Vortex F5 Engraver – Take your art to the highest level! - 500,000 RPM - US Made

Description

Vortex F5 Carver – Take your art to the highest level!
Vortex F5 Carver is an Ultra High Speed Precision Carver/Engraver 500,000 RPM!
There is undoubtedly no other carver like it!
World’s Fastest Precision Carver! Exclusively designed for carving!
Order this tool today to start carver better tomorrow.
The Vortex F5 is made in the United States of America!
Artwork produced by clients using the Vortex F5 High Speed Carver
What goes into the best precision ultra high speed carver?
Lets find out by taking it apart to get a good look at the guts:
Autochuck spindle with a roundness of 0.00004″
24 Vane Balanced Turbine Impeller
ABEC-9 Ceramic Bearings Lube-Free & Shielded
Preload Bearing Wave Washer and Pressure Plate
Fluted Brass Nosecone with 10 Seated exhaust ports
Fluted Cap: Twist to Release Burs 4 Barb Air Hose Fitting
Two feet of very flexible Tygon connection hose
Quick disconnect hose coupling
User Guide/Instructions
Lifetime Warranty, 1 year turbine
Here is what you get with the Essential Accessories Kit:
Variable Speed Air Valve (Speed Control)
12 feet of high quality 1/4″ OD, 1/8″ ID air supply hose
Brass 1/4″ NPT to 1/8″ Hose Barb
Brass 1/4″ Quick Connect Air Hose Plug
Bur Sampler Kit:
3 Carbide Burs:
FG8 Round 2.3mm
FG33½ Inverted Cone 0.6mm
FG699 Tapered Fissure 2.1mm x 4.8mm
3 Diamonds:
DR12C Round 1.2mm Coarse
DFB23C Football 2.3mm Coarse
DFL14C Flame 1.4mm Coarse
Magnetic Polished Stainless Steel Bur Tray
Bur Cleaning Stone, cleans burs fast without chemicals
Safety Glasses and Dust Mask
What's inside the Vortex F5?
Lets have a look with digital X-Ray!
X-ray view of the Vortex F5 internal cam system, air tube, and turbine.
Enlarged X-ray view of the nosecone showing the turbine seated inside.
Now We're Talking! The Vortex F5 is BEST!
* No plunger or side air hose to get in the way
* No proprietary turbine
* No plastic air ducting
* All metal, yet it weighs in at 1.8 ounces
* Feels nice in the hand, Ergonomic!
Smart bur release cam-system
* Blows dust away from work and face!
* Looks good & carves great!
How cool is this?! Twist the stainless steel rear cap a quarter turn to open or close the autochuck. We finally had a proper design! Wow, what a ride so far! Now for the real test. Carving with a real tool to see if it will in fact work.
High Speed or Ultra High Speed? Which is better?
Dremel Stylo+ High Speed
20,000 RPM
Vortex F5 Ultra High Speed
500,000 RPM
No Chatter or Vibration,
Technically Speaking
Radial vs Angular
A common problem with electric carvers is “Chatter”, otherwise known as Vibration. When carving, the cutter, known as a “Bur”, must not move around on its own. If it does, it is impossible to cut any details in the carving. So what causes chatter? Usually, it is the quality of the bearings and the straightness of the spindle. Also, how the spindle/bearings are attached to the housing. Most electric carvers use low quality bushings or bearings of ABEC of 1.
The ABEC scale is an industry accepted standard for the tolerances of a ball bearing. It was developed by the Annular Bearing Engineering Committee. An ABEC of 1 is the lowest the bottom end for tolerance or roundness. With ABEC 9 being the highest quality.
The Vortex F5 only uses ABEC 9 bearings attached to a spindle with a roundness tolerance of 0.001mm (0.00004”). The smaller the number the better turnout and runout is minimized. The Vortex F5 exceeds the ISO standard by more than 50% for concentricity. This is how the Vortex F5 overcomes chatter and vibration.  Even the spindles are laser serialized for quality tracking should one fail.
Here's a quick run down of the Vortex F5 features
The Vortex F5 is an Ultra High Speed 500,000 RPM Carver, 4½ inches long and ½ inch in diameter. It is the smallest and lightest weight (1.8 ounces) all metal precision air powered carver in the world.
Vortex F5 Details
Ultra High Speed Precision Carver:
The Vortex F5 is a lightweight! At only 1.8 ounce, this carver uses FG type burs with the ability to make cuts at less than the width of a human hair. Carving at one thousandth of an inch (.001) or less you may need a microscope.
High Air Flow Turbine:
7 port manifold drives a 24 vane turbine rotor extracting rotational energy from compressed air. The Port/Vane ratio equals high torque.
500,000+ RPM Ultra High Speed Carver:
Recommended pressure is 29-38 psi, with 40 psi maximum. Going higher produces more RPM but doing so can shorten bearing life.
Ceramic Lube-Free Sealed Bearings:
Longer life, higher RPM, no oil or cleaner required, withstands greater temperatures, handles dirty and moist air better.
No Plunger or Air Tube:
Eliminating the plunger allows the air tube to be removed from the side as well. No more plunger or air tube rubbing your hand while carving.
Focused Nosecone Exhaust Jets:
Exhaust air is put to work blowing carving dust away from your work. The 10 seated ports help to focus the exhaust directly forward.
Fluted Nosecone and Rear Cap:
Fluting provides a better grip purchase for better control when carving and changing burs and is more comfortable than old fashioned knurling (which can cause callouses).
Anodized 6061-T6 Housing:
The housing material is a T6 temper to give a tensile strength of 45,000 PSI. Anodized per military specification MIL-A-8625 inside and out to provide a durable, corrosion-resistant, anodic oxide finish and harder surface not affected by moisture. 6061-T6 is commonly used in aerospace for fuselages, wings and spacecraft.
Light Weight:
Weighing in at less than 1.8 ounces makes the Vortex F5 an ideal tool for users with CTS or RA. Since this is an ultralight weight tool, it resists breakage if you accidentally drop it.
How Fast is Fast Enough?
300,000 RPM?
400,000 RPM?
500,000 RPM?
All carvers have something called the “Sweet Spot.” It is well known as you go faster in RPM, power output goes down. But what happens when you start carving and press the bur against your work? The answer is the “Power Goes Up.” There is an interesting phenomenon when the RPM goes down the cutting power go up. This continues until you reach maximum power. This is the referred to as the “sweet spot.” Most carvers reach their maximum power at one half their maximum RPM. Example, a 400,000 RPM carver reaches maximum power at 200,000 RPM.
The Vortex F5 operates at a maximum air pressure of 40 PSI (pounds per square inch). At this pressure, the Vortex F5 will rotate around 500,000 RPM or about 8,300 revolutions in one second! Why not go faster? Isn’t faster better?  First, the impellers on the turbine are designed to extract energy from the compressed air. This means nearly all of the air is converted into torque. Think of torque as “cutting power.” Torque is the power delivered to the bur, the part that actual cuts. This means you should be looking at how much air the tool consumes per minute.
The second and the most important reason, don’t exceed the bur’s maximum RPM rating. Exceeding it could compromise the integrity of the bur. Most burs are designed for rotational speeds of around 400,000 RPM. Above this RPM, the burs could disintegrate.
The third reason, the Vortex F5 turbine bearings are rated for greater than 500,000 RPM. Applying more air pressure, the RPMs will increase even faster. How can a bur rated for 400,000 RPM work with a tool rated for 500,000 RPM? By using the “Sweet Spot” as mentioned above. Here’s how. Use our Speed Control Foot Pedal to increase the speed of the Vortex F5 while making bur contact with your work. As the RPMs increase, press the bur against you work to keep the power near the sweet spot. The more you press the Foot Pedal, the more you press the bur against you work. This is how some artists use very higher pressure in their carver to get more power. By the way, our speed control foot pedal is rated for a maximum of 150 PSI.
How fast do other tools go? Some tools on the market advertising their carver go 400,000 RPM. We tested brand-new competitor carvers on the market. Each carver was connected to a dry source of air at the recommended air pressure. A magnetic testing bur was inserting into the turbine spindle. The measured tachometer speeds were significantly less than 400,000 RPM. Some were actually closer to 300,000 RPM.
Ultra Precise Details – Introducing FG Cutting Burs
To get fine carving details, it requires a cutter known as a “bur” to cut your design. A bur must be precision manufactured and designed for detail cutting at 400,000 RPM or higher. These types of burs are only found from a few suppliers in the dental industry. They are called, “friction grip” (FG) burs with a shank diameter of 1.6mm or
1
⁄
16
“. The most common bur materials are diamond and carbide. The Vortex F5 turbine supplies rotational power with no chatter or vibration due its precise shaped spindle. This requires burs have the comparable concentric quality as the Vortex F5 turbine.
The actual bur cutting heads available start at 0.03mm (0.001″), about half the size of a human hair and go up in size to 5.3mm (0.200″). The Vortex F5 and burs produce an integral system to produce superior carving control, zero vibration, durability and optimal cutting efficiency. This is the only way to utilize your precise talent to flow from your hand to the Vortex F5 down into the bur and onto your carving.
Optional Reading for Technically Minded Engineers & Scientists
Shielded & Permanently Lubricated Bearings
The Vortex F5 incorporates ABEC 9 rated radial ceramic bearings. These are lube free and shielded with phenolic ball bearing retainers. Radial contact bearings are perfect for carving. This means the bur is predominantly cutting on the side when holding the Vortex F5 like a writing pen. This is the proper way to hold the Vortex F5, so burs are cutting on the side, instead of pressing straight down to drill holes. With shielded bearings, debris is less likely to make its way inside to the actual ball bearings. You never add oil or cleaner. In fact, adding oil or cleaner can cause damage to these bearings.
Fluted Nosecone and Seated Exhaust Jets
The nosecone has been improved to provide a better grip by using a dozen flutes instead of circular grooves. By placing these smooth flutes on the nosecone instead of on the housing, you get much more enhanced carving control. Other carvers have an hourglass shape that compromises your true tactile feedback and prevents your fingers from obtaining tight grip for detail work. The closer your grip is to the bur, the better.
The 10 exhaust ports are seated into the nosecone with indented flutes. These channels direct air flow forward towards the carving surface blowing debris away from your carver and work surface. Other carvers blow air back into your face.
Once the air flows through the impeller, the air needs to vent from the tool. While it could be simple to merely have a hole in the housing to let the air vent, there’s a loud noise side effect! Noise from the tool needs to be reduced before venting. Some tools just vent the air, others stuff felt inside the housing to act as a muffler and absorb the cleaner and/or oil lubrication. This might work for a while, but over long term, felt becomes saturated with oil and leaks out. The Vortex F5 extracts most of the energy from the compressed air. This reduces the turbine whine considerably. The nosecone acts like a muffler, without felt, and is vented out the front of the tool via the 10 seated exhaust ports. This prevents your carver from getting cold.
Other carvers which vent into the housing will begin to cool and over time, a point is reached where a glove may be required.
4 Barb Air Hose Fitting
The air input goes straight into the end of the Vortex F5 stainless steel cap. This eliminated discomfort from an angled hose barb against your skin. The Vortex F5 design team placed more barbs on the air tube to get a better bite on the air hose. Perfect for users who like running their tools at higher pressure to reach insane RPM without blowing their hoses off their carvers. We made the cap and hose barb out of 303 stainless steel. If you drop your carver, this hose barb will not snap off.
Laser Engraved & Serialized
Anodized 6061-T6 housing represents an extremely versatile material, it provides high contrast when laser engraved, moderate wear resistance and highly resistant to corrosion. Anodized per military specification MIL-A-8625 inside and out to provide a durable, corrosion-resistant, anodic oxide finish and harder surface not affected by moisture. 6061-T6 is widely used in aerospace for fuselages, wings and spacecraft.
No Plunger! Easy Twist-To-Release Bur!
We eliminated the plunger found on most carvers in favor of an internal cam design. Inside the Vortex F5 housing, there is a stainless steel cam to actuate the internal push button collet. By not having a plunger, we simplified the mechanical design and made the F5 more reliable. Even people who suffer from CTS, AR or other hand and wrist ailments will find it easy to use the twist cap to release the bur. The secret to its “easy twist” mechanical advantage internal cam system. The X-Ray view to the left shows this unique cam system.
To see how the many functions of the stainless steel rear cap performs, look at the photo above. The rear cap, as can be seen, does not hold the bur and it is not screwed on to the carver housing. Instead, it is a single machined part serving many functions, hose barb, fluted grip, upper cam assembly, collet hold open, tactile snap collet close and air port interfaces. When the cap is twisted, the tube inside the carver moves down and depresses the push button on the spindle. This opens the collet allowing removal or insertion of the bur. All this from a shiny rear cap!
Nosecone X-ray showing turbine inside.
Hidden inside is the Ultra High Speed Turbine
The turbine assembly is contained in a brass nosecone made of C360 brass. Inside the nosecone are the core components comprised of the bearings, spindle, impeller and manifold. The images to the left show an X-Ray view of the nosecone. At the center of the turbine is the spindle which is the shaft that spins. Inside the spindle is the chuck which is a hollow tube which squeezes against the inserted bur and securely grips the bur in place. The outside of the spindle contains three parts, two of which are the bearings. The last part is the 24 vane impeller sometimes referred to as a rotor. These parts make up the turbine assembly and are usually referred to as a turbine. The brass nosecone and turbine assembly shifts the center of gravity towards the bur. This provides more considerable control. This reduces fatigue on the artist’s wrist.
Two for one! We eliminated the need for a heavy brass counter balance on the spindle. By moving the impeller between the ceramic bearings, we effectively balanced the turbine assembly during the CNC machining process. This additionally provides more momentum due to higher velocity, resulting in more torque.
Internal Manifold Jets and Impeller
Ultra high speed carving tools are powered by directing a jet of high pressure air against the vanes on a circular disc called an impeller. Most carving tools use a single air jet. We found this type of design required more air at higher pressure. Besides, a single jet only exposed the impeller vanes to air only once per revolution, rendering them inefficient.
We decided to use seven air jet port injectors, meaning that every time the impeller has spun one complete revolution, each vane received a “boost.” This maximized the available energy extracted from the compressed air supply. By increasing the number of vanes to 24, we were able to provide a boost of 168 for every revolution of the impeller. This provided more power while using less air consumption making the Vortex F5 a much quieter carving tool.
Manifold porting increases the diameter of the seven jet port injectors to about 20 thousandths of an inch. This allows more high pressure air to impinge upon the impeller thus increasing the F5’s power. Porting the manifold increases the power, but it will increase the air consumption from your air compressor. This means your air compressor will run a little longer when powering the carver.
Note
: The Vortex F5 Plus or (F5+) denotes it has a ported manifold installed for increased power.
Turbine Spindle & Autochuck Collet
The turbine contains a spindle, sometimes known as a “collet chuck,” a specialized type of clamp used to hold a
1
⁄
16
” cutting bur. Inside the spindle is a collet with flexible sleeves or coil that squeeze against the bur. Other carvers on the market use a “Friction Grip” spindle with internal leaf spring to press against the bur. This requires the bur to be pressed in to seat it and a plunger to press the bur out to release it from the carver. The Vortex F5 uses an auto-chuck to insert and remove the bur. By using an auto chuck, the spindle will last much longer with repeated bur changes than a friction grip type spindle. The Vortex F5 spindle is design for best performance at ultra high RPM, even after thousands of bur changes.
Tygon Spaghetti Hose - Super Flexible
Over the years of using many other carving tools, We found that all of the air hoses connected to the tools utilized stiff
1
⁄
4
” vinyl or polyurethane tubing. This stiffness and weight placed a disproportionate amount of pressure on the end carver rendering it unbalanced and ineffective. This dragged the end of the tool down more than the front of the tool. To remedy this, We used Tygon, an extremely flexible lightweight tubing. (We found Tygon hose is so flexible, that it reminded me of spaghetti.) All Vortex F5 carvers come with two feet of
1
⁄
8
” inside diameter Tygon hose.
What kind of Air Compressor do I need?
Air compressors come in many varying types, but two requirements must be satisfied to power the Vortex F5. Foremost, the pressure required is at a minimum of 40 PSI (pounds per square inch). The volume of air must be rated at least 2 times the carver’s need. Using a value for the carver of 1½ CFM (cubic feet per minute) at 40 PSI, we get 3 CFM for the air compressor. The reason we need a larger CFM value for the air compressor is due to the demand. While the carver is running, the tank also needs filling up at the same time. If the CFM is too low, the compressor will keep running. This can cause the air compressor to overheat because it can’t fill the tank while carving.
What about Tank Size? Is Larger Better? Best Size is 1HP, 1.5-2
Gallon Tank
The air compressor tank has a dual purpose. It stores compressed air and collects moisture in the bottom of the tank as the air is compressed. This compression removes 80% or more of the moisture extracted leaving the now dried air to power the Vortex F5. A 1 horsepower air compressor is capable of supplying 3 CFM of compressed air to power the carver and refill the tank. People ask, “What’s the optimal tank size for a 1 horsepower air compressor? To find the answer, look at what happens if the tank is too small. The air compressor will refill and drain the tank fast resulting in the compressor cycling too rapidly causing it to overheat. If the tank is too large, it will take longer to refill itself causing the  compressor motor to run longer. This could also cause it to overheat and could lead to failure of the motor. The optimal tank size for a 1 horsepower air compressor is 1.5 to 2 gallons. Common tank sizes to avoid are 1 gallon or smaller tanks, and 3 gallons or larger tanks.
Will a small horsepower air compressor and small tank work like an airbrush compressor? Let’s just cut to the chase and  say, “No, it will not work.” Air compressors with lower horsepower and smaller tanks cannot supply enough air to run high speed carvers like the Vortex F5. Popular
1
/
2
and
3
/
4
horsepower air compressors with 1 gallon tanks are not strong enough to supply adequate air to power ultra high speed carvers.
We are frequently asked if an air brush compressor will work with our Vortex F5 carvers. The answer is no because they do not satisfy the CFM requirement. There are cheaply build air compressors available at Lowes and Home Depot, but they are extremely loud requiring ear protection. We’ve seen air compressors pushing 130db!
Tried and Tested
We’ve produced many machine runs of thousands of Vortex F5 carvers. Our most recent version includes the Vortex F5+ Plus, the most technologically advanced carver on the market today. The revolutionary Vortex F5 is the smallest all metal carver on the market – yet, it’s the lightest and easiest to handle! Featuring a nosecone with an ultra-high-speed turbine and dual support bearings. You’re in control of a high-torque, steady and vibration-free carver unmatched by any competitive carver. And it’s quality-backed by the best protection plan in the business. Best of all, it sets up in minutes. Connect a couple of hoses, plug in the compressor, insert a carving bur and you’re in business.
What's Included with your Vortex F5 Ultra High Speed Precision Carver Kit.
F5+ Plus is an optional upgrade.
Vortex F5 Ultra High Speed Precision Carver
24 Vane Turbine Impeller preloaded into Brass Nosecone, (the integrated turbine)
Ceramic Bearings: Lube-Free & Sealed
Fluted Nosecone with 10 Seated exhaust ports
Fluted Cap: Twist to Release Burs
4 Barb Air Hose Fitting
2 feet of Tygon hose & Quick-Disconnect
Free Artwork via Google
Free Demo via YouTube
User Guide/Instructions
Lifetime Warranty, 1 year turbine
True customer support
Essential Accessories Kit only with your Vortex F5 purchase!
if purchased separately
.95 – Variable Speed Air Valve or Brass Splicer with optional Foot Pedal
.40 – 12 feet of high quality 1/4″ OD, 1/8″ ID air supply hose
.95 – Brass 1/4″ NPT to 1/8″ Hose Barb
.95 – 1/4″ Female Brass Industrial Plug
.70 – 6 Bur Sampler Kit:
3 Carbides (FG8, FG33½, FG699)
3 Diamonds (DR12C, DFB23C, DFL14C)
.95 – 4″ Polished Magnetic Stainless Bur Tray
.95 – Bur Cleaning Stone
.95 – Dust Mask
.95 – Safety Glasses