toolchange idea for small mills wasRe: To tool change, or not...

Brian--in looking at the picture on the website it would appear that
the tools are pre-mounted in their respective spindles and the turret
rotates to present each tool into machining position as needed. Am I
missing something?
Thanks
Nelson

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., Brian Pitt <bfp@e...> wrote:
> 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