To start, I'd like to say that this is not easy, I'm writing this, to rubber duck the issues, not sure I'll actually post this.
The point of the Tool head or Tooling Head, is to, hem hem... Hold the tools. Yeah pretty obvious.
So what are the tools, well as you already know :
So my plan is to rotate the toolhead to changes the tool. The 2 tools are offset 90 degrees, so when rotated, it automatically change the tool and stays aligned with the main Z axis.
So if you go back to the Q1 newsletter, I've already posted a picture, though this is the latest revision.
The backend of the toolhead is composed of a servo and a mounting plate for it, with gearing to adjust the power required. Looks more complicated than it is. Only took a few hours to design, which I guess isn't that bad.
Well I'm not sure... Yeah, I know. I guess my main hurdle is the dowel inserter. See here is the problem I have. The dowels will be carried over with belts (and I've to write something about this, because I learned many things there, maybe it's actually worth a video here).
Anyways, the dowels have to be somewhere, and having them coming through belts, which is the easiest means, that they will be pretty close to the actual work piece. Which I guess would always have been the case. My initial plan, having them on a "chain" which would be pulled like a gun. Picture for context :
And now my plan is to have them in a box, and belts "grabbing" them one by one. My issue is, gravity, since they'll be on top of the thing, they'll just fall out when the tool changes. Also it feels risky to have them sitting there, so close to the work, something may bump into it and break.
What I'd do, if I just wanted this issue to go away, i.e. : over-engineer, is to have the dowels closer to the tool-head and the belt pulling them to the inserter and having another motor to push them to the work.
Why I want to go with my current version, is I believe it's more elegant and if I get it to work, pretty cool engineering.
I guess I could use a rubber band to hold the dowels in place, kinda flush the "elegant engineering" down the toilets. Oh well. I'll sleep on this.