chinese atc spindle ?

[voyager1972]

i have a 10*5 chinese machine with a 4.5kw spindle,,,running mach3,,,,,the machine works great with the only issues being user error,,,,,i want to upgrade to atc ,,the constant changing and zeroing of cutters is getting to be a pain.....ive added an image of my machine,,,,,,im not sure of the weight of my current spindle or if the gantry would be suitable for the atc spindle,,,,im also thinking of upgrading the chinese controller to the axxb-e running uccnc. any advice would be much appreciated.

[JAZZCNC]

Well, wouldn't worry about the gantry not being suitable because it's more than strong enough. However, because the rails don't go all the way to the ends then you would have to use a wine rack type tool holder on the end or down the side of the machine rather than a carousel type off the side. That said Wine rack type is much simpler and easier to deal with regards setting up the tool change macro.

The only issue you may face is if the weight of the spindle is too much for the X-axis motor when in use or when parked the Z axis dropping. May require a larger motor or break on the motor if it does.

Regards the AXXB-E then it's limited on the amount of I/O it provides so you'll need to work out exactly how much I/O you need for the whole machine first. If you have Limits and Homes etc then probably won't have enough Inputs and will be very close with the outputs if you let the machine control vacuum or air blower.

The spindle I'm fitting requires 5 outputs 5 inputs. These are just for the spindle to operate correctly and safely and don't include the Analog Outputs for speed control. They break down into the following.
Out1 = Drawbar solenoid
Out 2 = Taper cleaning solenoid
Out 3 = Air bearing purge solenoid
Out 4 = Dust hood retract solenoid. ( Needed if using dust shoe to allow access to slide in tool holders when changing tools)
Out5 = Spindle On/Off

Input1 = Draw-bar Open/close
input2 = Tool holder inside spindle
input3 = Air pressure sensor for safety.
input4 = Tool measure gauge. (optional but advised)
Input5 = VFD fault.

Also, be aware that you'll need to create a Custom M6 tool change macro to suit your setup. Mach3 doesn't come with ATC macros and I don't think UCCNC does either so you'll need to create one or modify someone else's if you can find someone willing to share.

The main point I'm trying to make telling you this is that it's not just a case of bolt-on an ATC spindle and away you go. There's more going on behind the scenes than people realize and it all needs to work perfectly and safely otherwise a lot of damage can be done.! . . . But well worth the effort.

[voyager1972]

after 2 years of sitting in a box i finally mounted the 6kw hqd atc spindle which i have connected to the vfd and is running smooth , at present i plan to use the manual toolchange button until i get my head around the auto toolchange and macro side of things.. i am using the uc300eth-5lpt with the ucbb with uccnc , i understand how to get the solenoid working with the button , my question is does this have to be connected through the breakout board ? and is there safety measures i need to put in place in case of a tool ejection when the spindle is in use , any advice would be much appreciated. thanks