Hello and welcome to your AltMill Automatic Tool Changer (ATC) resources! They are here to walk you through everything from preparing your machine and installing the ATC, to daily operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting. Whether you’re upgrading an existing AltMill or building one alongside your new ATC, you’ll find step-by-step help, best practices, and answers to common questions so you can get up and running with confidence—and keep cutting with minimal interruptions.
What to expect
If you are a complete beginner, you may not fully appreciate how much time and effort the ATC can save. If you are upgrading and familiar with how to use your AltMill, you will wonder how you’ve used the machine all this time, without an ATC.
Using the ATC makes the process of carving with multiple tools seamless, but does require a bit more planning at the beginning during the design phase. Once you have your new post processor in place on the CAD/CAM side and are used to exporting all of your toolpaths into one large file, it’s a breeze! The ATC will drop off tools, pick them up, measure with the tool length sensor, honour a ‘keep out zone’, allow you to do manual tool changes and more. Most if not all of these actions will happen automatically, it’s truly magical.
As mentioned in the Welcome article for the AltMill, if this is your first CNC, be sure to review these guiding resources — skipping them may limit your success and make your experience more difficult. Be sure to watch the video and read the articles; they work hand-in-hand.
- Software Basics – Video Link, Article Link
- First Movements with your AltMill – Video Link, Article Link
- Machine Coordinates and Setting Zero – Article Link
- Surfacing your AltMill – Video Link, Article Link
- Using the AutoZero Touchplate – Video Link, Article Link
- Common Alarms and Errors (you will get these) – Article Link
Quick Links
We have compiled these helpful pages for you to refer to. Please bookmark them for easy reference — it’s likely that the information you need can be found there.
- Find the packing list and check for missing parts 📋
- Start assembling your machine 🛠
- Complete your first carve 🥇
Community
If you’d like to converse and learn from others, check out either our Forum or Facebook communities. Remember to encourage and help others as you learn so we can continue to support positive learning.
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| Community Forum | Facebook Group |
We wish you the best on your ATC CNC journey!