DeWalt DWP611

[Larry Stobbs]

I changed out my Colt Router on my CNC Shark a while back and put a DeWalt DWP611 on it. I had an issue a few months ago in which it was running and without any warning, it just stopped running. The LED light stayed on but the motor completely stopped. There were no "funny" noises or anything that indicated it was going bad, it just died. I went out and got a replacement and have been running the new one for awhile and tonight it just died again in the middle of a tool path run and there was no indications it was going bad. Both incidents have caused broken bits(from dragging the bit across the wood) and ruined projects. Has anyone else experienced any issues with this router? I know the Bosch Colt had an issue with them wearing out rather quickly if you set the speed control at maximum, but the would run forever at about 80% speed but I have been running this router at a lower than maximum speed setting and it didn't seem to last.

[edwan]

Interesting! Thanks for the info. I probably have about 12 -15 hours on mine (could be more) without any problems yet. My longest toolpath is rarely over an hour, so maybe thats a contributing factor?

[Lameiii]

I've been running that router for several months and have had no problems.

Jim

[4DThinker]

One trick to make them last is to run them at anything less than full speed. I keep mine at 5 rather than the maximum 6 and have never had a failure. If you run yours all day fairly constantly then it may just be brushes that are wearing out and stopping the router.

[Larry Stobbs]

The last one made it 3 1/2 weeks which was pretty sad. The brushes are going out way to fast and I even ran it at a lot lower speed. I was there when it died this time though, I heard the motor make a surging noise so I did an e-stop and within 15 seconds of doing that the motor just started slowing down and then stopped. Nothing before that indicated that it was starting to go bad ( no funny noises ). Lowes tells me they are discontinuing carrying this router and considering it hasn't been on the market that long I would bet they have had a lot of returns. Other than the brushes wearing out way to fast this is a pretty good router. I would still have to rate the Bosch Colt as better, its just too bad they let the quality on it drop, I don't even think precisebits.com sells the collets for it anymore. I am considering buying a Porter Cable 450 which can use the collets I bought and will fit the router clamp in my machine but it almost looks like the Dewalt DWP611 except in a different color. Anyone know if the same company owns both Porter Cable and DeWalt? Anyone been using the Porter Cable that might be able to comment on if it is a good router?

[rig gap]

The Dewalt DWP611 and the Porter Cable 450 are the same router...Dewalt and Porter Cable are parts of the same company along with Black and Decker.

[Bit Breaker]

Could be some of the rotor windings are shorted which causes excessive current through the commutator and brushes. Look at the brushes while the router is running. If you see large blue sparks on the brush trailing edge you have a bad rotor.

[Xxray]

Black & Decker owns both Dewalt and Porter Cable so odds are they are the same design in a different skin.
They have been using this marketing ploy since they bought Dewalt in the early 1960's.

Tough to say if you just got a couple lemons, if the design is flawed, or if you are just using them for tougher service than they were designed for.
The last would be my guess.
Palm/compact routers are simply not designed to stand up to the rigors of semi production, automated service. Worth noting that at amazon, it has a couple 100 reviews and nearly all top rated - Didn't read through them much but I'm guessing not many CNC users posted reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DWP611-Tor ... B0048EFUV8

[Fean]

I was shocked when I read the manual for the DWP611 and it said that it required factory service replacement of the brushes every 100 hours of use. That's way too often and expensive, they should just convert it to a brushless motor and no service at all.

[BArnold]

Like 4Dthinker, I run my 611 at less than full speed. I generally leave it at 3-4, about 20,000 rpm. I've had no problem through about 80 hours of operation.

[Xxray]

Brushes on my PC router cost about $30, thats alot I know most brushes are no where near that cost.
Is an easy repair though, I have been through 3 sets after 4 years of some pretty tough duty, not bad all things considered.

[samr77]

I believe you will find that the problem is the brushes.
The same happened to me. I bought a new router and ordered 2 sets of brushes online for about $15 if I remember correctly.
Changing the brushes was pretty easy and that fixed the router.
The design is such that the brushes quit extending towards the armature before they wear to the metal. That saves the armature.
Now I am using the old router as a backup and for some jobs where I want to route by hand.
Hope this helps.

[FixitMike]

Thanks. I just ordered a set of brushes and an hour meter for my router.

[BArnold]

Where did you guys order your parts?

I've used ereplacementparts.com, but one brush is over $5 from them.

Mike, what hour meter did you choose?

Thanks!

[Larry Stobbs]

I will let everyone know I spoke with the factory rep on this several times and I have gone through 6 different routers now. Yes the design saves the armature but the problem is that you have no idea when they will fail. I kept a log and the last three based on projected cut times, etc. and I was getting about 80 to 90 hours out of the router when it would fail. I found no difference in the brush life by using a slower or higher speed. They do honor the warranty but you have to take it to an authorized repair center and by the time you figure shipping etc. it is probably cheaper and easier to replace them yourself. I ordered a batch of them and they are easy to replace (you can find several you tube videos) but it is disappointing that DeWalt could come up with a better brush. I ran the Bosch Colt for years (and my CNC runs all the time) and I would get 9 or 10 months of constant use out them at which point I would typically throw it away and put a new one in (wish I had kept the old ones and rebuilt them now). When Bosch outsourced the router and run out problems started with them, I switched to the DeWalt. No one else has a small palm router for this application and you can buy a spindle for around a thousand but the router was a better choice for me. Long story short is that if you are running one of these routers and are between 80 and 100 hours of use, you might want to inspect your brushes because once they hit the built in limit stop, the router instantly stops turning and if you CNC is running a tool path it will try to drag your non spinning bit through what you are carving.