CNC SX3 Auto tool turret

[rcfreak177]

G'day,
Here is a glimpse of the 10 position ATC I have been working on.
This is for my cnc'd Super X3 mill.

I have had this well under wraps for quite some time now but it got the better of me today and just have to show this thing.

There is still a bit of work to do, Should be all sorted in the next couple of months or so. Tormach offers a similar unit with a price of $4000.00US.

I challenge their ATC and believe I can manufacture an ATC for considerably less and be just or more reliable.

I still have to fit some sensors etc to make it fail-safe far as not wiping out on the mill. This is the easy part. Also tweak a few area's then trial it on my machine.

The Mach 3 tool change Macro is all done and tested, (that was the hard part)


Anyway, Enjoy.

[ame]http://youtu.be/BOLya0WkuuA[/ame]

Baz.

 

[kvom]

Interesting! Looking forward to see it finished.

 

[rcfreak177]

Ok I have had enough,

I have managed to get my ATC working well and declaring the project a success.
Although I have had enough of the machine spraying coolant and swarf all over the show. Also running the machine off my desktop with wires going everywhere. Thought that I might pull the machine apart for a tidy up and a new paint job, while the machine was and still is in 1000 pieces I had a thought that I might build a cabinet and also re wire everything with an onboard computer.

I have been flat out at it over the past couple of weeks and this is where i am at.

Cabinet nearly finished, pull out swarf tray, big windows etc.



Main electrical box, contains pc motherboard and hard drive, also stepper drives, 2 breakout boards, 8 way relay board, spindle control board etc,
and also the SX3 spindle driver, 5v, 12v and 48v power supplies. Tight fit but will be all good. Due to the amount of electrics in here I needed a fairly serious amount of air passing through to keep it all cool. Running 2x 80mm fans, 1 pulling air in and 1 pushing air out, 20 cfm total.





The control panel, fitted with 19" lcd, button and switches to be fitted as well as a MPG.
All driven by a keyboard emulator.





This is the Z axis column, Fitted with a Nema 42 1800 oz inch stepper for more grunt and faster rapid.
I have cleaned up all the ways. Was set up for bench testing, all good. Still need to epoxy granite fill the base and column to adsorb vibration.



This is turning into 1 very serious bit of gear, to be honest for the time and money spent on this thing I could have had good a used Haas Minimill.
I guess I have the satisfaction of doing the work myself.

Really looking forward to getting this thing finished as it is the machine that will be machining the parts for my double size Demon V8.

Cheers,
Baz.

 

[rcfreak177]

Wired up the pc to test,
All good. This is the tool changer setup screen.



Now running with only the motherboard and hard drive. no DVD or floppy drives as they are not needed. this pc will be running Windows XP in the background and boot directly into Mach3 when turned on.

Any files needed can be loaded from a thumb drive.

I still have a couple of alignment issues on the screen, I will sort that out with Mach Screen Designer once all is finished. All the macro files have been written and tested for the ATC and tool clamping system. there are also proximity sensors fitted to the ATC so there is no way it can crash. I have modified mach to be able to operate the ATC manually for loading etc, There is a manual override button that needs to be pressed in order to do this, the cycle start is disabled once that is activated.

Foolproof.

Baz.

 

[aarggh]

Loving seeing this come along Baz, awesome job mate. Looking forward to more videos of the end results.Good idea with the proximity sensors, are you using a PLC/stateful style algorithm or simply go-no go for the Mach3 handling of the ATC?

cheers, Ian

 

[rcfreak177]

G'day Ian,

Thanks mate, using a simple go no go set up with Mach3.
Its all in the macro's I have come up with, used the old GetOEMLED (#) phrase a fair bit basically until the led signal for the input from the sensors is recognised the next function can't happen. I do have timers set up within several macro's so if the signal is not picked up within the specified time frame the machine will fault and flag up on my screen with what's gone wrong.

The mechanism that operates the ATC rotate is a simple 280 oz stepper driving a 10 position Geneva wheel with very tight tolerances, 1 proxy for home on the wheel and 1 proxy on the driver (which rotates 360 deg per slot) the Macro counts each time this proxy activates so Mach knows where the ATC is at all times.

1 proxy for ATC in
1 proxy for ATC out
and also a pressure sensor set to flag up if the air pressure falls below 85 psi for the pneumatic side of things.

My spindle does 7500rpm, would not like a tool to drop out at that rate.

Baz.

 

[rcfreak177]

Here is an example that I wrote, This macro does not have the Proxy inputs but.



'Macro M6Start
Message""

If GetOEMLed (807) And GetOemLED (808 And GetOemLed (809) And GetOemled(811) Then
MsgBox" 1 or more axis are NOT REFERENCED cancel program and REF XYZB axis"
End
End If



Dim OldTool As Single
Dim NewTool As Single
Dim X As Double
Dim Y As Double
Dim Z As Double
'********************************
OldTool = GetCurrentTool()
NewTool = GetSelectedTool()

If NewTool = OldTool Then
MsgBox" Same Tool, NO ACTION"
End
End If


If NewTool > 10 Or NewTool < 1 Then
MsgBox" Tool # 1-10 ONLY "
End
End If


Code "M09" 'Coolant Off



Code "M05" 'Stop Spindle
Message" Coolant And Spindle Turned Off"




'******************************

Code"G00"
Code "G53 Z 300 "
Code "G53 X 0" & "Y 0"
While IsMoving()
Wend


ActivateSignal(Output1) 'Tool Turret In'
Sleep 1500



ActivateSignal(Output2) 'Release Tool'
Sleep 1500


Code "G00"
Code "G53 Z350"

Call MovePos(NewTool) 'The ATC moves to the new tool.
While IsMoving()
Wend

Code "G53"
Code "G00 Z300"


DeactivateSignal (OutPut2) 'Clamp Tool'
Sleep 1250



DeactivateSignal (OutPut1) 'Tool Turret Away'
Sleep 1500


Do
DeactivateSignal(OutPut7)
Sleep 1000
Loop


SetOEMDro (824) (CurrentTool)

Sub MovePos(ByVal ToolNumber As Integer)

Select Case ToolNumber 'Positions to each tool in B-axis
Case = 1
Code "G00 G53 B 360 "
Case = 2
Code "G00 G53 B 720 "
Case = 3
Code "G00 G53 B 1080 "
Case = 4
Code "G00 G53 B 1440 "
Case = 5
Code "G00 G53 B 1800 "
Case = 6
Code "G00 G53 B 2160 "
Case = 7
Code "G00 G53 B 2520 "
Case = 8
Code "G00 G53 B 2880 "
Case = 9
Code "G00 G53 B 3240 "
Case = 10
Code "G00 G53 B 3600 "
End Select

End Sub


Baz.

 

[RonGinger]

That is a very fine bit of work.

How are you holding the tools and releasing them? That has always been my holdup on an ATC.

 

[rcfreak177]

That is a very fine bit of work.

How are you holding the tools and releasing them? That has always been my holdup on an ATC.

Hi Ron,

Holding the tools is easy really, I am using a 3/4" no3 morse taper collet in the spindle,

Disk springs hold the tension on this with the draw bar. To release the tool I have mounted a 50mm bore 30mm stroke pneumatic cylinder up the top which actuates a lever that presses down on the top of the drawbar itself compressing the springs and in turn releases the collet.

I did work out the fulcrum point on the lever, cylinder size and spring size etc to get the 500 lb clamping force I was after.

Just to add to that the toolholder is gripped on the 3/4" dia and also when clamped is pulled up onto a 1 3/4" dia face to the spindle.

I have punished it and can't get the collet to slip, due to being pulled up to a face the repeatability is spot on.

I now understand why Tormach charges $4000 for a similar unit, there has been huge amounts of trial and error in getting things right. Some parts had to be made 3 times, all slightly different :wall:

Once I have it all back together will get some good pictures and a short video of how it all works for you.

Baz.

 

[rcfreak177]

Did a bit more on the mill today,
most of the wiring is done, powered up and tested, nothing blew up so thats a plus.



I decided that the 5 volt power supply was taking up too much space. I removed it and fitted a 5v power regulator which runs off the 12v supply.
I have kept the 48v supply for the steppers completely separate, that way if I manage to trip it out I still have the 5v and 12v supply for the logic and solenoids running.



Also fitted my el cheapo auto lube unit from Ebay, has programmable cycle times, how often it cycles and also for how long, works great.



Things to do,

* Finish painting and assemble the mill and ATC unit
* Make the door for cabinet, finish control panel and fit all perspex windows
* Touch up paint on cabinet
* Extend the pc power supply, fit and tidy up all wiring
* Mount and plumb up the air solenoids and air supply.
* Make 50 litre coolant tank and fit.
* Plumb up auto lube system

Still a bit to do but shouldn't be too long now.

Cheers,
Baz.

 

[///]

Very cool, enjoying every update.

 

[rcfreak177]

Thanks Simon,

Put my heart and soul into this thing, once the mill is finished I have the Emco 120P lathe to do, that should be easy though.

Whereabouts in Perth are you located?

 

[DICKEYBIRD]

....I have the Emco 120P lathe to do, that should be easy though.

Spoken like a true optimist.

Fantastic job on the mill and the ATC!

 

[rodw]

Baz, you might like to check out this video of my neighbour's home made scratch built CNC lathe which may give you some ideas for stage 2.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nK5sEgCkOk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nK5sEgCkOk[/ame]

Chris also has a SX3 CNC mill but he bought it complete.

Great stuff your are doing by the way!

 

[rcfreak177]

G'day Rod,

Thanks for the video mate, thats one unusual but very effective lathe. The bigger manual lathe is the same as the one I have
(not a bad machine at all)

Sorry to hear about your diff centre failure, probably a plus it happened in town and not out in the bush somewhere though.
You have had a bit of bad luck lately haven't ya. Keep smiling mate it will all blow over.

Your shed is looking great, there is an excellent selection of tooling in it, nothing stopping ya know.

What is the first engine going to be???

I have a fair selection of plans for steam and IC that are distributed freely on the net, can send them to you if you like.

Baz. Thm:

 

[///]

Thanks Simon,

Put my heart and soul into this thing, once the mill is finished I have the Emco 120P lathe to do, that should be easy though.

Whereabouts in Perth are you located?

Hi Baz, nice lathe!
I almost bought an Emco CNC lathe a couple of years ago on ebay(don't remember the model), but organising freight was turning out to be too difficult and had to let it go.
I should have pressed ahead as good used lathes rarely pop up for sale, and when they do, almost all of them are in the eastern states and "pick-up only". Very frustrating.
There was a nice Hercus PC200 on ebay recently for a decent price, but again, pick-up only.

Edit: This is the the very lathe that was for sale: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P2_ozsElx4[/ame]

I'm in Rockingham.

 

[ZipSnipe]

Great job Baz, love that enclosure!!!!!! Keep it coming !!!!

 

[rodw]

G'day Rod,

Thanks for the video mate, thats one unusual but very effective lathe. The bigger manual lathe is the same as the one I have
(not a bad machine at all)

Sorry to hear about your diff centre failure, probably a plus it happened in town and not out in the bush somewhere though.
You have had a bit of bad luck lately haven't ya. Keep smiling mate it will all blow over.

Your shed is looking great, there is an excellent selection of tooling in it, nothing stopping ya know.

What is the first engine going to be???

I have a fair selection of plans for steam and IC that are distributed freely on the net, can send them to you if you like.

Baz. Thm:

Baz, thanks for the encouragement. Yes, Chris is one cluey guy. He made me a morse taper for my rotary table while he had it programmed. I wish I had room for the lathe you both have but it was just too darn big!

Life has been so busy for me recently, I have not had any time to devote to quality shed playtime, its all been about sorting stuff in the shed. I did make an EZ runner and was going to make a wobbler next then maybe a bigger horizontal steam engine. But right now I have my hands full with making a lathe stand, a drill power feed and an Arduino driven Stepper for my Rotary table. It's still only very early days on it,but at least I know I can move it.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2tuP9LZNgU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2tuP9LZNgU[/ame]

I've put a lot of time into coding menus and data entry screens and am waiting for a Gecko stepper drive to arrive. I hope to build in basic programmability into it, possibly reading files from an SD card if I can ever get the library to compile!

Yes, I know I have all the gear needed to make stuff, I watched the MIT tech videos and made a list of the things he showed and it kinda grew from there.

Anyway have to knock off some UFO's (unfinished objects) before I get to the engine.

 

[rcfreak177]

G'day,

Done a bit more on the mill over the past few days.

Made a complete new spindle, This one is good to go, fitted with angular contact bearing for the higher speed. I have run it up, Ultra quiet and barely even gets warm at full speed for over 1 hour (7000 rpm).
Have had drama's with the spindle control via Mach. The speed was all over the show (surging) and could not get an even increase in the 0-10v from the CNC4PC C6 board. I spent 2 days solid on this, turned out to be a faulty C6 board, put another one I had spare in and all is good.
My speed ranges from 1500 rpm through to 7000 rpm and is on the money right through the range. I am using a closed loop system with a photo interrupter fitted to the driven pulley to the spindle. I would love to have rigid tapping but that would be expecting a bit much without am encoder fitted.

The control panel now has the Estop and MPG fitted and working, also the X Y and z home switches are fitted and working.
This thing has been an electrical nightmare, slow going trying to make the wiring neat and tidy also accessible for fault finding in the future
Patience and Red Bull have been the key.









Getting there slowly but surely.

 

[rcfreak177]

And a bit more done today,

here is a picture of the you beaut spindle I made with an ER25 tool holder I also made,







A picture of the small vee belt setup I have rigged up (super quiet), previously had a MXL timing pulley gizmo drive but this drove me crazy at high RPM (way too noisy) You can also see the index sensor and the cone springs that pull the collet up into the taper.


And a short video of simulating the tool change action. Air cylinder needs to slow down and the bracket that holds the top of the ATC mount was not fitted so its a bit bouncy. I also might mount a couple of rubber stoppers to stop the air cylinder slamming at the end of stroke. This is a non cushioned cylinder.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUUcem9ljFQ[/ame]


Baz.