Engraving Spindle

What is an engraving spindle?
Engraving is the process of creating a design on a hard surface by cutting grooves into the surface. For any kind of engraving machine, the engraving spindle is an essential component. Engraving spindles are specially designed spindles for high speed engraving purpose.


Features of engraving spindles

• The engraving spindle is specifically designed to tackle a wide range of materials like aluminum, brass, stainless steel plastics etc.
  
  
• Adjustable rotation speed is available for machining of various materials.
  
  
• The depth of the engraving spindle is controlled by the fedrate of the tool across the surface of the workpiece.
  
  
• If the rate of travel of the engraving spindle across the surface being engraved is slow, the engraving machine spindle has more time to force against the workpiece and therefore moves deeper into the surface. In other words adjusting the feedrate of the spindle is an effective way to control the depth of engraving.
  
  
• The engraving machines have external or internal motor for rotating the spindles carrying the rotating engraving tool bits. The heart of any engraving spindle is the high-speed motor spindle.

Installing the Engraving spindle into the Engraving head
For a normal macine tool, the procedure of installing the engraving machine tool spindle is as follows:

Insert the engraving spindle into the engraving head and tighten the spindle with the clamp screw. Use the engraving spindle only when inserted in the engraving head. The engraving machine spindle has a long engraving tool inserted into it from the top side of the spindle opposite the bottom side adjacent the tool point. That is the engraving tool is inserted into the top of the spindle instead of the bottom and hence the engraving tool must be longer than the length of the entire spindle which helps it to protrude out of the bottom of the spindle.

Cleaning tips for the engraving spindle
The engraving machine spindle is a very sensitive item. This type of spindle is to be properly taken care of to get the best performance. Some cleaning tips are as follows:

• Use the engraving machine spindle in low dust environments only.
  
  
• Avoid high dust environment. A high dust concentration at the work bench causes clogging of the ball bearings and the spindle can consequently be off-centered.
  
  
• Do not use pressurized air for cleaning the spindle because this might lead to loosing the inside lubrication of the bearings.
  
  
• Do not use any lubrication during the engraving process.
  
  
• Never clean the spindle with water.
  
  
• If any dust is collected within the clamp, take out the engraving needle and unscrew the clamp completely.

Typical Applications of engraving spindles

• Printing and engraving
• Assembling and mounting
• Dosing and screwing
• Drilling and milling
• Pasting and casting
• Forming and modelling
• Laser and water jet cutting
• Soldering and welding
• Sawing and cutting