[Bubba]

Hadn't really given it much thought. It there is interest I could give it a shot.

Alan

PLEASE DO! A slighly/different vision will do nothing but help a lot of us!

[rwskinner]

I agree. The forums are about sharing and everyone knows they're many ways to skin a cat and the creativity can be awesome.

Richard

[a.ash]

I agree. The forums are about sharing and everyone knows they're many ways to skin a cat and the creativity can be awesome.

Richard

Well it looks like the votes are in. I'll do my best to document the build in a new thread. This will be my first attempt at documenting as I go so please be gentle with me ... The mill it is going on is a Seig KX2 or 3 (can't remember the exact one). It is the Smithy 622 model. The little brother to the Tormach 1100.

By the way Richard, I know someone who used to skin cats for a research facility. According to her there is truly only one way to skin a cat

[rwskinner]

For Shark bait, you only have to partially skin them....
Ahhh, just kidding. Sick humor. Okay, going to bed now.....

Richard

[Mad Welder]

.......You should have seen me walking around the cookware section at all the stores this morning with a tape measure. I did get a few strange comments................She just looked at me funny and walked off.

Richard

Priceless I'd love to have seen those ladies faces who came up to you

Richard this is an absolutely outstanding build thread I just read it from post one to here and now and WOW I'm humbled at the build and I can't wait as some have already said to see the chips making video.

Congrats and well done and thanks for sharing too, I'm with some of the guy's too as mechanical is my background and some of the things ye discuss loose me but the pictures bring me back..... I have the baby clone of yours the BF20 and I do intend to follow in your footsteps to add the ATC sometime...


thanks for including all the pictures of your build :cheers:

[Mad Welder]

Well it looks like the votes are in. I'll do my best to document the build in a new thread. This will be my first attempt at documenting as I go so please be gentle with me ... The mill it is going on is a Seig KX2 or 3 (can't remember the exact one). It is the Smithy 622 model. The little brother to the Tormach 1100.

By the way Richard, I know someone who used to skin cats for a research facility. According to her there is truly only one way to skin a cat

I too would also like to be included as you document your build no matter what size the mill is it still can shed a new light to us.....

[rwskinner]

Thank you sir, I appreciate the kind comments !!
The ATC seems to have been easier than the 3D printer project

Richard

Priceless I'd love to have seen those ladies faces who came up to you

Richard this is an absolutely outstanding build thread I just read it from post one to here and now and WOW I'm humbled at the build and I can't wait as some have already said to see the chips making video.

Congrats and well done and thanks for sharing too, I'm with some of the guy's too as mechanical is my background and some of the things ye discuss loose me but the pictures bring me back..... I have the baby clone of yours the BF20 and I do intend to follow in your footsteps to add the ATC sometime...


thanks for including all the pictures of your build :cheers:

[mattmark]

Can't believe I missed this thread. Great work.

I'm going to start work on the pdb hopefully soon. I'm remaking my Z-mount and some other odds and ends before getting there.

Matt

[rwskinner]

Thanks Matt. It's been working pretty good. I actually have it apart right now to change out the sensor and c3 card. I'm installing a little PMX photo switch which I have on the machine everwhere else. They sure work good.

I've been a little afraid to just turn it loose and let Mach do tool changes since Mach messed up my length offsets not long ago. I have to figure out what happened because that has been twice. I do not like holes in my table or vise!!!

Richard

Can't believe I missed this thread. Great work.

I'm going to start work on the pdb hopefully soon. I'm remaking my Z-mount and some other odds and ends before getting there.

Matt

[CNC-Joe]

Great Work, Richard !!!

Now that you have the ATC up and running a while - is there anything that you would change or do differently ?

Nice work, really impressive in fact.

Thanks for posting the blog!

[Fastest1]

As everyone else is saying, Great Work. I just spent a few minutes cruising thru your ranch site. You appear to do great work on everything you attempt and like others here can document it well too. I was totally impressed with everything however there was 1 picture that made me curious. I see picture #DSC02623, this is a picture of a limit switch and vane. If I am seeing it correctly, did you place a washer under the limit switch to bow the base and therefore enlarge the sensors width? That looked more like something I would do! Just kidding of course but it did bring you down to the "mortal" stage. ;-)

[pete from TN]

Richard is quite a charachter here. That RF45 build as well as the wicked toolchanger is inspirational to say the least. Quite an accomplishment and in a rather short amount of time I might add. He is also quite a gracious and helpful fellow that knows his way around Modbus and everything else on the computer end. Cannot thank him enough for his efforts in helping me with my RF45 spindle control. What a guy!!

I think at some point I would have started to build a toolchanger for my RF45 but I decided to just get a machine with one attached. It is still not running just yet but should be soon. In the mean time I will just watch videos of this RF45 changing tools like a pro hehehe.. Nice work Richard, keep on keepin' on man...peace

Pete

[Fastest1]

Seems like he was doing alright in the 3d printing challenges for a while too.

[rwskinner]

Thanks for the complements. Yes, I would and am changing three things.
1) I have to install the PMDX slot sensor. For no other reason than I like it better.

2) After a crash due to my dumb butt showing off the machine after too many cold beers, I warped the large disc that all my forks bolted to. For a temporary fix, I installed 3 set screws so I could perfectly dial in the toll holder forks to the same exact height.

I will be rebuilding the hub and disc, making the hub much larger and incorporating the leveling screws in there. I'm thinking about using some strong compression springs to mate the disc to the ATC spindle hub in case something were to happen again.

3) My cover was way too heavy. I need to make a new one out of some thin gauge stainless. It shook the entire mill when the ATC came to the end of it's stroke. Without the cover it is smooth and fine so making one lighter will fix that. I think my old cover was 11# or 12# if I remember correctly.

I had Mach fumble a tool length a few weeks ago and center drill my nice Glacern vise jaw !!! I was pissed, but at least it was it's jaw. I figured out what caused it. Mach doesn't properly use tool length offsets when manually entering the tool number into the box. If you do a M6 T? then it seems to work everytime that I can tell. But using the Tool Entry DRO, it tends to miss it sometimes.


It's been running fine. I hadn't had too much time on it lately since I've been fixing/rebuilding hay equipment and doing some cutting and baling.

Great Work, Richard !!!

Now that you have the ATC up and running a while - is there anything that you would change or do differently ?

Nice work, really impressive in fact.

Thanks for posting the blog!

[rwskinner]

Ha Ha!, nope, that was me using some scrap stuff laying around in order to test everything. An old slotted sensor and just some square 6061 and a L- Bracket. No washer under there but there is a hole under there your seeing the edge of the hole I believe.

I will be machining a proper bracket and using a different sensor but I want to modify my disc and hub first. Maybe when it cools down. The shop is like an oven right now. I need to move the lathes and mills into my Air conditioned workshop but I hadn't had time.

Thanks for the kind words!!
Richard

As everyone else is saying, Great Work. I just spent a few minutes cruising thru your ranch site. You appear to do great work on everything you attempt and like others here can document it well too. I was totally impressed with everything however there was 1 picture that made me curious. I see picture #DSC02623, this is a picture of a limit switch and vane. If I am seeing it correctly, did you place a washer under the limit switch to bow the base and therefore enlarge the sensors width? That looked more like something I would do! Just kidding of course but it did bring you down to the "mortal" stage. ;-)

[rwskinner]

Dang Pete, your making me blush !!!

Richard

Richard is quite a charachter here. That RF45 build as well as the wicked toolchanger is inspirational to say the least. Quite an accomplishment and in a rather short amount of time I might add. He is also quite a gracious and helpful fellow that knows his way around Modbus and everything else on the computer end. Cannot thank him enough for his efforts in helping me with my RF45 spindle control. What a guy!!

I think at some point I would have started to build a toolchanger for my RF45 but I decided to just get a machine with one attached. It is still not running just yet but should be soon. In the mean time I will just watch videos of this RF45 changing tools like a pro hehehe.. Nice work Richard, keep on keepin' on man...peace

Pete

[rwskinner]

I had two but I was falling down on my chores and other projects so I sold one. Then I still found myself running to the printer everytime I walked in the door so I had to hide it for awhile. Seems like a bad weather toy/tool so I can stay inside and play.

Heck, I couldn't come close to keeping up with Hoss, that guy can keep going and going like the energizer bunny !!

Seems like he was doing alright in the 3d printing challenges for a while too.

[CNC-Joe]

Really Great Build Richard !

Hey - could you publish a sketch of the nylon and metal grippers for the tool changer?

Also - is the last Mach M6 macro published your final version? or?

Thanks for any help - really dreaming of building one.

[rwskinner]

Here is something I threw together real quick.

[pete from TN]

Hey man just tellin' it like it is....I calls em like I sees em....hehehe peace man

Pete