I would love an atc, how do you make sure when the new tool is spun on it doesn’t misthread?
I bet you could also do this with a jackpot 3 and an Airedale expander.
seems to be a different project altogether, but what about a mini core idex system for laser or other things. The 2nd core can be much smaller since it needs a lot less space in every dimension. the tools themselves are smaller there is almost no force so doesnt need to be as close the gantry can even be the width of the motor and put the tool in front of the motor if that makes sense
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+1 on optimizing the core size, like @vicious1 stated it does take a lot of real estate if you are tight on space. The way these higher powered lasers are coming, my 60W is bigger than the router which led me down the path to a second core.
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Yes. I am not trying to make a new giant contraption. I just want to run a spindle in reverse to smash on a new tool. The price seems right, firmware is capable, and there are several designs out there. So I am not really trying to do anything but make a guide for users to follow.
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Yeah, the power/$ and increasing number of ‘affordable’ wavelength options are getting interesting. I keep hoping to see an update from @DougJoseph on his fiber laser adventures, I’m hoping he’s strapping one to a LR4? Hoping to learn how that performs, and what’s involved.
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Lots and lots of liability insurance.
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Yeah waiting for the fiber laser to come down a bit more. There will be no real reason for a plasma build when those get a bit cheaper.
The plasma builds are extremely complicated (crazy electronics, large compressor, and a water table system), a fiber laser is just a new mount and an enclosure.
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Same reason I will never sell a laser. You can strap one on yourself, but you will not be buying it from me.
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Man, the postprocessor work (for vectrix) they have already done it. No need to reivent the wheel
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Strapping a fiber laser to the gantry of a LowRider is technically doable, but not so good on the feasibility because you would have to ditch the short fiber cable that it came with and replace it with a much longer one. And unless you were going to strap the entire base to the gantry, then the new fiber cable would need to be so long that it could handle both your long Y axis and your shorter X axis. The fiber laser that I got has a nice size base that the lasers are held in, and then the fiber cable goes from that up to the adjustable height head where the galvo mirrors are.
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I have seen three of my normal “maker” channels using the new Xtool strap-on. One of them was a hobbyist “gee this is fun” the other two have legit manufacturing businesses and scared the you-know-what out of them and me.
Both accidentally burnt holes in their concrete floors, one burnt a hole in an assistant’s hand through leather gloves in a millisecond of carelessness. A full half second and half the hand would have been gone. Scary stuff!
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Well there’s always the printed beam option! I thought I’d have this ready for the LR6 development team but it’s going to be further away than that! Just pushing the cardboard tube until it becomes an elegantly segmented printed pipe!
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Just need to get better at lightsaber deflections!
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I don’t know what that is… but I’m not googling that from work…
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I use 2 to 3 on my trays often. And some could be 4. But 2 is the most common. I usually do a run of them. What I do is do all the pocketing first on all the trays, change the bit, then run the profile next. That cuts down on the tool change time. But I have to make sure that each tray is placed right back in the correct location. It isn’t too difficult but would be easier to just let it run the whole process up front.
I do have an idea…
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As someone with 2 Kobalts, a Carbide, and a laser, I have to wonder what it would look like if tool changer was taken a bit more literally.
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