X3 or Super X3: which to convert and why?

[ianscales]

Can you tell me the pros and cons of the X3 vs the Super X3 for a full Promica conversion?

[PROMiCA]

Good question Ian...

We recommend the X3 rather than the Super X3.

Firstly ... although the X3 has a lower rated motor power it actually has a higher spindle speed which is good. Particularly for engraving etc as the higher the spindle speed the better - we are looking at producing an add-on kit that will take the X3 up to 4000 RPM which of course is better and keeps a little headroom on the bearings (most standard bearings are only rated to 5000RPM). At 4000 RPM of course you drop a bit of torque however we've found that there's still enough power there to cut a 10mm cutter full width at 2mm depth.

Super X3 features and what we think about them ...

Quill depth DRO ... becomes a bit irrelevant once the machine is NC'd as you end up with XY&Z DRO's. It could be useful for manual drilling but by the same token the standard X3 still has a scale on the quill handle.

Tapping feature .... from what we've read and been told it's a pretty good way to break taps!! You'd be better off saving the $$$'s and putting it towards a 'proper' tapping head attahment.

Tilting head .... if you really need to machine at angles then you would be better off with our TV6 kit on a 6" Vertex rotary table. We also belive that the 'non rotating' head of the X3 is more solid than the Supers rotating one. Also (and most importantly) it is important to have your tools 'square' to the table. The process of aligning the head is called 'tramming' and takes anywhere from 20mins to 1hr to do properly - EVERY time you rotate the head you would need to re-tram the system otherwise parts won't be machined with square edges and facing would end up with a 'sawtooth' finish.

....but the Super X3 certainly looks cool


Regards


Marc