Hello everyone,

I’m new to the forum and wanted to introduce myself properly. A couple of years ago, I finished building my own 6040 CNC milling machine from the ground up, which has been a really rewarding (and occasionally frustrating) project. The build combines an EC300 board running Remora firmware with LinuxCNC.

Most recently, I’ve been developing an automatic tool changer (ATC) module for my ER20, 2.2 kW spindle. It’s a manual tool change spindle at heart, so the ATC has meant tackling tool retention with the right nut tightening torque, repeatable positioning, and tool length measurement. I’ve been working on integrating a tool setter to automatically pick up tool offsets during changes, aiming for something that’s robust enough to actually use day-to-day rather than just a proof of concept.

The project has ended up being a nice mix of mechanical design, electronics, and control logic. I’m particularly interested in pushing hobby-grade hardware a bit further toward semi-production capability, without losing the flexibility of a custom setup.

Looking forward to learning from others here and hopefully contributing something useful as I keep refining the machine and the ATC system.

Cheers