Jump to content

Proxxon vs Dremel


Recommended Posts

I was at a woodshop store the other day and was introduced to the proxxon rotary tool. I was told that it was able to operate at lower RPMs than the Dremel, and would be more ideally suited for working with styrene and other plastic materials. Does anyone here have experience with this tool to say if this really is true?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have almost aaaaall the proxxon tools and must admit they work awesome!

I know that my newest "dremel" like tool can go on, if I remember well, 5000 rpm up to 20000

Lots of accessories but in the end I actually don't understand why people choose more Proxxon than Dremel too!!!LOL LOL

I have it cause I already had it in my tool room...so no choice from me but from my father...

I really dunno actually!

But surely works fantastic!

Cheers

:D

PS: sorry if I may confuse you more!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I do have an old but trusty Dremel 9.6V MultiPro Model 780 which works well on plastic and resin. Even at the lowest 5000rpm, it'll melt some plastic(resin is fine though). From my experience, i believed a good handling, or should i say holding technique is VERY important. I tend to 'skim' the contact surface, instead of a full contact. It works for me...hope this helps.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice, I do already own a dremel, but I feel that it might not be ideal for some thinner styrene or plexiglass as the RPM may be a little too high for such delicate work, maybe I'll pick up a Proxxon next month or whenever finance stops losing my orders.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi there, aerodrew!

I've got Dremel's 3960 moto-tool kit with every accessories I can possibly have. The model I own operates at 10.000 to 30.000 rpm, and let me tell you'll never have any problems melting down styrene while working with rotary tools even at the highest rpms if you know how to do it right.

Good thing about Dremel is that you will find accessories and spare parts everywhere. I don't know Proxxon, but I used to have another rotary tool of a different brand - as an alternative tool - and I had to ditch it the minute the motor brushes started giving me problems, as finding replacements for that specific brand was almost impossible.

Dremel's accessories are easy to find even at supermarkets! How about Proxxon?

P.S.: I especially liked your sig. :thumbsup:

Link to post
Share on other sites
The model I own operates at 10.000 to 30.000 rpm, and let me tell you'll never have any problems melting down styrene while working with rotary tools even at the highest rpms if you know how to do it right.

So, how do you do it right?

Kev

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh, it's easy, Kev; main problem is people tend to think rotary tools are only meant to save time, but it just takes some patient practice with the plastic. It will also depend on what you are using your rotary tool for. Owing to the many variations in kits' styrene, you should practice operating your rotary tool on the kits' sprues first. You usually won't need to resort to the higher rpms to bore holes, cut or trim down styrene; high rpms may just be used when polishing styrene surface.

Working on the kits' sprues first will tell you for how long you can "touch" the plastic with your tool before it starts melting down. Using beeswax and water on your drill bits and stuff will help, but it takes some trial and error attempts, the same as you would normally do with paint, solvents or any other modelling material.

On a side note; if you've got to go to the dentist, it's wise to notice the way in which they work when they're drilling your teeth. If you can ever talk to them, ask them questions about their methods when using a dental drill, especially if you begin sniffing that awful smell reeking of a crematory-like stench, indicating that the dentist is burning your tooth down by "touching" it for too long while drilling. It's almost similar with plastic.

And if it happened that you were friends with your dentist, ask them for their used bits and files as well; it's amazing how long you will be able to still use their discarded supplies on styrene after they've been disposed of by your dentist.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a Dremel single speed hooked up to a voltage/speed pedal.

Without the pedal, the Dremel only has one speed.....wide open. With the pedal, I can slow the speed of the bit down to a crawl. This is very helpful working with plastic and resin.

From what I've been told, the pedals only work with single speed Dremels. "They" say that if you put a pedal on a multi-speed Dremel that it will burn the motor up.

It took me a while to find the single speed Dremel, but finally found it at Walmart.

The good thing is that the single speed Dremel is very cheap. I think I gave about $20 for mine at Walmart about 9 months ago. The voltage pedal was another $20 from online. You can buy a nicer pedal, but no more than I use it, $20 was fine for me.

I really like my set up and burning through plastic is not an issue because I can slow the bit down so much.

JED

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeh, Jed; that's true. You hardly see any single speed Dremels anymore. There used to be a fix for making Dremel's minimum (10.000) rpms slower, but I won't recommend it because it makes the tool's torque go straight to hell. The fix consisted in grafting a series of complicated reducing gears onto the tip of the tool where the flexishaft was supposed to be attached... :) It looked like some sort of Prof. Emmett Brown's invention to me.

How about torque when using your Dremel at crawling speeds, Jed?

Edited by Uncle Uncool
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
Hi there, aerodrew!

I've got Dremel's 3960 moto-tool kit with every accessories I can possibly have. The model I own operates at 10.000 to 30.000 rpm, and let me tell you'll never have any problems melting down styrene while working with rotary tools even at the highest rpms if you know how to do it right.

Good thing about Dremel is that you will find accessories and spare parts everywhere. I don't know Proxxon, but I used to have another rotary tool of a different brand - as an alternative tool - and I had to ditch it the minute the motor brushes started giving me problems, as finding replacements for that specific brand was almost impossible.

Dremel's accessories are easy to find even at supermarkets! How about Proxxon?

P.S.: I especially liked your sig. :crying2:

Glad you liked the sig!

A store in my area carries a wealth of Proxxon tools, I already own a dremel and have a bit of experience with it, but I never did feel that it was meant for doing fine work on plastic and wood, maybe I didn't take the time to become adept in controlling it? though I am willing to give Proxxon a try as it's not a very expensive tool and the parts are available to me.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Glad you liked the sig!

Uh-huh... in fact, I liked your sig so much that I've nicked it for using on another forum (can I?) :woot.gif: I figure you as being the sheila holding that submachine gun, Drew :yahoo:

A store in my area carries a wealth of Proxxon tools, I already own a dremel and have a bit of experience with it, but I never did feel that it was meant for doing fine work on plastic and wood, maybe I didn't take the time to become adept in controlling it? though I am willing to give Proxxon a try as it's not a very expensive tool and the parts are available to me.

Hmph... no, it's not nearly that you didn't take the time to become adept in controlling your tool as it's funny that plastic modelling is not actually depicted on the moto-tool's box drawings as one of the many tasks you can perform with it. Perhaps people at Dremel never meant their tool to be used in plastic modelling, indeed, but then again, we modellers will resort to using just anything at hand to suit our needs, aren't we? :thumbsup:

Yeh, I've been looking into Proxxon's. Could you please tell me how your new tool feels at palstic modelling, Drew? Thanks a lot.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I found using the flex shaft pretty much brought a 10000 Dremel down in speed enough, but was ergonometrically unsuitable. So, I grabbed a Dremel Stylus handheld rechargeable model.

Can't recommend the Stylus highly enough. Precise control, low enough speeds, accesorizes with standar Dremel stuff. Perfect.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

I have been going through this and it makes for interesting reading. I had a Dremel and spent a fortune on accessories and all the nice to have things. well 8 months down the line the Dremel packed up and when I took it to the agents I was politely told that that the Specific one that I had was to old and that spares were unobtainable and that I should rather buy a new one, well needless to say this P__s_d me of like you wont believe , told them where to shove there tool and went off and bought a Proxon, and a few goodies, well needless to say this episode has probably made me a bit biased. but in my opinion Proxon is the better tool its smaller and lighter than the Dremel that I had and I can get all the support and accesories that I want and the one that I bought 3 years ago I can still get. yes I have plans to expand my Proxon collection as well.

Sorry guys just my bit.

They probably are one and the same LOL :worship:

Link to post
Share on other sites
I have been going through this and it makes for interesting reading. I had a Dremel and spent a fortune on accessories and all the nice to have things. well 8 months down the line the Dremel packed up and when I took it to the agents I was politely told that that the Specific one that I had was to old and that spares were unobtainable and that I should rather buy a new one, well needless to say this P__s_d me of like you wont believe , told them where to shove there tool and went off and bought a Proxon

Oh? Graemeb, mate; which Dremel model have you got? I take it that you live in South Africa, aye? (Brian Habana rules my world, by the way :wave: ). You should try to contact the manufacturer; no Dremel model is old enough yet as to be ditched owing to lack of spare parts. I tell you this for I live in Buenos Aires - Argentina - and I was told just the same by the agents in my country. :salute: Check out this link:

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/CustomerServic...es/default.aspx

If you have still got your tool, check the paragraph at the bottom of the page; tell those lazy agents in your country to list the parts you need to get your tool fixed and order them on this page. It's insane that you were told to throw away your tool because of this; I would tackle down those clowns hard to the ground ala "Schalk Burger" if I was ever told that, y'know. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've got a Dremel rechargable but mine's a little older (few years), and has a switch from low (7500rpm) to high (10000rpm). I mostly use it for drilling, disc-cutting, or drum-sanding. There are many other attachments, but to tell the truth I've only used some of them once or twice since I've got 'em!

As for melting plasting, well it's not as bad as folks think. Say I've got a cutting disc on and I'm... let's use one example... cutting the hull off a ship to make it waterline. I bury the disc wheel in deep enough to get through the plastic, and the melted stuff builds up a bit, but the end result is that the melted plastic often snaps right off once you let it cool, or can be trimmed with a single swipe of a hobby knife.

Another project I did was involving cutting the glass out of a glasshouse canopy on a 72nd Fw189, and leaving the frames intact. It was one of my first attempts with the Dremel, but overall good results. In this case I actually relied on melting the plastic away from where I wanted it, leaving what I did want intact! Again, requires a bit of cleanup, but you can use the melting plastic to get to your end goal.

P.S.: I just hate how fast the battery drains. I wish I could find an AC adapter that snaps into it, but I've looked before, and there aren't any. It's handy when I need to be portable, but on the hobby table I'd love to just plug the dumb thing in!

P.P.S.: Oh, and getting a variable size chuck adapter makes this thing 10x easier to use! Being limited to 1/8 inch default bit size was a real drag!

Edited by Mark M.
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...