Samurai M.T have created the first small cnc machine with two tool changers. But why have we done that?
Aside from the fact it looks awesome, there are many benefits with having the optional capability of holding more tools.
We want to make the best prototyping machine possible, which means that the process of setting a job must be improved.
In a typical machine shop you might have dedicated tooling for a certain production run, dedicated tooling for another production run, dedicated tooling for prototype 1, 2, 3... Just taking tapped holes as one example, you might need M3, M4, M5, M6, M8 and M10 pre drill, clearance drill, and tap to all be set in the machine. That's 18 tools in just tapped holes. You may also need face mills, roughing end mills, finishing end mills, reamers, other drills, special cutters, indexable end mills, and chamfer end mills, of all different sizes.
The list goes on, and tool carousels can very quickly get filled, leaving you with the only option of manually changing the tools out when switching to different jobs. This is probably one of the most annoying parts of machining; having to set a tool you previously set, just because you ran out of space in the carousel.
The Dual ATC solves this problem by at least doubling the tooling capacity of any competitor machine. You can now have all your tools for different jobs set in the machine and ready to be used at any time with no extra effort from you. Sounds pretty good.
Of course the second tool changer adds to the cost, but this can be purchased as an upgrade at a later date, allowing you to increase tooling capacity only when and if you need it.
Now this is great, but if only we had enough tools on our brand new Doosan machining center to manufacture the Samurai 120 in one go...