# Extra Fan For Sieg X2



## jimbob (Jan 4, 2017)

So I keep hearing about the control box on the Sieg X2's mills going bad. What's the opinion on adding an extra fan in the control box and enlarging the air inlet holes? That would give  me 2 fans and should run cooler.

I would like to do this on my Harbor Freight X2. Figure the more air moving the better. Heat is the usual problem and might ward off any future problems.


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## silence dogood (Jan 4, 2017)

I would also add an air filter.  I use to work on electronic organs and amps in general.  Dust would accumulate on the heat sinks and act as insulation.  Once in a while I would take the panel off and brush and blow the dust off.  O' yeah, don't forget to turn the power off or better yet unplug it.


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## Fabrickator (Jan 5, 2017)

You may want to take a look at how I added a fan w/filter to cool the electronics on my LMS Mini Mill (same thing) at this link I posted some time back.

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/my-lms-mini-mill.22202/


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## jimbob (Jan 7, 2017)

Well added 2 fans, 1 in the back and 1 in the side. Moves a lot more air and hope this will extend the life of the electronics.

Have done just about all the mods I can think of so far. If there is any interest in seeing them I will post some photos.


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## olduhfguy (Jan 8, 2017)

My observation of the Sieg 500 watt BLDC machines suggests that the powerboard isn't the problem, it's the motor itself. I added a large recycled aluminum heatsink to the outside of the motor, and it has helped a lot with the motor overheating problem. I usually run the boards at full power (or more) to stress test them and it is always the motor that overheats first.


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## jimbob (Jan 9, 2017)

Any photos of how you attached heat sinks? Or info on were they were mounted.


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## olduhfguy (Jan 9, 2017)

I don't know if this will be helpful since the motor is part of a load cell for testing power boards. I 'McGuivred' a heat sink on one side of the motor with 2 steel wires, using a good helping of thermal grease between the sink and the motor shell. I would not recommend drilling into the case as the windings are pretty close to the outside of the case in several places, but you get the gist of how it works.


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## petcnc (Jan 15, 2017)

jimbob said:


> Any photos of how you attached heat sinks? Or info on were they were mounted.



I've done a similar cooling project for the X2. Details Here


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## olduhfguy (Mar 21, 2017)

I have a scrap motor here that was obviously overheated, based on the condition of the internal windings. Anyone considering using the machines continuously would be well advised to find a way to cool the motor as it has no internal fan or ventilation holes for air to circulate. In an effort to keep swarf out of the motor the designers created another problem.


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## Ken from ontario (Mar 22, 2017)

olduhfguy said:


> I have a scrap motor here that was obviously overheated, based on the condition of the internal windings. Anyone considering using the machines continuously would be well advised to find a way to cool the motor as it has no internal fan or ventilation holes for air to circulate. In an effort to keep swarf out of the motor the designers created another problem.


When you say " continued use" how long were you using the mill in one cession  before the motor got overheated? I do use my lms 3960 but no more than 30 minutes at a time but the motor never overheats or shuts down, could it have something to do with the depth of cut which could cause the motor to labour?


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## olduhfguy (Mar 22, 2017)

For my purposes (stress testing the power board) I generally run them at full power to test the board's overload circuits, and check for heating of the components (The motor is just a means to test the board and is connected with an XL belt/pulley to a second motor used as a variable load). I can usually make the motor too hot to touch after only 2-3 minutes without the heat sink attached and it takes quite a bit of time to cool. With the heat sink I can run for 5+ minutes or so. I would suspect a CNC configuration with a large(shell) mill would do the same thing.


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## Ken from ontario (Mar 22, 2017)

2-3 minutes? wow, that heat sink must be doing it's job well then, I had read a few posts about these motor overheating but usually a fan would remedy the occasional shut down , your case is different, thank you for explaining how you do it.


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