Hi Corbin. Thanks for another great video. Regarding the S30C Case Pressure. You can separately turn it on/off via relay and control it via software. I have a button in Mach4 that allows me to disable the case pressure when not needed. Per Alex at CNC Depot, the case pressure is really only needed when working with things like MDF. When working with hardwoods or materials that do not create the super fine dust, you can disable case air to reduce the amount of cycling your air compressor performs on longer jobs.
Awesome, thanks! I also saw that he posted some info about the new CNC Depot ATC spindles and said the case pressurization can be run lower. I forget what it was...but it was significantly lower than the 90 PSI that normal tool changes require, which would help a lot with air compressor cycling.
Oh right. I forgot to mention that. Yes, the case pressure can be as low as 30psi. I've got a small inline pressure regulator directly on the 1/4" tubing that goes to the case pressure inlet. Really extends the time between compressor cycles.
Thank you for making this video. I've had an avid with S30C bought used sitting in the garage and couldn't get to it due to work/health issues. Now I'm starting to look into it and this video really helped.
Hello Corbin, I'm already using your dust boot so I figured I'd follow your ATC journey. I ordered a 4hp from cncdepot looks like a 5wk lead time before it ships so I have time to watch your vids. thanks again for providing this info. regards brian stanga
Awesome Brian! I think their new turn key setups are better than what I started with. I also updated the dust boot with tabs to prevent push off. Your early feedback was super helpful!
Regarding the S30, when you open the drawbar the spindle locks and then case pressure stops. I know that if you reverse the lines on the S30 you will lock the spindle. It seems the case pressure is being used to also lock the spindle when the drawbar is open but I am not 100% sure.
Thanks Jason! i kind of figured it would work that way. It means the case pressurization always has to be "on" so manual tool changes can be done. Putting it on a relay would probably make that not work work.
I have the S30C. Case pressure is not required for any ATC functionality. In fact, I don't even use case pressure sometimes. When i do use it, I set it to a lower psi so the air compressor isn't running constantly. In addition to keeping the bearings clear, it also provides some cooling for the spindle.
Never heard of the Hiteco spindle , bet it has plenty of torque at the rated 12K RPM . What's not to like - ISO 30 (ER32 I presume) give you such a huge choice of tooling. Tool setting would be welcome. Z Ref surely must be done once yes? Unless you have defined the spoil board as WCS and know the dimensions of the material. Please set me straight if I am off in the rough here. I am not enamoured with manual tool changes, but the entry fees to club ATC don't figure. I am experimenting with a tool setting routine in Mach4 and the use of a wireless sensor that registers the tool length but it may not save much time. The approach of the tool is a safe slow IPM. For the meantime I'll have to deal with my 2x4 machine that I have spent considerable time and effort upgrading. Never ending story. Done my best to erase the manufacturers short comings and penny pinching. Much improved mass and rigidity and now a heavy 6061 T651 T slot spoil board that is about to be clad in a 19mm thick fixture plate. Gonna be great for aluminum jobs. Currently using a mist buster and isopropyl for tool colling and chip clearing. Work in progress as usual Regards, Chris
Awesome Chris - it sounds like you are dialing in your setup really well! I do use my spoil board as the Z-orgin for most all my projects to avoid touching off on the Z. I don't bother with accurately measuring the thickness of the material; it usually doesn't come into play in most projects. My planer, with a DRO, is also pretty consistent in getting wood to the right thickness. CNC Depot just launched some more affordable ATC options.
Hi, I watched all your vids, pretty involved and lots of time. I was wondering if your using a braking resistor for your ATC? I didn't see any mention of it any place. Thanks
Short answer: no. Long answer: I thought I really wanted and needed one, as the spindle wind down time is really long (~5 seconds), and it seemed safer if it would stop faster. I actually got one (a huge one) , but never installed it. I found the that the slow spin down wasn't a big deal; tool changes weren't much longer because I could let it slow down while the machine was moving. When an issue happened, ie: bad cut, the e-stop would stop the machine, and the bit would instantly stop if it was already machining wood.
@@CorbinDunn Ok, cool, was wondering is all, for me, my spindle is 11hp Hiteco so at 18k rpm, takes 13 secs, so that's pretty long for my tool changer, which is on my gantry, carousal style., Thanks for the reply
@CorbinDunn on a serious note, I had my atc for a while and never set it up, watching your videos finally motivated me to get on it. Have been watching them over and over and hope you keep new ones coming. Great content and really appreciate all the work you do to help the simple minded like my self! If you're ever in NJ come visit my shop, I got lots of goodies!
@@thewoodologist8176 Cool! I'm glad it helped get you going on it. I'll definitely let you know if I'm ever lose to NJ - you are also welcome to stop by my shop if you are ever near Lake Tahoe, California.
@@thewoodologist8176 Yeah! I mainly post on instagram.com/corbinstreehouse/ -- it is a bit of everything, Just workshop stuff is over on instagram.com/corbinsworkshop/ Not much has been going on lately in the shop, as I'm putting solar panels on the roof of it.
Perfect timing, my QD-1F from CNC depot came in Friday. I am changing over from the 8.7 HP that I originally bought with my avid. Enjoyed the video. I know you're probably about to release a video soon about setting up the software, but did you use the m6 file from cncdepot or, I just watched a video by GulfStream Outdoors and he used a m6 file made by Jason Parker?
The next video will be on making an ATC rack, and then I'll cover the software. I actually did a bunch of work on the software to make it easy to setup and require no coding knowledge. It adds a lot of ATC specific features, and works really well. Jason has been testing it out for me. I've got a work in progress document here, in case you want to preview it (all free, of course!) www.corbinstreehouse.com/blog/avid-cnc-atc-automatic-tool-changer-with-mach-4/
@@CorbinDunn Thanks! I appreciate all the info! I do have a question though, Wouldn't you need 2 electrical relays, one for the tool lock and one for the case pressure? CNC Depot, sent an electrical relay with the pneumatics kit, but I didn't see one listed in your buy list. I'd also love to see detailed pics of your wiring, especially in you're control box. I think I've got mine just about wired up, but it's more temporary to make sure everything works. No Idea how I'm going to fit this in the control box yet lol
@@reignworkswoodworking5152 Yeah, it was a tight fit; I put my air pressure regulators in the box, but I think it would be better to have them out of the box on the side to make more room and more easily see the pressure value. I forgot the relay in the list; here's the one I used - amzn.to/3pCzPoq - the same one as the CNC Depot package came with. I'll update my blog post with a photo inside the box...I'll post back when it is up.
@@reignworkswoodworking5152 OK: www.corbinstreehouse.com/blog/2023/05/how-to-setup-an-automatic-tool-changer-atc-on-an-avid-cnc/ - Photos at the bottom of the post.
@@CorbinDunn thanks! I appreciate it! I put my 24v power supply in the avid box, but it definitely makes since to put the pneumatics in the vfd box, there's way more room! I got my push button working now, and I'm waiting on cnc depot to send an end for my spindle power cord. They sent a female end, but the box I got from Avid also has a female end so they're making me a cord. I didn't realize it until I took the old spindle off and Ive got to get this thing back running, it's my main source of income 😆 Definitely appreciate the quick response!
I don't think you do; each tool change doesn't require a lot of CFM, but it does require 90-105 psi. My compressor doesn't run very often when I'm running the CNC, even with the constant "case pressurization" air. You should definitely run the case pressurization on a lower PSI to avoid having your compressor run constantly.
@@CorbinDunn ok that’s good kinda what I was thinking the tool change is very fast thanks for your reply we’re hoping to get set up in feb or March getting ready to break ground for the new wood shop our one car garage is not getting the job done lol 👍🇺🇸
Thanks! I talked about it a few episodes back: I spent over $20k, with a lot of the cost in the 6HP ATC portion; one could easily save $2k by getting a lower HP spindle, like the S30C instead of the HITECO.
The Avid one? What are you looking to make work? The fan on/off? Yeah, that should work. Send me a photo of your spindle box and the wire coming from the spindle.
