Altmill 4x4 ATC rack install

Community Support šŸ› ļø Assembly
1

Am I correct that if Iā€™ve installed a 4ft wasteboard on my Altmill, when installing the tool racks I will need to trim off approx 4" of spoilboard?

Iā€™m waiting on my ATC spindle to arrive, but got the racks early, because I have a different ISO spindle (from PWNCNC).

Furthermore, it looks like if the ATC did a front-entry, rather than going around the back, it could be possible to keep all of the spoilboard at full length. Was this not considered due to dust concerns, debris getting into the forks? This doesnā€™t make it easy to access the wing nuts of course, but just wondering why that is.

Iā€™ll likely just use a 1/4" endmill to chop off the spoilboard + T tracks all at once.

Here I have mocked it up with the fully intact spoilboard at 4ft, and the forks flipped 180deg.

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Side profile shows ~0.5" beyond center of taper along the Y axis.

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image687Ɨ973 112 KB

2

One thing I havenā€™t considered is if the Sienci ATC spindle sticks out farther than the 80mm PwnCNC ATC spindle.

3

I trimmed my wasteboard flush with the second last most rear cross beam. On the 4x4 the flange of that member faces towards the rear of the machine, if my memory is correct. Trimming flush with that worked very well for me. I did this before the ATC arrived so I never felt like I ā€˜lostā€™ any space with the ATC installation.

4

Iā€™ve wondered about the orientation they decided on also. As it is, with the Safe Zone activated, and the spindle near the back left, the spindle traverses all the way to the right side, then behind the rack, then left all the way to access the #1 tool. It then has to go all the way back to the right and forward to continue. Lots of unnecessary travel, IMO.

My table is trimmed to 43.5" front to back.