This is how I have setup my ATC with Jason Parkers excellent M6 macro, hopefully it helps someone get going.
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Iāve been following these videos. Theyāre great. Thanks so much Bill!
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Iāve watched these a couple times now and theyāre great, thank you!
I just ordered (literally today) my S30C and while I wait for it to ship Iām pulling together all the other bits of kit that you need to run these spindles.
Iām curious what air compressor and water mitigation you decided to go with. The options are nearly overwhelming, and Iām trying to decide what I really want to get; something between the cost effectiveness of a pancake compressor and the silent glory of a rotary screw most likely.
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I think Husky and maybe even Harbor Freight have models with quiet compressors now. Maybe one of the store staff can plug one in and demo it.
Then rib them for 10% off a ādemo unitā 
HAH! Would have never thought of that.
Iāve been considering these air compressors (after an entire day of looking at compressors). They are ordered least to most expensive.
- Fortress 26 Gallon 175 PSI Ultra Quiet
-
Quincy 3.5-HP 60-Gallon (Belt Drive) Single Stage Air Compressor
Quincy QT-54 Pro 5-HP 60-Gallon Two-Stage Air Compressor (230V 1-Phase)
Iām not really all that knowledgeable about compressors and air pressures and volumes of air, hence my day of research. 
I know the marketing over at CNCDepot.net is ājust use a pancake compressorā but I have a dedicated 60 gallon Quincy @ 15 SCFM 175 PSI 100% duty cycle and it runs a lot. While just sitting there doing nothing it is running a continuous pressurization of the case and cooling. The compressor will kick off about every 10 minutes and go from about 135 PSI back up to around 175 PSI.
I live down here in the South-East, Georgia specifically and so I use a Quincy āNon-Cycling Refrigerated Air Dryerā for a dryer.
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@subnoize do you have that QT-54 that I just posted that Iāve been looking at today (weāre are like ships in the night or something)?
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Thatās my baby 
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How āquietā is it, all things considered? My PRO6060 and Oneida VSystem is oddly not too bad once you get out of the basement into the rest of the house; you can hear it, but itās not terrible (my cuts donāt generally scream too hard). But, I worry about that āair compressorā sound just being raw annoying and harsh. Happy wife and allā¦
Iād love something that only cycles every half hour or twenty minutes or somethingā¦ Iād also love a few extra throw away $$$$$$$ and get a rotary screw compressorā¦
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Oh, the joke in the house is it aināt over until the blue fat lady singsā¦
She will rumble you out of bed if you have a slow leak like I did back a few years ago.
I would highly recommend getting a 80 gallon version and do get the refrigerated dryer if you are in a humid environment. That passive drying stuff is for the birds. The dryer is about as loud as a dehumidifier.
The extra 20 gallons of air will definitely push out the cycling.
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Remember, kids, youāre buying the motor - the capacity is easy to increase. California Air Tools also sells Ultra Quiet motors - you supply the regulator and tank(s). Locate the motor in a tiny soundbox and store the holding tank anywhere.
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Correct, and Quincy uses Baldor. If you buy their oil and filter kits they will give your motor and compressor 50,000 hours warranty. I keep a jingle timer of it and keep the scheduled maintenance app from Quincy.
Never found a good enough receiver tank thoughā¦
I was looking at those, but they seem to have a lower CFM and thus Iām assuming they will cycle more frequently. The California Air Tools are really interesting to me, if only because they wonāt rattle my teeth out of my head.
5.50 CFM @ 40 PSI
3.50 CFM @ 90 PSI
3.40 CFM @ 100PSI
That is their biggest model they import and its not 100% duty cycle. My problem is I also run a vortex cooler and a Fog Buster when cutting aluminum.
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oh wow, looks like Iām not going to buy anything from California Air Tools.
Piston design (IMO) is fundamentally flawed and almost guaranteed to die an early death.
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Here are the points I would consider;
California Air Power Tools
12.80 CFM @ 40 PSI
10.60 CFM @ 90 PSI
Duty Cycle - 70% / 30%
125 PSI Maximum Pressure
No mention of pump life
Quincy
CFM at Max. PSI 15.2
145ā175 working PSI
100% duty cycle @ 15.2 cfm
50,000+ hour pump life
Just remember the working pressure for the S30C is 100 PSI.
No matter what size compressor you get, do set up analog pressure sensors for working pressure and draw bar pressure. Nothing quite like ripping the core of your ATC spindle out because you forgot to turn that fancy quiet compressor on 
Why two? One is the system pressure, do you have the working pressure? The second is, has the draw bar been actuated?
Somebody got mad and said I was mansplaining which isnāt my intent. I am merely passing along info (which was derived from some bad experiences). If I am stating something you already know, sorry 
When you release the draw bar you have to lift the spindle 1/8". The reason is the release of the draw bar springs will force the tool down by 1/8". If you donāt lift up then the force will push down on the tool clamp and eventually wear them out as well as strain your bearings in the X axis.
Same goes for engaging the draw bar. You have to seat the spindle 1/8" of an inch. So you come in high, engage and move down as the draw bar pulls the tool upwards. Again, the tool clamp takes the brunt of that motion and the X axis has a pulling motion down in this instance.
What folks also donāt realize is when you do this lifting and seating, you should check that the pressure is actually changing and reverse the operation should the pressure fail to either rise enough to release the draw bar or falls enough to engage the draw bar.
The smoother you make this part of the tool change the longer your S30C will last and your tool posts will remain straight.
Somewhere else I was I was commenting on having a bad Z axis brake and the steps I was losing. That wrecked everything in relation to this very delicate process described above so be careful to watch for signs something isnāt lining up. ATC spindle are that much more expensive to repair so making sure they are stressed as little as possible is your primary objective. That lifting and seating is actually important.
So is knowing the pressure is there to work with.
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Here are the pressure sensors I use; https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/shopping/catalog/process_control_-a-_measurement/pressure_sensors/pressure_transmitters/spt25-10-0150d
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No worries on āmansplainingā with me, I donāt know much and I always appreciate the wisdom of those who went first.
I know this is probably dumb, but for now Iām not actually going to worry about fully automating tool changes, mostly because I donāt have the time to come up with the system and implement it and program it and all the debugging (hardware and software) that goes with that kind of thing. Unfortunately I fall into that āmaximize your time not your moneyā category, and at least for me tinkering is a fantastic way to obliterate days and weeks without realizing it.
I really, really respect all you guys who put so much time into figuring this stuff out; I wish I had the time or could even make the time. Iām envious.
For now, Iām just looking to get faster manual tool changes with a known set of tools (and offsets in Mach) in tool holders. Today I spend more time with manual tool changes than I do actually doing work! Iām looking to do what James from Clough42 does on his mill and a bunch of my machinist friends do. Basically just have a large collection of pre-measured, quickly changable tools that I can swap in and out, manually. When I have some time or someone makes a kit for this machine, eh, then Iāll put some effort into full-automation.
Now, with that said, I really like the pressure sensor concept you mention here. I may not use it for automating tool changes (today) and triggering things in Mach, BUT, I could easily see firing up a quick custom circuit and triggering either an audible alarm or flashing light or something along those lines. Regardless, itās a smart idea and Iām already thinking of other ways that could be beneficial.
For the air compressor, Iāll probably net out on the Quincy unit in 60 gallon. The 80 gallon is MUCH more expensive and Iām already trying to figure out how to even get it into the basement (down the stairs in the house) without anyone getting hurt. Is it realistic to partly disassemble that unit for easier (lighter, less top heavy) moving up and down residential stairs?
Iām fighting my tinkering side so hard right now!