HI

I've been a member for quite a while now, and would like to know if there are any machinists meet ups in the Geelong\Melb area,
the reason being is that I have developed over the last three years an Artificial Intelligent Auto Tool Changer for my Mach3 powered 9x20
lathe, and would like to get some feedback on anything else that might be of use to add to the software.

This is a link to a video of the AI working with my workbench test turret.

The older videos are of the journey through many changes the turrets needed, to make them reliable and are not
representative of the new ones. up to Mk8 now.

Here is a blog of the turrets up to Mk6 at the cambam website, https://cambamcnc.com/forum/index.php?topic=6844.0
the issue I had, and hadn't solved satisfactorily until the last Mk8s was that while taking heavy interrupted cuts in 1045
material with a 12 mm keyway, was that the pawl would move away from the ratchet wheel some, I tried and failed many
times to get a ratchet and pawl mechanism to hold fast under this duress. I'm not used to failure and am persistent
beyond all reason, but this problem nearly broke my will to live.

The solution in the end was to use twin opposed pawls one of which is a servo actuated (translation and rotation) pawl.
I would like the feedback as I'm planning on doing a crowd funded kickstarter project or similar (I know nothing about this)
and have made a start on eight turrets already up to a certain point, all the bodies done, The only modification mechanically
That I might make is to articulate the secondary pawl (like a finger joint) so that it snaps into place eliminating the need for a
camshaft after all, the mantra of the project is 'less is more' and there are a bare minimum of components necessary for the
mechanism to work if fact the mechanism cannot work without the AI looking after the backlash, and what to do after a crash or the
batteries failing during a tool change.

Dave