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IndustryArena Forum > MetalWorking Machines > Auto Tool Changer > I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing it?
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  1. #1
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    Jan 2012
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    I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing it?

    Hello!

    I recently added an ATC spindle to my CNC. I quickly out grew the static tool posts that came with it.

    When I looked for a tool carousel I couldn't find one that was affordable and my controller box was out of space anyways.

    With all of that I had to think outside the box!

    I ended up building a very robust 10 slot tool carousel with some neat features. It didn't take long before I started getting requests from people to build them one as well.

    It would be a shame to leave all this work in the shadows. I wanted to reach out to you folks here and ask if I should take the time and energy and open source this project?

    If you are interested I have posted a video to youtube (first time for everything!). It is of the first prototype working and should give you an idea of the level of quality it offers even in its infancy.

    If you like it I will start putting together the resources, instructions and maybe even make kits. Please watch the video and "like" it. I will judge the interest by comments here and on youtube.

    Thanks!

    --jb


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
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    386

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Can't see a lot in your video but what I can see looks great! You could post your files on github at no cost you you. What spindle are you using?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve303 View Post
    Can't see a lot in your video but what I can see looks great! You could post your files on github at no cost you you. What spindle are you using?
    I was measuring the lift off and seating during operation of the drawbar in that video. I need to get the system cleaned up and better video made of it.

    I use GitHub a great deal, but the time it takes to get this stuff up there in a usable form will be the real challenge.

    The spindle is CNCDepot.net's S30C. Nice little 3hp for non-ferrous materials. The tool carousel is ISO30 but can be easily adapted.

    --jb

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    1185

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Looks like a nice changer. Lots of peole woud like plans and the macro. Are you running Mach3 or4?
    youtube videos of the G0704 under the name arizonavideo99

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
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    1268

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Subnoize;
    Nice system and great display of the advantages of 3D printing. Love the way you took the simplistic approach to "concept" and the follow through in execution. If there were a way to use TTS tooling with some type of drawbar system, I would jump in a heartbeat for my router. However, you system just satisfies a major part to the ATC formula.
    Thanks for posting and hope to see a follow up to your system.
    Stay Safe.
    Bill
    billyjack
    Helicopter def. = Bunch of spare parts flying in close formation! USAF 1974 ;>)

  6. #6
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    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Quote Originally Posted by arizonavideo View Post
    Looks like a nice changer. Lots of peole woud like plans and the macro. Are you running Mach3 or4?
    I am running Mach4 but it would be easy to port to Mach3 and LinuxCNC. I have decided to shoot for end of June or early July for release to github. I am making a custom PCB to simplify the electronics.

  7. #7
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    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Quote Originally Posted by bill south View Post
    Subnoize;
    Nice system and great display of the advantages of 3D printing. Love the way you took the simplistic approach to "concept" and the follow through in execution. If there were a way to use TTS tooling with some type of drawbar system, I would jump in a heartbeat for my router. However, you system just satisfies a major part to the ATC formula.
    Thanks for posting and hope to see a follow up to your system.
    Stay Safe.
    Bill

    Thanks for the input! Once I have this out we can start looking at other systems to integrate with. Keep in touch!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
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    43

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Is it static in place or does it move, besides the rotating? My machine has a linear tool rack and I have room for up to 10 tools but I am giving up several inches of my work table for the rack. I'd like to go to something that will give me the table length back. It looks like a nice rack though.

  9. #9
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    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Quote Originally Posted by milo30 View Post
    Is it static in place or does it move, besides the rotating? My machine has a linear tool rack and I have room for up to 10 tools but I am giving up several inches of my work table for the rack. I'd like to go to something that will give me the table length back. It looks like a nice rack though.
    Same here. If it retracts from the workspace then I gain about 8" inches back on my 5'x10' machine. I paid for that workspace and I want to use it. That is what was killing me with static posts. I have a 8 foot A axis that I have to remove to get 10 tools comfortably on my machine. I have the added problem my machine is dual process (spindle and plasma) so I have to remove them to place the water table on the machine. The point of having two Z axis was speed of switching between processes but the static tool posts or the carousel protruding into the workspace causes problems.

    The response to your question is IN PROGRESS and HIGH priority. I just got through talking to the worm drive manufacturer. They have a linear drive system that I could use so now comes the engineering issues with moving that carousel out on an arm and having the spindle collide with it and it not flex.

    The added cost is going to be high :-( but is probably worth the extra cost.

    Then there is the dust shoe! Argh! Metal chips is one thing, blow them off with a vortex cooler but wood dust? Gotta vacuum that stuff up. It aint ATC if you are having to manually remove the dust shoe for tool changes.

  10. #10

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Add me to those interested in you Open Sourcing as much as possible.

    I have a Hurco Bed Mill that I converted and would like to do an ATC,
    and it looks like you have done things quite nicely so far...definitely need
    to have the ATC retract away from the Spindle...

    Looking forward to further post.

    Best Regards,

    Preston

  11. #11
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    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Preston,

    Cool! I just got through installing Alpha 3 as I am calling it. I have replaced all of the 3D printed parts with plasma cut components. I will make the 3D printed one available put it doesn't age well.

    Since I am out of space on my controller I am slogging through a lot of software to add motion and sensors. At this point I am really bogged down writing for this awful Mach4 software product. Lua has to be the absolutely worst scripting language ever invented. Makes Python look pretty by comparison!

    I will probably release the design, DXF and STLs before I can have the PCB, software and kits available. If you have space on your controller then you will be in luck early.

    Anyways, here are some images for the Alpha 3. I might replace the birch playwood with a 3/16 or 1/4 plate with threaded holes. I kind like how the plywood will distort and return to shape. Makes small errors in the tool change process not damage your very expensive spindle!

    Attachment 447602
    Attachment 447604

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
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    124

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Interesting. I'd like to help you manufacture and distribute your product when you are ready to go prime time.

  13. #13
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    222

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Hello! I am still working on this project. I have been having troubles with Mach4 and Lua. The actual ATC carousel has been wrapped up for a while now. I am looking into mass production for a few components. I will probably add another sensor to check if the pressure is available to begin with. If you do something stupid like forget to turn on your compressor it tends to break things :-(

    BUT! The good news is crashes are eliminated for the most part see above for the one still giving me issues). Mach4 can be difficult sometimes, Lua is always difficult. If you have an AvidCNC/CNC Router Parts or a 8020.net based machine them you will be in a good position for beta testing. I have sourced the worn drive, servos and controllers to USA manufacturers, Yay! The price seems reasonable so far.

    Anyways, here is a video to show the carousel working and a tool offset script running. I am still being conservative with the speeds so don't let the slowness of this put you off;

    https://youtu.be/MdIsqIWwfRI

  14. #14
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    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Quote Originally Posted by underdog View Post
    Interesting. I'd like to help you manufacture and distribute your product when you are ready to go prime time.
    Anything is possible. We shall see going forwards.

  15. #15

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Hola Subnoize, I will be converting all of my machines control systems to Centroid and Trashing Mach3/4 as I not
    longer have time to Play Around...I need a Professional Control and not something that one needs to baby...

    Looking forward to your further progress..

    Best Regards,

    Preston

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by PrestonSMA View Post
    Hola Subnoize, I will be converting all of my machines control systems to Centroid and Trashing Mach3/4 as I not
    longer have time to Play Around...I need a Professional Control and not something that one needs to baby...

    Looking forward to your further progress..

    Best Regards,

    Preston
    I am a LinuxCNC guy myself but the machine I purchased from AvidCNC uses Mach4. Once the electronics get old I am dumping Mach4 and going back to LinuxCNC. I am not impressed. I have no ill will or animosity towards Mach4 but it's just not production ready. It has a bunch of really troubling bugs. The tool carousel is of course a self contained unit and will work with any controller that can open a TCP/IP socket and send datagrams.

  17. #17
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    15362

    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Quote Originally Posted by subnoize View Post
    Hello! I am still working on this project. I have been having troubles with Mach4 and Lua. The actual ATC carousel has been wrapped up for a while now. I am looking into mass production for a few components. I will probably add another sensor to check if the pressure is available to begin with. If you do something stupid like forget to turn on your compressor it tends to break things :-(

    BUT! The good news is crashes are eliminated for the most part see above for the one still giving me issues). Mach4 can be difficult sometimes, Lua is always difficult. If you have an AvidCNC/CNC Router Parts or a 8020.net based machine them you will be in a good position for beta testing. I have sourced the worn drive, servos and controllers to USA manufacturers, Yay! The price seems reasonable so far.

    Anyways, here is a video to show the carousel working and a tool offset script running. I am still being conservative with the speeds so don't let the slowness of this put you off;
    Well Done the manufacture of the carousel most likely is not a problem for most that are into machine building, the synchronization software macro is what most would struggle with, the tool setter would have to be a lot faster or did you have that part slowed down

    How is Mach4 working out
    Mactec54

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by mactec54 View Post
    Well Done the manufacture of the carousel most likely is not a problem for most that are into machine building, the synchronization software macro is what most would struggle with, the tool setter would have to be a lot faster or did you have that part slowed down

    How is Mach4 working out
    Oh, gosh. Slowed way down but my machine isn't fast to start with. The servo can tear that worm drive up pretty quickly too. That is the little NEMA 23 from Teknic.

    Mach4 is pretty I guess but is has some terrible "gotchas" that can break things.

    I would never, ever, not in a million years use Lua to control a machine that could mame, injure or kill someone. Probably the dumbest thing I have seen in my 35 years in the industry. But I am stuck with it until I can get the money up to replace it.

    I have tried to get the owners of Mach4 to give me a developers seat so I can do this in C/C++ but they never answer my inquiries.

    If I were to buy my machine today I would leave off the Warp9 ESS, and everything associated with it. I would use LinuxCNC instead.

  19. #19
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    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Quote Originally Posted by subnoize View Post
    Oh, gosh. Slowed way down but my machine isn't fast to start with. The servo can tear that worm drive up pretty quickly too. That is the little NEMA 23 from Teknic.

    Mach4 is pretty I guess but is has some terrible "gotchas" that can break things.

    I would never, ever, not in a million years use Lua to control a machine that could mame, injure or kill someone. Probably the dumbest thing I have seen in my 35 years in the industry. But I am stuck with it until I can get the money up to replace it.

    I have tried to get the owners of Mach4 to give me a developers seat so I can do this in C/C++ but they never answer my inquiries.

    If I were to buy my machine today I would leave off the Warp9 ESS, and everything associated with it. I would use LinuxCNC instead.
    Mach4 was originally Linux based and they scraped it and went Lua for some reason

    Linuxcnc is Ok but not for everyone, Eding CNC has one of the best controls and also Centroid is on the same level

    I think you should sell drawing for your ATC as a lot would build it that have the need
    Mactec54

  20. #20
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    Re: I built my own ATC Tool Carousel, would anyone be interested in me open sourcing

    Quote Originally Posted by mactec54 View Post
    Mach4 was originally Linux based and they scraped it and went Lua for some reason
    Not sure I understand. Linux is an operating system, Lua is a programming language. You can’t substitute one for the other.

    I agree that selling plans is probably the better way to go.

    Cheers

    Peter.




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