Festool ROTEX SERIES, RO 90 DX FEQ Plus, RO 125 FEQ Plus, RO 150 FEQ Plus Supplemental User's Manual
Rotex Series
Dual Mode Sanders
RO 90 DX FEQ Plus, RO 125 FEQ Plus, RO 150 FEQ Plus
Supplemental User’s Manual
WARNING To reduce the risk of serious injury, read and understand all safety
precautions and instructions in this manual before using this tool.
Limited Warranty
1
30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Buy with condence. If you are not completely satised, return
your tool2 to the selling dealer within 30 days and you will
receive a refund of either your purchase price or the lowest
retail price at which the same item has been offered since your
date of purchase. Freight charges are not refundable.
Service All-Inclusive® Warranty
Festool USA warrants that all new Festool power tools� purchased from authorized dealers in the U.S. and Canada will be
free from defects in materials and workmanship for a term of
three years from the date of original retail purchase.
Conditions of Service All-Inclusive Warranty
This warranty applies for three years from the date of original
retail purchase. Proof of purchase is required. This warranty is
void if the tool is not used, operated, repaired and maintained
in accordance with the tool’s instruction manual.
Excluded from this warranty’s coverage are:
► Accessories and/or attachments, including, but not limited to,
saw blades, drill bits, router bits, sanding discs and apparel
► Tools purchased from outside of the U.S. or Canada
► Repairs or replacements not performed by an authorized
Festool Service Center, outside of routine maintenance as set
forth in the instruction manual
► Parts or components not supplied by Festool or that have
been modied
► Damage caused by misuse, abuse, accident, impact, abnor-
mal wear and tear, improper storage and/or exposure to the
elements, or neglect
► Damage caused by anything other than defects in materials
and workmanship
► Normal adjustments and recommended maintenance as set
forth in the tool’s instruction manual
► Damage from the operation of the tool at a voltage or fre-
quency different from the tool’s rating, including the use of
transformers
1 The following is an exemplar Festool limited warranty. The actual warranty that comes
with your power tool is controlling.
2 Tool must be returned in complete and whole condition as supplied to include Systainer,
cutter, blade, power cord, etc.
3 For purposes of this warranty, power tools are dened as any Festool branded product
that bears a serial number (S.Nr. or M.Nr.).
4 To determine if your application is excluded from the warranty under this condition,
please contact the Festool Service Center at 800.554.8741
Repairs
If your Festool power tool requires repair, whether it be
warranty or non-warranty, you must contact our Service
► Damage resulting from the use of any non-Festool accessories
or attachments
► Tools used in high volume industrial applications⁴
Should any failure covered by this Limited Warranty occur, the
purchaser must contact Festool through our website, www.
festoolusa.com/SAI, or call 888.337.8600 for authorization and
shipping information. For purchases made in Canada, contact
our website, www.festoolcanada.com/SAI or call 613.363.0169.
Festool, in its sole discretion, may elect to repair, replace or
refund the purchase price of any tool covered by this Limited
Warranty that is found to be defective, at no cost to the purchaser. Warranty returns will be processed by Festool according
to normal work ow and availability of replacement parts and
components. Festool will issue a prepaid shipping label for
return of the tool to the Festool Service Center and will also
return the repaired tool freight prepaid, if the repair or replacement is covered under this Limited Warranty.
FESTOOL SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL,
INCIDENTAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES REGARDLESS OF THE
THEORY OF LAW ON WHICH THE CLAIM IS BASED. ALL
WARRANTIES IMPLIED BY STATE LAW, INCLUDING THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE HEREBY LIMITED TO THE
DURATION OF THREE YEARS.
SOME STATES IN THE U.S. AND SOME CANADIAN PROVINCES
DO NOT ALLOW EXCLUSIONS/LIMITATIONS OF INCIDENTAL
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES AND/OR LIMITATIONS ON
HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE
LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY GIVES
YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE
OTHER RIGHTS THAT VARY FROM STATE TO STATE IN THE U.S.
AND FROM PROVINCE TO PROVINCE IN CANADA.
With the exception of any warranties implied by state or
province law as limited above, the foregoing limited warranty is
exclusive and in lieu of all other warranties, guarantees, agreements, and similar obligations of Festool. No agent, representative, distributor, dealer, or employee of Festool has the authority
to increase or otherwise modify the obligations or limitations of
this warranty.
Warrantor:
Festool USA Phone: USA—888.337.8600
Festool Canada Canada—613.363.0169
400 N Enterprise Dr. festoolusa.com/SAI
Lebanon, IN 46052 festoolcanada.com/SAI
Department at 888-337-8600 (613-363-0169 Canada) for
authorization and address details.
Liability Statement
This product has been built to the high standards of Festool.
Please do not attempt to operate or repair this equipment without adequate training. Any use, operation, or repair in contravention of this document is at your own risk. By acceptance of
this system you hereby assume all liability consequent to your
use or misuse of this equipment. Festool assumes no liability
for incidental, special, or consequential damage of any kind.
Equipment specications, applications, and options are subject
to change at the sole discretion of Festool without notice.
Proprietary Notice
All drawings and information herein are the property of Festool,
TTS Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co. KG. All unauthorized use and
reproduction is prohibited.
Written and Illustrated by Rick Christopherson.
© 2014 TTS Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co. KG
Festool USA is a division of Tooltechnic Systems, LLC.
2 Rotex Series Dual Mode Sanders
Festool is a trademark and service mark of TTS Tooltechnic
Systems AG & Co. KG
Plug-It and Systainer are registered trademarks of TTS
Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co. KG
www.festoolusa.com
Contents
About This Manual ........................................... 3
Tool Symbols ................................................... 3
General Power Tool Safety Warnings .............. 4
Work Area Safety ..........................................4
Electrical Safety ............................................ 4
Personal Safety ............................................. 4
Power Tool Use and Care ................................ 4
Service ........................................................ 5
Specic Safety Rules for Sanders ....................... 5
Respiratory Exposure Safety Warnings ................ 5
Sander Overview ............................................. 5
Intended Use ................................................... 5
Technical Specications ..................................... 5
Functional Description ...................................... 6
Sanding Action/Mode ........................................ 7
Dual-Action ................................................... 7
Gear Driven (Rotex) Mode .............................. 7
Random Orbit ............................................... 7
Optimizing Random Orbit ................................ 7
Anatomy of Sandpaper ..................................... 8
Choosing the Appropriate Grit ......................... 9
Best Sandpaper for the Task ........................... 9
Setup ............................................................. 10
Changing Sanding Pads ................................... 10
Choosing the Correct Sanding Pad ................. 10
Changing Delta (RO90) Sanding Pads ............... 11
Changing Sandpaper ...................................... 12
Connecting a Dust Extractor ............................ 12
Connecting the Plug-It Power Cord ................... 12
Setting the Variable Speed .............................. 12
Installing the Sanding Bumper ......................... 13
Setting the Sanding Mode ............................... 13
Turning on the Sander .................................... 13
Operation ...................................................... 14
Using Dust Extraction ..................................... 14
Choosing Hand Positions ................................. 15
Working With Sanding Grits ............................. 15
Sanding Techniques ........................................ 16
Establishing Optimal Sanding Pressure ........... 16
Sanding Pattern and Movement ..................... 16
Maintenance and Adjustment ........................ 18
Routine Maintenance ...................................... 18
Motor Brush Replacement ............................... 18
RO 90 Motor Brushes ................................... 18
RO 125 Motor Brushes ................................. 19
RO 150 Motor Brushes ................................. 20
Troubleshooting ............................................. 21
About This Manual
Save These Instructions
It is important for you to read and understand this manual. The information it contains relates to protecting YOUR SAFETY
and PREVENTING PROBLEMS. The symbols below are used to help you recognize this information.
WARNING! Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if
not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.
CAUTION! Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if
not avoided, could result in minor or moderate injury.
NOTICE: Indicates a potential situation which, if not avoided,
can result in property damage or damage to the tool.
Note: Indicates information, notes, or tips for improving your
success using the tool.
Tool Symbols
V Volts
W Watts
Hz Hertz
~ Alternating Current (AC)
n
No-load Speed
o
Class II Double Insulated
Supplemental Owner’s Manual 3
General Power Tool Safety Warnings
WARNING! Read all safety warnings and
instructions. Failure to follow the warnings and
instructions may result in electric shock, re, and/or
serious injury.
Work Area Safety
► Keep your work area clean and well lit. Cluttered or dark work
areas invite accidents.
► Do not operate power tools in explosive atmospheres, such
as in the presence of ammable liquids, gases, or dust. Power
Electrical Safety
► Power tool plugs must match the outlet. Never modify the
plug in any way. Do not use any adapter plugs with earthed
(grounded) power tools. Unmodied plugs and matching
outlets will reduce risk of electric shock.
► Avoid body contact with earthed or grounded surfaces such
as pipes, radiators, ranges and refrigerators. There is an
increased risk of electric shock if your body is earthed or
grounded.
► Do not expose power tools to rain or wet conditions. Water
entering a power tool will increase the risk of electric shock.
► Do not abuse the cord. Never use the cord for carrying, pull-
ing, or unplugging the power tool. Keep cord away from heat,
oil, sharp edges or moving parts. Damaged or entangled
cords increase the risk of electric shock.
► When operating a power tool outdoors, use an extension
cord suitable for outdoor use. Use of a cord for outdoor use
reduces the risk of electric shock.
Save all warnings and instructions
for future reference.
tools create sparks which may ignite the dust or fumes.
► Keep children and bystanders away while operating a power
tool. Distractions can cause you to lose control.
► If operating a power tool in a damp location is unavoidable,
use a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protected supply.
Use of a GFCI reduces the risk of electric shock.
► Never use an extension cord that is damaged, including cuts,
exposed wires, or bent/missing prongs. Damaged extension
cords increase the risk of re or electric shock.
► Use only extension cords rated for the purpose.
► Use only extension cords rated for the amperage of this tool
and the length of the cord. Using too small of an extension
cord can cause the cord to overheat.
Extension Cord Ratings
Cord Length Size (AWG)
<50 Ft. 14
50-100 Ft. 12
>100 Ft. Not recommended
Personal Safety
► Stay alert, watch what you are doing, and use common sense
when operating a power tool. Do not use a power tool while
tired or under the inuence of drugs, alcohol, or medication.
A moment of inattention while operating power tools may
result in serious personal injury.
► Use personal protective equipment. Always wear eye pro-
tection. Protective equipment such as dust mask, non-skid
safety shoes, hard hat, or hearing protection used for appropriate conditions will reduce personal injuries.
► Prevent unintentional starting. Ensure the switch is in the
off-position before connecting to power source, picking up,
or carrying the tool. Carrying power tools with your nger on
the switch or energizing power tools that have the switch on
invites accidents.
► Remove adjusting key or wrench before turning the power
tool on. A wrench or a key that is left attached to a rotating
part of the tool may result in personal injury.
► Do not overreach. Keep proper footing and balance at all
times. This enables better control of the tool in unexpected
situations.
► Dress properly. Do not wear loose clothing or jewelry. Keep
your hair, clothing, and gloves away from moving parts. Loose
clothes, jewelry, or long hair can be caught in moving parts.
► If devices are provided for the connection of dust extrac-
tion and collection facilities, ensure these are connected and
properly used. Use of dust collection can reduce dust-related
hazards.
► Always wear safety glasses complying with ANSI Z87.1.
Ordinary glasses are not proper protection.
Power Tool Use and Care
► Do not force the power tool. Use the correct power tool for
your application. The correct power tool will do the job better
and safer at the rate for which it is designed.
► Do not use the power tool if the switch does not turn it on
and off. Any power tool that cannot be controlled with the
switch is dangerous and must be repaired.
► Disconnect the plug from the power source before making
any adjustments, changing accessories, or storing the tool.
Such preventive safety measures reduce the risk of starting
the tool accidentally.
► Store idle tools out of reach of children and do not allow
persons unfamiliar with the power tool or these instructions
4 Rotex Series Dual Mode Sanders
to operate the power tool. Power tools are dangerous in the
hands of untrained users.
► Maintain power tools. Check for misalignment or binding of
moving parts, breakage of parts and any other condition that
may affect the power tool’s operation. If damaged, have the
power tool repaired before use. Many accidents are caused by
poorly maintained power tools.
► Keep cutting tools sharp and clean. Properly maintained tools
with sharp cutting edges are less likely to bind and are easier
to control.
► Use the power tool, accessories, and tool bits etc. in accor-
dance with these instructions, taking into account the working
conditions and the work to be performed. Use of the power
tool for operations different from those intended could result
in a hazardous situation.
Service
► Have your power tool serviced by a qualied repair person
using only identical replacement parts. This will ensure that
Specic Safety Rules for Sanders
► Know the material you are sanding and take precautions
accordingly. Some materials contain chemicals, elements,
or bers which may be toxic or harmful when abraded. Take
caution to prevent dust or vapor inhalation and skin contact.
► Always perform sanding in a well ventilated area and use
personal respiratory protection.
► Do not use in wet environments. Ingestion of water into the
motor may result in electrocution hazard.
Respiratory Exposure Safety Warnings
Substantial or repeated inhalation of dust and other airborne
contaminants, in particular those with a smaller particle size,
may cause respiratory or other illnesses. Various dusts created
by power sanding, sawing, grinding, drilling and other construction activities contain chemicals or substances known (to the
State of California and others) to cause cancer, birth defects or
other reproductive harm. Some examples of these chemicals/
substances are: lead from lead-based paints; crystalline silica
from bricks, cement, and other masonry products; arsenic and
chromium from chemically-treated lumber; and some wood
► To reduce the risk of serious injury, never alter or misuse the
power tool.
the safety of the power tool is maintained.
► Do not use the sander if the sanding pad fails to retain the
sanding disk. Replace the sanding pad. A loose sanding disk
can come free and cause personal injury.
► Take care when disposing of ne sanding dust. Fine particle
dust may become explosive. Do not throw sanding dust on an
open ame.
► Never sand materials containing asbestos.
dusts, especially from hardwoods, but also from some softwoods such as Western Red Cedar.
The risk from these exposures varies, depending on how often
you do this type of work. To reduce your exposure to these
chemicals: work in a well ventilated area and use a properly
functioning dust extraction system. When the inhalation of
dust cannot be substantially controlled, i.e., kept at or near the
ambient (background) level, the operator and any bystanders
should wear a respirator approved by NIOSH for the type of
dust encountered.
Sander Overview
Intended Use
The Rotex sanders are designed for dry sanding and polishing of wood, plastic, metal, composite materials, paint/
varnish, ller, and similar materials.
The sander must not be used when wet or damp, or operated in a damp environment for electrical safety reasons.
Use this sander only for dry sanding. The tool should not
Technical Specications
RO 90 DX FEQ RO 125 FEQ RO 150 FEQ
Power Consumption 400 W 500 W 720 W
Orbital Speed 3000-7000 rpm 3000-6000 rpm 3300-6800 rpm
Rotational Speed (Rotex Mode) 260-520 spm 300-600 spm 320-660 spm
Orbital Stroke 3 mm 3.6 mm 5 mm
Sanding Pad Diameter 90 mm 125 mm 150 mm
Dust Extraction Port Size 27 mm 27 mm 27 mm
Weight 1.5 kg / 3.3 lbs 1.9 kg / 4.2 lbs 2.3 kg / 5.1 lbs
be altered or used for any other purpose, other than as
specied in these operating instructions. Using the tool in
contravention to this manual will void your warranty and
may lead to injury. The user shall be responsible and liable
for damages and accidents resulting from misuse or abuse
of this sander.
These specications are subject to change without notice.
Supplemental Owner’s Manual 5
Functional Description
F
J
B
A
H
RO 90 DX FEQ
I
D
C
F
D
A
B
G
J
C
A
B
RO 125 FEQ
G
Detail Pad
F
RO 90 DX
M
C
D
E
G
RO 150 FEQ
Item Name or Description Ref. Page(s)
A Power Switch 13
B Mode Selector 7, 13
C Speed Control Dial 12
D Dust Collection Port 12
E Dust Channel Release (RO150) 12
6 Rotex Series Dual Mode Sanders
Item Name or Description Ref. Page(s)
F Plug-It Power Port 12
G Sanding Pad 10
H DX Sanding Pad (RO90) 11
I Sanding Bumper/Protector 13
J Fast-Fix Spindle Lock 10
Sanding Action/Mode
Sanding is dened as scratching or abrading a surface. So
when we discuss scratches and scratch patterns, the goal is
to minimize them or make them less visible to the eye, but
they will always be present.
The Festool Rotex sander is not only a dual-action sander,
but is also a dual-mode sander. Even though those two
terms sound similar, they do not mean the same thing.
Because both of the dual modes are variations of dual-
action, it is best to describe dual-action rst.
Dual-Action
Dual-action means that the sanding pad moves in two
distinct motions simultaneously. The primary motion is an
eccentric orbit—similar to the motion of a bicycle pedal. The
center of the sanding disk moves in a small eccentric circle
about the center of the
sander. The diameter of this
orbital path ranges from
3mm to 5mm, depending
on the model sander (Refer
to “Technical Specications”
on page 5).
The second motion is the
rotation of the disk about
the disk’s center. Because
the sanding disk is eccentric
to the machine center, so is
this path of rotation.
The effect of this dual
motion is that each point
on the sanding pad traces out a geometric shape called
a roulette. You may be familiar with this shape from the
children’s drawing toy, “Spirograph”. The exact shape of this
roulette depends on the ratio between the orbital radius and
the radius of the pad rotation. This means that each part of
the sanding pad traces out a slightly different shape. This
minimizes the visibility of the scratch patterns on the wood
because each part of the sanding disk leaves slightly different scratch shapes. Dual action sanders don’t leave fewer
scratches, but the scratches are less visible because each
one is different.
Rotation
Eccentric
Orbit
Random Orbit
This name random orbit is a slight misnomer because it
isn’t the eccentric orbit that is random, but the disk rotation that is random. The motion of the sanding pad is still
considered dual-action, but the rotational component of the
motion is not constrained to follow a strict ratio of the orbits
like a gear-driven sander. The disk rotation is permitted to
freewheel about the orbit, and this includes even rotating
backward at times.
It is this freewheel motion that permits the sander to be
both fairly aggressive but to also leave very few visible
scratches. Again, it isn’t because there are fewer scratches,
but that the scratches are even less visible.
What makes the rotation of the disk somewhat random is
friction with the sanding surface. Inertia causes the disk to
want to rotate in unison with the orbital motion, but friction
with the workpiece tempers this motion, and causes the
disk to speed up, slow down, or even turn backward.
You may have noticed that when hand-sanding wood, there
is more resistance to sanding across the grain than there is
with the grain. The same is true for a random orbit sander.
As a result, when the orbital motion is moving across-thegrain, the freewheel rotational motion will resist moving
across the grain. The net result will be more scratches
being parallel to the wood grain than across the grain.
Unlike a singular orbital motion (orbital sander) or a singular rotational motion (grinder), whose scratch patterns will
be circular, a random orbital scratch pattern will be more
“V” shaped and in the direction of the wood grain. Because
these are less geometric in shape, they are less visible to
the eye. The tighter this “V” shape, the less noticeable the
scratches will be.
Gear Driven (Rotex) Mode
In the gear driven mode, the dual-action rotation of the
sanding pad is directly coupled to the orbital motion. For
each of the Rotex sander models, the pad rotates once for
approximately 10 orbits of the eccentric center. (In the
image below-left, this ratio is 9.5 to 1.)
This gear driven mode
provides some of the
aggressiveness of a
rotary grinder, but the
high ratio (10:1) of
the rotation-to-orbit
minimizes the visible scratches that a
grinder would impart
on the wood.
Supplemental Owner’s Manual 7
Grinder Scratch
Patterns
Optimizing Random Orbit
Optimizing the sanding doesn’t remove the number of
scratches, it just makes them less visible to the eye. The
least visible scratches are those that are not geometric and
are in-line with the wood grain. Both of these conditions are
optimized by letting the friction between the sanding pad
and sanded surface control the rotation of the sanding disk.
Many operators will apply excessive downward pressure to
the sander to slow down the freewheel motion of the pad,
but this will increase the amount of friction and make the
scratches more geometric and more visible. Instead, using
a light pressure allows the cross-grain friction to be larger
than the in-line friction, and the ideal scratch pattern shown
above will be the result.
The best random orbit motion is when the sanding pad has
very little pressure, and is permitted to freewheel on its own.
Orbital Scratch
Patterns
Random Orbit
Scratch Patterns
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