For about 6 months now, I have been milling the same 4 products, with the same setup. Yesterday the mount for the RT0701C started melting, especially where the nuts pull into the bolts. At this point, I had noticed that the RT0701C had been getting hotter and hotter (harder to change bits without burning my fingers), so I re-printed the mount for the RT0701C and reinstalled it today. It appears to be even hotter. I know you can run these at low speeds and kill them, but I’ve never been lower than a 4/6 setting, so I don’t know if that would be the issue.
Has anyone else had an issue like this, and if so, what did they do to remedy it? Thank you so much for a great community!
I’d start by making sure that there is adequate cooling through the router and that you haven’t got the air cooling path full of dust and chips.
The fan turns with the spindle, so there should be no problem there. I suppose that you can see if you’re getting a good strong flow through the Makita. The exhaust for the cooling air is towards the tool end, and usually doubles as something to clear chips from the cut path. See how strong it’s blowing.
The motor brushes might need to be changed! They wear out over time, and they can cause sparks and perhaps heatup?? I’m honestly not sure what are the effects of worn out brushes, but if you’re using the router a lot - you wouldn’t risk anything by changing them. Blowing air and cleaning out debris from the inside of housing would hurt as @SupraGuy mention either. Good luck!
I agree. Especially if you have used it for a while. They are meant to wear out and if they aren’t making good contact, then the electricity has to arc a bit and that heats things up. Hopefully you can just replace them and everything else is fine.
If you bought it new, you could try to warranty it. That’s the nice thing about putting a lot of hours on a tool like that.
Thank you so much, everyone. I have ordered new brushes. I didn’t even know these were a thing. Again, amazing community. I will follow up for any one else who experiences this sort of issue. I expect the brushes in today.
As it stands, I believe the brushes were the culprit. The Makita is still running warmer, but I think that’s because I am constantly touching it to see its temperature, whereas before I never worried about it. The existing brushes were almost half of a replacement one. I read that you should replace at .25in. Mine was .35in, but essentially fixed the problem. Maybe brush life in a CNC is more relevant in a CNC machine. If I was occasionally trimming something by hand, .25in might be fine.
Thank you so much. Your help was amazing, and I hope it serves someone in the future.