The FluidBoard supports pneumatic tool turrets — the kind used on production CNC lathes. Call M6 and the turret indexes to the right tool, applies the correct offsets from your tool table, and you're cutting again. No hands on the machine.
How it works
When you call a tool change (T3 M6), the FluidBoard runs an automated sequence:
- Retracts to a safe position — the controller knows whether the current tool is an outside tool (turning) or an inside tool (boring) and retracts in the correct order to avoid collisions
- Disengages the turret coupling — releases the pneumatic lock
- Indexes to the target position — rotates the turret to the new tool slot
- Engages the coupling — locks the turret in place
- Applies tool offsets — loads X, Z, and radius from the tool table
Outside tools retract X first, then Z. Inside (boring) tools retract Z first to pull out of the bore, then X. This prevents crashes that would happen with a naive retract sequence.
Pressure check
If you enable the pressure sensor, the controller checks pneumatic line pressure before starting a tool change. If pressure is below 2.7 bar, it waits until pressure is sufficient. This prevents tool changes with inadequate clamping force.
Configuration
pneumatic_tool_turret:
safe_x: 88.867
safe_z: 0
offsets_per_revolution: 80
tool_offsets: 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 8 18 28 38 48 58 68 78
tool_types: "OOOOOOOOIIIIIIII" # O = Outside, I = Inside
safety_margin: 5.0
use_pressure_sensor: true
Reference the ATC from your spindle configuration:
odrive:
atc: pneumatic_tool_turret
The turret state (current position, loaded tool) is saved by state persistence, so it survives power cycles.
The ATC requires an ODrive spindle for CAN bus integration. The turret uses the C axis for indexing.