No Jason. NO.
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Jason, we may have a project on our hands (especially if you get me to buy more boards)!
but what a mess of cabling that would be on a full-sized table….
We need a hot swap power connector…
High amperage pogo pins on the back of the plate, and a second row of pogo pins for signal wires that redirect to each GPIO.
Dang it!
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I think Ryan is shooting for a conventional spindle drop/add tool changer with a reversing VFD.
A less wide core would be a really good addition to the parts set for the LR4, opening up not just that style of tool changer but also making a dual-core single beam a more realistic endeavor.
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Oh yeah, we are absolutely throwing tangents into the conversation with these “extras”.
I see an optimized version that cuts width and has a flat front as close to the rails as possible, maybe with a dovetail grove on it. That being said, I have no idea if size was already optimized and was chosen to prevent racking?
Still though, a typical tool change would be an awesome future addon.
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Maybe fork the actual tool changer effort into a separate topic from this topic’s “endmill changer” effort ? I’m looking forward to seeing both efforts actualize 
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You are pretty new here, but I can assure you, that’s normal. We are going to circle back to the original question in 10-1500 posts. 
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Torque seems low, this is a year old at this point, maybe it is better now, maybe it is enough.
DUDE, I have an idea. Anyone handy with a lathe??
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I bet Dave’s buddy Rich is…
Pinging @dwkisker
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Here’s an example of the Diabase H3/H5 setup I was telling you about at RMRRF. Sadly, Diabase sold a bunch of H3s and then folded the business when sales dried up.
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Oh that thing is soooooo nice.
The tool head has both additive and subtractive tools on it. Yes, it was an amazing piece of kit.
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Just throwing this out there…
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I forgot about this one, it was a great way to tackle both the torque problem and the wear-out of the nut holder
In later iterations he even got rid of the wrench by using a carefuly crafted gcode that uses the carousel itself as a wrench
Maybe something inspired by this second prototype but with the collects diretly on the carousel?
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Yes, I’m sure that Rich can do some metal turning. And there are others around who could also do it.
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Rapidchangeatc has a patent on their system. I see nothing in there my idea would violate.
The sensitive question now is, What is the best way to establish prior art to stop this from being patented (if it can be). Do I just publish it here if it works, that establishes a date. Do I file a provisional patent and just let it expire. Do I try to patent it and release it openly? There actually is a USPTO prior art library but I am not seeing a way to submit anything.
Nothing groundbreaking here, it is just so simple I can’t believe no one else is doing it…or I am missing something. One single simple part and I think this tool change thing is much improved.
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That’s patent lawyer territory, unfortunately. Any advice I would give you would be at best incompetent. Do you have an IP lawyer that you know or work with? (Might be a better lounge topic than forum)
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How do you keep people from stealing the other work you have done and claiming it as their own or selling on their own to make money off your work? I would think it would be similar. Unless your plans are far more commercial. Then I would agree, you would need to talk to a lawyer. It won’t keep everyone from stealing it (like China), but it could keep most of them from it.
No, I do not have the resources to try and defend a patent. I am just trying to make sure if someone were to try and patent it, I can easily prove prior art. This is only important early on, initial release, the sooner more people are using and making it the harder it is for a leech to get a patent.
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