effective it would be on a cnc. you would have the router plunged all the way  to keep the base plate out of the way

report back.
we would love to see some of your creations

 

[PaulMarcel]

Carroll will hopefully chime in for you; he has several CNCs in a production shop.

That said, I don't think any hand-held router is up to continuous-duty work for 5-8 hour stretches.  There are usually spindle motors for CNCs made for this duty cycle; they'll look more expensive until you factor in the replacement routers going the inexpensive router route.

 

[peter halle]

I think that you might also have a difficult time mounting the router to your system.  Most of the systems that I have seen are using round body routers or the spindle motors as Paul Marcel noted.  The design of the 2200 as well as the rest of the line don't have the round body motors that would allow them to easily be put into mounting collars.

Peter

 

[ccarrolladams]

All of my CNC nested routers are large industrial machines from the same manufacturer.

The router system is built for the purpose. All have 15 hp routers with electronic variable speed programed as part of the CNC instructions. The interchange of tool holders is also electronically controlled.

However, I have read about far smaller and much less expensive CNC routers that do not need as much space. At the moment I do not personally know anyone using smaller CNC routers. I saw at a distance some less expensive CNC routers at AWFS 2011 in Las Vegas. One such display was virtually next to Festool. A feature of that machine was a lathe attached to the side of the main table, turned by a stepping motor, so it could be used for carving. I did not pay close attention because those tasks are outside my business concerns. A block away I have a vendor doing custom woodworking CNC lathe tasks, including production of table legs, etc. Those machines seem to use high power routers.

My experience has been that an OF2200 is as powerful a router with the maximum RPM I would use on single phase. My experience is that 3 phase motors rotate smoother and are far more efficient, which could well be more important in metal working.

In my shop several times a month the CNC routers are running 24 hours a day. They are designed for such use.

I could see that on a small CNC machine if the tool will be changed manually, there is no reason why the RPM change should be programed. The vertical motion needs to be programed, so I would think the design of the machine would be easier starting with a round-body router.

 

[fshanno]

What do you think about Hitachi?  I was at my woodworking dealer and a guy with a homemade CNC came in and we were talking and the motor came up.  He uses Hitachi, not the big one but the 2 1/4 horse one.  He's gone through a few but they last for hundreds of hours and then he just picks up another one at Lowes.  He said he always runs aftermarket collets from somewhere.  So, for what it's worth.

I'm going ask him about collets because the one on my PC in my router table has had it.  

 

[ScotF]

I thought that Festool tested all of their tools in a dusty/sandy environment and also ran them continuously for something like 30 days under load to measure wear and tear.  Maybe it was just sanders that I remember seeing, but it seems like the OF2200 is built for some serious work in a production environment.  Would not be as efficient as the big motors on large scale CNC machines, but it also does not cost upward of $100K either.  I agree with Peter that it would be hard to find a mount that would work well with it since it is not round.  Seems like I have seen some CNC machines with PC routers in them, although they are the smaller units.

Scot

 

[Versus]

Thank you for your replies guys.... I really appreciate the input.

Could someone please post a picture of the OF2200 router with the bottom section removed? Just the bare unit itself without any handles... or does it all come in one piece?

I might probably go with the 2.2KW spindle running off 220 volts if the OF2200 cannot be mounted easily.

 

[ccarrolladams]

Thank you for your replies guys.... I really appreciate the input.

Could someone please post a picture of the OF2200 router with the bottom section removed? Just the bare unit itself without any handles... or does it all come in one piece?

I might probably go with the 2.2KW spindle running off 220 volts if the OF2200 cannot be mounted easily.

Assuming you have 3 phase AC available, then you should buy a spindle running on 3 phase, be it 208 or 220v. There will be less vibration with a 3 phase motor. Depending on the software you will be using on your CNC machine it could be necessary that your spindle is able to control the RPM from the CNC. All of the larger, more sophisticated CNC routers program the RPM.