Boy howdy that brings back some memories. I had a shizouka ANS mill with
bandit control and the tool thrower, I mean tool changer. It works pretty
well considering. One thing, it has a claw that opens and closes around the
flange. So your tooling flanges must all be the same size or you have
problems. Also, they tend to need a 45 degree chamfer on each edge of the
flange, about 1/8" The arm takes the tool out of the spindle, then flips it
over and stands it on the threaded end of the holder in a little cup.
The throwing part comes if you have a long or heavy tool, when that arm
swings from spindle to tool storage, while rotating it 180 degrees, it can
toss it at you. DO NOT expect it to change a 3" boring head or tapping
head. Also, you are held to 4-6 inches of quill travel only. The machines
are pretty beefy really, I used mine pretty heavy considering.
Jon



Karl Townsend wrote:
We're starting to scout around for another CNC mill. I plan on adding
a new retrofit control to an older machine in good mechanical
condition. It would be GREAT if we could find a machine that uses our
existing tooling,
NMTB40 and BT45. (You can spend more on tool holders than on the machine)

Anway, I didn't know they made ATCs for NMTB40 until I spotted this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1200 678&rd=1

Anyone have experience with this machine? I've not heard of it. In
particular, does the ATC work well? Have I been sleeping under a
rock, are ATCs for NMTB40 readily available?

P.S. Anybody want to buy a Bandit?

Karl