SOURCE MachPro Spindle Warm Up
A spindle warm up cycle is important for all CNC machines, and especially important for machines that are not in a temperature controlled building.
- The cycle lubricates spindle bearings.
- It stabilizes spindle and machine temperature.
- It reduces thermal expansion changes during startup.
- It helps maintain machining accuracy.
- It reduces premature bearing wear.
To configure a warm up cycle go to Configure ->Control->Settings tab.
- Collapse all of the settings with the
button - Expand the Spindle section and scroll down to the Warm Up portion
Below are the default settings for the Spindle Warm Up.
| Parameter | Description |
| Spindle Warm Up Enabled | Warm Up Cycle On or Off |
| Spindle Warm Up Inter-Lock with Cycle Start | Yes or No |
| Spindle Warm UP Acknowledge Warm-Up Complete | The operator will need to acknowledge that the warm up cycle completed |
| Spindle Warm Up MDI GCode Before Warm UP | Provides an MDI field to enter GCode that will run before the Warm Up cycle begins |
| Spindle War Up Max RPM | Max (finishing) speed for the warm up cycle. This should be the Max RPM of the spindle |
| Spindle Warm Up Min RPM | Minimum (starting) speed for the warm up cycle (see note below). Set this to 1 |
| Spindle Warm Up Steps | How many steps will it take to get the spindle up to Warmed Up status - from Minimum to Maximum RPM |
| Spindle Warm Up Time Per Step | How long it will stay in each Spindle Warm Up Step |
| Spindle Warm Up Off Time Trigger in minutes |
How long do want the spindle to be off before the spindle will need to run the Warm Up cycle |
| Spindle Warm Up Idle Speed | Speed the spindle will idle at after the warm up is complete. Some spindles will not idle below 1500 RPM |
Example:
- Locate the manufacturer's warm up instructions. If you do not have those instructions, then set 2 minutes at each step, 3 steps, ending 1 step below max spindle RPM.
- For the Spindle Warm Up Min RPM, enter 1. It will start at the correct RPM and run each step and time as you specified.
- High speed spindle example: max warm up RPM of 18000, 3 steps, 2 minutes at each step (18000/3 = 6000)
- Standard Spindle example: Max warm up RPM of 2000, 3 steps, 2 minutes at each step (2000/3 = 667)
| Setting | High Speed Spindle | Standard Spindle |
| Max RPM | 18000 | 2000 |
| Min RPM | 1 | 1 |
| Steps | 3 | 3 |
| Time per step |
2 | 2 |
| system actions |
2 min at 6000 2 min at 12000 2 min at 18000
|
2 min at 667 2 min at 1333 2 min at 2000
|