I was thinking about adding a ATC to the 1515 that I'm building. This actually seems relatively simple and straightforward. What do you all think? Is this something a beginner like myself could set up? I mean, I know I would need to get someone to help me with the tool change coding (the coding in the video is available on Github), but otherwise, is it doable?
The Kress ATC is already pretty well known and documented. For a 1515 1000W probably makes sense due to the low rigidity of the extrusion, but at around $1500 all-in, I think a higher-power water-cooled ATC spindle for about $2k makes more sense- and will likely be what I end up putting on M4, once it's working enough to justify itself. Especially at these high spindle speeds where torque is at a premium, every watt of power matters. But if it was a MM-1000DI vs like, a DeWalt or Makita, the Kress wins all day, it's not even close (though the price difference makes that clear). Then the upgrade later at ~$1000 is less of a burden. I don't know that I'd use an ATC with straight grbl though, even with bCNC as a sender. I think I'd move up to either grblHAL or LinuxCNC.
