Richard wrote:
> Buy one decent spindle, and be done with the problem
> forever. But the market is probably too small for anyone
> to make such a thing; especially if nobody is willing to
> spend more than $39.
There seems to be the conventional electric die grinders at < US$150,
and the > $2000 specialized CNC PCB drilling spinals, like those made by
Westwind. There is nothing in between. As you say the PCB hobbyist
market is too small and I guess no one needs a 30000+ RPM electric die
grinder. Anything faster and the customer must go for pneumatic die
grinders. All the CNC PCB spindles are driven by 3 phase variable
frequency variable voltage power sources. 50~150 kRPM is typical for
such spindles. This is your ideal spindle, but even a secondhand one
comes with a hefty price tag, not to mention the power driver cost. And
noise ? Well, I've seen these PCB drilling machines with their own
enclosure sealing some of the noise, and the machines themselves located
in a soundproofed room, separate from the main factory.
Sorry, but you gonna need to get used to wearing ear muffs.
> Air: I've always kept my compressor outside under a
> little 'shelter', for lack of a better word. Also, I chose
> a unit with a 60-gal tank...it hardly runs at all. So the
> worry about compressor-noise hasn't been an issue for
> me.
Well, in that case a pneumatic die grinder may be worth considering.
>
> Heck, it's not like these cheap electric tools are very quiet
> themselves... <g>
I agree totally. Especially hand operated drill presses where your head
is several inches away. Even a lousy Dremel produces potential ear
damaging noise. Nature had never intended our cochlear hair cells to
take that kind of abuse.