Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] toolchange idea for small mills wasRe: To tool change, or not...

one of the better ideas for a small toolchanger I've seen is the one
used on the Fanuc RoboDrill (a light,fast #30-taper mill)
some pics at
http://www.hascotech.com/machines/fanuc-robodrill/fanuc-robodrill-details.htm

the spindle moves to the home position and indexes the toolholder to
line up the tangs
it then moves up to toolchange and pivots the tool turret on its linkage
so that a set of spring loaded fingers grabs the v-flange of the toolholder
in the spindle
the spindle un-clamps ,moves up again to clear the toolholder and engage a
thin spur gear on the spindle with a ring gear on the turret
now the spindle rotates cw or ccw driving the turret around to the next tool
pocket
spindle down and clamp the new tool
and down again to pivot the turret clear of the spindle
very fast and uses no extra motors in the toolchanger

just have to scale it down to a 5 or 10 taper v-flange style toolholder :-)

Brian