Micro Motor vs Air Turbine

[Dani Girl]

I didn't realize you had to clean the NSK Presto 300,000rpm air turbine and now i have to send it off for repairs... learning the expensive way.

Lovely handpiece though, metal just disappears as afore mentioned,... also burs don't last long, as afore mentioned... I love it for when I'm doing ti... it's very hard to chew out background on my saeshin 45k handpiece... even with carbide ball burs, takes forever. You had success with it Tira?

With the air handpieces you just turn down the speed by lowering the psi don't you? If you run it less than 300,000rpm the burs are said to last longer? tap majic is recommended to help also?

Are the expensive micro motors really any better than the $130 saeshin versions... never had the pleasure of using a brand name one

Thanks all

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Are the expensive micro motors really any better than the $130 sae shin versions

it's very hard to chew out background on my saeshin 45k handpiece... even with carbide ball burs, takes forever.

I think you have answered your own question

The biggest advantage of a micro motor are the range of burs, buffing wheels and accessories you can use because of the standard shank size. It is a shank size that is universal amongst jewellers so there are a lot of tools made for it............As Bram Ramon has said, you can get 0.20mm burs that are incredibly small and great to use. 0.30 is also very common and easy to get.

The life of the burr can be extended by using lube and keeping the speed down...........but, it really depends on two things. The quality of the bur you are using and the hardness of the metal your are grinding. Some watches I engrave I'll chew through four burs and others can be done with one bur. On softer metals the burs can last a long time.

So it's horses for courses. Choose/buy the right tool for what you want to achieve.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Dave London]

One more vote for the NSK micro motor , mine is 30 yrs old( dang where did they go). Anyhow you do get what you pay for. Also the NSK has collets available in 1/8, 1/6, 2 mm, and 3/32.
I must have thousands of hours on the tool , still runs great
And it cost over $800.00 back then

 

[Dani Girl]

Would those collets fit any micro motor?

 

[Dave London]

They are specific to NSK, sorry. How ever i have seen adapters to use 1/16 in a 3/32 collet, or it might have been 1/8 to 1/16

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Dani Girl

Regardless of the micro motor or air turbine you use it does come down to technique as well.

At the end of the day, these things spin at a gazzilion mph and should work. It's not the price you pay but how you use it. For background removal you don't need a lot of torque.

If you are having a hard time removing background with one then perhaps the metal is ultra hard or you are expecting too much from it.

With background removal I prefer flats for larger areas. On really small areas, like with watches, I use the burs. But first I remove some background with the V graver so I'm only taking off the high spots with the bur. If you are using the bur to remove everything then you are going to chew through the burs and it will take forever. Essentially you use the gravers to do the majority of the heavy work and the bur just finishes it off.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[wdale.bass]

i have "inlined" the system 3 foot pedal with my 850. The foot control gives you the variable speed needed