Preliminary Review of RapidChange ATC on my AVID CNC 

Ya, something happened during encoding on this and it dropped the video (it wasn't actually a voice over section 🙂

Great video!

This is really new. Just became available late last year.

@@JNWoodworks im updating my router to a spindle so going to be considered. What price range is this ?

@@cncpaja1015 I just checked their web page, the ER20 collet versions are $275-$700, depending on the number of positions, and whether or not you get the one with the lid and IR detector, or the basic one.

Thanks Ryan. I think they are busy just trying to get this product up and running right now. I do have a new design in my head though, so I just need to find time to design and build it.

I have the magnet attached to the chassis (a bolt on the rotary unit). My spindle conducts through the shaft very well, so I don't need to attach to the bit.

Hi Rick, I haven't taken them out yet, but from the inside they do look printed. So far I haven't heard of them wearing out prematurely. They should be easy to replace if needed, which is good because I damaged the first 3 pockets slightly when I had my spindle running at 6000 rpm initially. They still work, but the bearings definitely don't protrude quite as much as the others. So far I haven't heard of anyone seeing premature wear with normal use. The overall housing is very tough, it stopped my NEMA 34's in their tracks when I got fat fingered in the MDI window and crashed. Didn't do anything but scratch it. I'll update on wear in my final video.

@@JNWoodworksAre those bearings spring loaded? could be the 6k rpm damaged the tiny springs of those bearings and that's why they don't protrude as much?

@@saadqadeer7807 I don't think so. They appear to be embeded in the plastic. I will find out for sure when I get the replacements

I am watching the damage on the nuts for sure. So far its really not as bad as it looks, mostly just taking off the black finish, not much actual deformation of the nut. So far I don't think its going to affect the balance or the lifetime of the nut. It certainly is a LOT less damage to the nut than what my wrench has been doing the flat on my spindle. The specs one the collets are funny. I've looked at a lot of them from different manufacturers, and I have seen even higher numbers in a lot of places, and I've seen them as low as 12 and 39 lbs for small/big bits. There is no way people are getting 55ft lbs on a collet with two 6" wrenches. That means they are squeezing the wrenches with well over 110lbs of force. I have tested a bunch of mine where I tightened it manually like I always do, and then checked the torque with a torque wrench. They were typically in the 20-30lb range, and I always kept my threads clean, but dry. When I look at the difference in tension on a dry vs. lubed thread at the same torque value, it can be as much as 50% difference in tension. I can't find any similar data for collet holding power comparing dry vs. lubbed, but I would assume it helps. I also found that several collet manufacturers recommend a light lube on the collet threads and the tapers, just NOT on the inside of collet and tool shank. So I'm hoping the torque this system acheives will be adequate. RapidChange has done a quite a bit of field testing on that and so far no issues that I have heard of, but I need to do some testing and use it longer to convince myself as well yet.

@@JNWoodworksThat's a good and fair point, how much people can actually achieve with two wrenches by hand...and how reliable and repeatable that is. I have a regular ATC spindle with SK30 tool holders and do them in a proper ball bearing lock with a torque wrench. Before that I squeezed wrenches as hard as I could...and never gave a crap about the proper torque. So the RapidChange is certainly more repeatable than that.Still the torque seems rather low. Maybe you can do a peck drill test in metal too... And a follow-up review in a year from now...

@@scratchbuiltdesigns My holding problem has always been very long 1/2" end mills in something tough like Mesquite with a deep cut. In a full cut that really rattles the bit around. I can try some peck drilling too, but I don't do a lot of metal so I probably don't have the proper bit for that.

The RapidChange link is up in the comments as well: rapidchangeatc.com. You can buy, see their videos and documentation there. The version I show here is $600. As far as the source code, I'm not positive, but I think they do provide the macro source code to buyers (I do have it myself).

Dust collection is a challenge with most ATC's since they are hanging right over the area you need access too for the tool change. I have seen some clever swinging/opening/flipup designs that get them out of the way for a tool change, and also a more simple approach where the boot is docked in its own holder and then the redocked after the tool change. I haven't decided yet how I'm going to address it. I am thinking I may not ever really want a fully automated workflow, but may just use the ATC to do a quick change (manually push a button on my Mach screen). In that case, I can simply remove the boot myself before the change. However, I do need a different boot design because the base on mine was not designed with ATC in mind so even with the boot off my current one conflicts with the sides of the magazine.

I was thinking about a dust boot that can go up and down with compress air, like the laser module? 🤔

@@maximazur4854 I've seen 3 basic kinds for ATC's. One like you describe with a vertical actuator, another with a sideways actuator, or sometimes opens up like like sideways jaws, and the third I recently saw where the brush part of the boot is basically docked in a parking location by the CNC before a tool change. I like the last one because of the simplicity, so thats the one I'm thinking of building once I get done with the actual ATC testing.

Thanks for letting me know. Something weird happened in the encoding and I didn't catch it. Unfortunately RU-vid doesn't let you replace a video, so if I fix it I have to completely delete the comments and link and start over.

@@JNWoodworks Not a big deal, the audio is perfect

You should have heard it at 6000 rpm then 🙂