ughtas
03-06-2007, 02:26 PM
I'm interested in spindles with tool changers -- the cost is way out of line for me currently but I thought I'd toss out a "Great Idea" :-)
Would it be possible to provide a through shaft on the spindle and attach chucks on each end of the shaft? I don't think a gearbox driving two chucks on a reversing z-axis would be very good at the speeds involved, but if you could literally flip the spindle head 180 degrees to apply the second chuck that would be pretty cool.
I don't know what the bearing requirement or load would be (i haven't even bought a Shopbot yet!) and obviously you'd have to account for the rotation clockwise vs. counter clockwise by reversing the motor spin direction when you flipped, or using bits with left and right cutting edges.
I know you probably don't take "suggestions" this way, but it seems like having two bits and a simple reversing mechanism to flip the spindle head would not be horribly expensive.
Would it be possible to provide a through shaft on the spindle and attach chucks on each end of the shaft? I don't think a gearbox driving two chucks on a reversing z-axis would be very good at the speeds involved, but if you could literally flip the spindle head 180 degrees to apply the second chuck that would be pretty cool.
I don't know what the bearing requirement or load would be (i haven't even bought a Shopbot yet!) and obviously you'd have to account for the rotation clockwise vs. counter clockwise by reversing the motor spin direction when you flipped, or using bits with left and right cutting edges.
I know you probably don't take "suggestions" this way, but it seems like having two bits and a simple reversing mechanism to flip the spindle head would not be horribly expensive.