On Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:11:45 -0600, Pete C. wrote:
Karl Townsend wrote:
On Mon, 15 Nov 2010 02:26:10 -0600, "Pete C." wrote:
....
I see this machine actually has two separate ATCs. The obvious answer
there is to just use one initially and ignore the other, cutting your
I/O needs in half. You're not doing production stuff, right, so I
can't see where you would ever really have a use for the second
spindle and ATC.
Presumably "drum" is referring to the tool carousel. Since you're not
doing production, you can probably dispense with both the CCW rotation
and rapid rotation outputs, and simply use one CW rotation output.
This of course would be slower to select the correct tool than
bi-directional rapid searches for the correct pocket, but for
non-production use, does the extra 45 seconds to index fully around
vs. reverse one pocket matter?
Looks like that gets you down to around 8 outputs or so:
1 ATC rotate
2 ATC arm swing
3 ATC arm up/down
4 ATC arm forward/back
5 Spindle unclamp
6 Oil mist (spindle blow I think, this could share an output with
spindle unclamp)
7 Drum pin out (ATC carousel lock?)
8 Keylock (possibly for spindle orient?)
I would expect around 8 inputs as well:
1 ATC carousel home
2 ATC carousel index
3 ATC arm at ATC
4 ATC arm at spindle
5 ATC arm up
6 ATC arm down
7 ATC arm forward
8 ATC arm back
I plan to go the other way, actually more I/O. This machine is a gift
and I promised better than new. On the computer end each I/O point
costs about $5 so there's no reason to drop stuff that makes the
machine better. I will be at a limit of 40 outs and 90 ins (plus 15
more for limits and homes) The one indisputable strength of Camsoft is
how well it integrates I/O with the control.
Sorry, both EMC/EMC2 and Mach3 also handle as much I/O as you need quite
happily 
Now, this tool change logic will be a stone bitch. "The Kid" has asked
for ability to load tools every other pocket and then always put the
tool in the empty next to the one you need for very rapid tool change.
This could get REAL COMPLEX and may not happen.
That would be pretty insane since you'd have to constantly be changing
the tool table. The big machines do fast tool changes by using a double
ended tool changer arm, pre-fetching the next tool on one side and then
doing the quick swap at the spindle letting it get back to work while
the old tool is being put away. Looking at the pictures, you don't have
clearance to change to a double ended ATC arm.
The most practical way to modify the machine for a super fast tool
change that I can think of would be to add an intermediate stop position
to the arm swing and an extra tool pocket above that position to allow
you to pre-position the ATC carousel to the next tool, remove the
current tool from the spindle, park it up in the intermediate tool
pocket, grab the next tool from the ATC carousel, install it in the
spindle, and then when the machine is back to work, retrieve the old
tool from the intermediate pocket and return it to it's ATC carousel
position.
Maybe what Karl meant (or, what he could do) is something like that -- eg,
pre-position ATC to empty pocket left of next tool y; remove current tool
x from spindle; park x in empty pocket; shift ATC left; pick y; install y
in spindle and start mill ops; shift ATC right; pick x; shift ATC to home
pocket of x; park x; repeat ad lib.
--
jiw