Automatic Tool Changer

[Chivo]

Hello, Sorry about my english.

Does anyone has some Automatic Tool Changer Design, for a Wood Router machine.

I been searching about the "V" flange CNC End Mill Adapters, I founded on TRAVERS TOOLS CATALOG.
I'm confused about the name of the parts, they are called ( caterpillar, collect chuks...). They join the tool to the spindle.

What Travers Tools sells are expensive, I think is because they are made to work with steel, and they are to much for wood work.

Please, some help with drawings or pictures of how the system works

[vacpress]

that is going to be an amusing day - when someone finally makes a do-able tool changer for their MDF machine...


i am waiting...

[ballendo]

Vacpress,

That day is closer than you think...

Ballendo

Originally Posted by vacpress that is going to be an amusing day - when someone finally makes a do-able tool changer for their MDF machine... i am waiting...

[vacpress]

ballendo,

you say that like you have insider information...

on the subject, one thing i imagined was 2 or more laminate trimmers on a 'ferris wheel' configuration... otherwise, i dont see how one can get a collet on a router to loosen without major work...

i hope someone has found a better idea...

[ballendo]

Hello,

Yes I do have some "insider" info. But I'll keep it at that for now, as folks have given me a hard time for describing upcoming things. But yes, there is already a router TOOL changer that will be available with our Wood duck Gantry Routers this Summer. (Whether it will be offered independantly is not yet decided. I'm sure folks here will copy it which is why I'm not giving details at this time.)

But I CAN give some details about the OLD stuff...

I've done two different types of "spindle" changers along the lines of what you've mentioned. The first was on my original gantry router in 1989 (using CP/m for control!) On that machine I used a quadrant and an air cylinder to switch between a router and a drill. Later between a large router (7518) and a lam trimmer.

The quadrant was pivoted at the top and there was AIRC about 30° offset between the two spindles. The pivoting plate was fastened to the normal Z slide, and an air cylinder selected which spindle was rotated into place. A second smaller air cylinder actuated a De-sta-co over-center toggle to lock the lower end of the quadrant. This air cylinder and De-sta-co lived between the two spindle motors. (Hole in the top quadrant, through which the toggle arm protruded, to act upon an arc slot in the lower Z slide.)

To get the smallest angle between the two spindles, I had to use a "small" 2nd spindle; the drill and later lam trim mentioned above.

Anyways, it worked and allowed shelf holes to be drilled while the router did larger stuff (I've always hated large shelf holes in furniture!) Once I realised that my Makita drill and Bosch trim router had the same size front collar, the trim router went into place and now I could cut out with the big router, and profile edges with the smaller one.

The next type of spindle switcher I used was one large z axis slide plate upon which were mounted 4 routers. Each router had an individual slide, again with air cylinder to actuate. So you'd select which router to use, it would slide down into working position, and any offsets to use it would come from the G54-59 fixture offsets. You could have more than one router working at a time, but at THAT time, high current capable drives were not as prevalent, so we didn't do this very often. Also you couldn't easilt change the distance between the heads for working on different size parts.

We did later make a machine which had a slide on 2nd z axis, where you could set the distance between the two heads. Each Z was independantly driven (indexerLPT) so you could work on two parts at once, or do two different operation on one part at a time.

BTW, there was a small PCB drill cnc machine being offered at that time ('91)which had a turret spindle like the Burgmaster turret drills. That type has always fascinated me, but never have made one.

Hope this helps,

Ballendo

P.S. By Summers end there will be a LOT of new stuff up at CNCresource.com and GeoMcnc.com Gonna crawl, then walk, then run...

Originally Posted by vacpress ballendo, you say that like you have insider information... on the subject, one thing i imagined was 2 or more laminate trimmers on a 'ferris wheel' configuration... otherwise, i dont see how one can get a collet on a router to loosen without major work... i hope someone has found a better idea...

[jamma]

Good router toolchanger shown in this thread:

Two more of Joe's CNC Model 2006