New Router Speed Control

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

There's a new closed loop router speed control on the market. www.superpid.com

It allows you to use your router as low as 5,000 rpm, with much more power at lower rpm's than any other speed controls.

I just got it wired up tonight, and hope to start testing it this weekend.
I made a quick video of the first run with it. Unfortunately, you can't read the LCD in the video.

I cut the case from 1-1/2" acrylic.

The router needs a new bottom bearing, so ignore the noise.

Oh yeah, it's a 15 year old PC 690, made in the USA. If anyone's interested, I can post pics of how I mounted the optical sensor on top of the motor, under the plastic cap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIjUJm5CFVk

[Khalid Khattak]

Hi Gerry,
Very nice speed controller...Now you are able to machine acrylic and other plastics and Aluminum on your router will definitely want to see the hardware pictures...

Thanks for sharing the video..

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

Wired it up so Mach3 can turn it on and off now. The designer is working on a schematic for a simple $2 circuit to let Mach3 control the rpm's. I hope to test that in a few weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlZW5sWJ9bM

[Mike Heidrick]

Yes, please show the optical mounting pictures. And any other pictures you might have.

Controlling teh speed of teh router with Mach would be super sweet. do you know if you can bypass teh speed control on the Hitachi M12VC and use this to control the speed?

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

On a PC 690, there's about a 3/16" gap between the top bearing and commutator.

First thing was to pull off the top bearing, and paint the shaft half black and half white.

The housing partially covers the shaft here, so a minute or two with a round file opens it up a bit.

The sensor as supplied fits snugly into a 3/16" ID tube, so I epoxied a brass tube into place, being careful that it doesn't contact the commutator.

You can see through the tube the half white half black shaft.

I used a small amount of silicone to secure the sensor in place. The plastic cap on the 690 has a small gap between it and the body, which allowed me to just fold the wire down and the cap holds it in place. I have it tied to the mount right after it comes out, so there's never any pulling on it.

I'm waiting on the parts for the speed controller, and a new chip with updated firmware for more linear control from Mach3.

Here's a video drilling holes at 5000 rpm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6FXbOPEzBM

Controlling the speed of the router with Mach would be super sweet. do you know if you can bypass the speed control on the Hitachi M12VC and use this to control the speed?

Yes, someone's already done it using the VFD output from a G540. There's more info at the Zone.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

I machined a case from 1-1/2" acrylic and mounted it to the side of the gantry.

Also added a block of aluminum for additional heatsinking, due to the sealed enclosure. Testing shows it using only about 40-50% power or less at the lower rpms, so it should stay cool.

For 3+HP routers, a small fan is recommended.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

Here's some pics I found of the modified Hitachi.

Users have also modified a Colt, PC 7518 and a few others. I think someones working on a Bosch 1617? right now.