Hi everyone — I wanted to share something I’ve been working on for a while now called SmartSwapATC.
SmartSwap is a modular, wireless automatic tool changer designed for ER spindles and built specifically around Mach4 using Lua. The core idea is simple: instead of committing a big chunk of your machine’s work area to a fixed tool magazine, you only use the number of tool holders you actually need for the job. I call them “cassettes.” If a job only needs three tools, you run three cassettes — not seven or ten bolted permanently to the table.
This project grew out of my own shop needs. I wanted an ATC (like most of us do), but I couldn’t justify spending thousands of dollars on one. I also didn’t want something that forced a rigid machine layout or took away flexibility. So I started building and iterating.
Most of SmartSwap’s features exist because something went wrong at some point. Crashes, broken bits, lost zeroes — each one turned into another safety check or workflow improvement in the code. I rewrote the tool-change logic more times than I care to admit, but the end result is something I trust to run unattended and repeatably.
What surprised me most wasn’t just the time savings, but how it changed how I work. I used to skip chamfers because it meant another tool change and another chance to mess up a touch-off. I avoided tightly nested parts because I didn’t want things moving when cutting with larger/faster tools, and small tools just took too long. Now I’ll rough aggressively, chamfer everything, and finish with small cutters without worrying about losing accuracy or parts getting launched. That alone has opened up designs I simply didn’t bother with before.
SmartSwapATC hasn’t just made my workflow faster — it’s made the machine more enjoyable to use.
There’s a short video below showing it in action. If you’re curious, more details are at
www.SmartSwapATC.com. Hopefully it sparks some ideas for what an ATC could look like in your own shop. I also have a couple install videos on my channel, more videos and features are coming soon.
https://youtu.be/dNZGVk4NDHs
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