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Micro Motor and Controller questions

NodecoMachine

Cast Iron
Joined
Sep 7, 2011
Location
NJ, USA, Lebanon
Looking for advise on which micro motor controller to choose for deburring of small parts (mostly 1/2" dia X 2-1/2" long range with lots of details). I'm currently using a dremel with flex shaft for rotary work and a loud pneumatic "profiler" (UTR-30 link). We have some spending money and think updating our deburring tools to be less tedious would we a great place to spend it. I'm looking at an NSK Emax EVOlution or Espert500 because NSK has a great reputation and many accessories for these tools. Any advise on which to go with and if I should get the "compact" vs the "torque" hand pieces and also ring type vs lever type rotary attachment. I also want to get the mini-luster attachment to replace the pneumatic profiler I use. Is the mini-luster nice to use and easy to do fine detailed filing? Again, any advise on brands, handpieces, accessories, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
I used Foredom and Fingst flex shaft tools for decades, but tried a 50,000 RPM micromotor around fifteen years ago for a particular job. The micromotor is fast, light and handy, so I bought more types of handpieces. I still use the flex shaft tools for some things.

NSK is an excellent and expensive maker. I use several Marathon (Korea) micromotors, equally excellent and less expensive. I have had them for many years and never had a problem with them. I do not use them every day though. I call my Marathon Handy 700 my thousand dollar Dremel because some sellers get about $1000 for them. It has a 50,000 RPM brushless handpiece that can use collets for burs with up to 1/8" shanks. The controller has a second outlet to allow a second handpiece to be connected and a switch selects which handpiece is in use. The controller has a max RPM setting in case you want to run a larger diameter tool at less than the highest speed that the handpiece is capable of. The foot pedal varies the speed from zero to the max setting. I have several less expensive Marathon 35,000 RPM handpieces that only take 3/32" long shank tools. One has a contra angle end for RA type dental burs. These lower cost handpieces can be bought on eBay for amazingly low cost and include a simple controller. I only use my 700 controller.

The 700 is sold by tool dealers, some with Foredom or other brand names, for high prices. I got mine years ago from Lion Dental Supply and see their price today is $729, but the extra 1/16" and 1/8" collets are sold separately. Dental labs generally only use 3/32" long shank tools originally designed for use in belt driven "lab engines."


Here is the Foredom-badged version of the 700 for $1080. They have the optional 1/8" collet for sale.


EBay listings for the lower cost Marathon units. Search for Marathon micromotor.



For filing, I have Engis Di-Profil (Sweden) tools, which are pretty good. I use the flex shaft model.

The picture shows some of the investment castings that prompted me to buy the Handy 500 for the cleanup work. I was able to use the Di-Profil for a little bit of the job, but 50,000 RPM and tiny carbide burs were the thing for all those tiny openings.

Larry

Bank Teller 13.JPG
 
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NSK Evo user here and it is excellent. Highly recommend.

I use a standard handpiece (not high torque) with the lever.
Do you find yourself wanting a little more power or rpms sometimes while using it? It seems like maybe I'll save some money on going with the Evo and could get a couple attachments or even a second handpiece with the savings. How often are you at max rpm when doing standard deburring?
 
Do you find yourself wanting a little more power or rpms sometimes while using it? It seems like maybe I'll save some money on going with the Evo and could get a couple attachments or even a second handpiece with the savings. How often are you at max rpm when doing standard deburring?
I don't think I've ever stalled the unit. Torque hasn't been an issue. I adjust the speed depending on the material and tooling and haven't wanted a higher RPM thus far. Been meaning to get a high torque spindle and the belt sander attachment. It's an expensive rig no doubt but I wish I would have purchased it 15 years ago. Blows everything else I've used out of the water but like anything else lots of ways to solve a problem. Those Marathon units look good too and I almost went that route but couldn't get over the feel of the NSK handpiece.
 








 
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