www.makemkv.com

TLDR; if you've assembled a 3D printer and can do the most basic "Arduino programmimg" the conversion can be had for about $60usd and 6hrs time.

To convert it to command and control you need to swap out the stepper or servo controller and add a driver. For both servo and stepper motors you can buy a new controller for about $60usd (or use a $5 ESP32), drivers are about $20. From there it becomes a little more technical as you'll have to wire the existing servos/steppers to the board and test each voltage and current values to match the drivers. If you understand C programming, then that was the hardest part and it's all down hill from there. If you don't understand C programming you can use AI tools to write the code and explain how to flash the controller but... Ai is really bad at this. Ai fails laughably bad at all things "Arduino" that is any more technical than lighting an LED so you need to be prepared to learn this yourself. Luckily it's very simple to learn since a "Hello World" using a prebuilt stepper library is pretty much all you need.

If you post the model I can tell you how easy it would be for me to do. I've done this a couple times before and the hard/frustrating part for me is the chosen wiring harnesses and motors used on any given auto-loader. If I wouldn't do it for any give model, then I don't think most people would, most people would simply choose a different model. The 400-600 hundred disc loaders that come with 4 or 5 drives are the easiest.

Models that look like this are the easiest: https://www.ebay.com/itm/326658515499?_ ... 6E9DMMVKGG

There's bigger models that are difficult because of their size and there's small models that are difficult because of their working room inside. Basically you want a model that has everything underneath of it, that way you can flip it on its back and rewire/redo everything from there.

NOTE: The pickup tool varies from model to model but do not get one with a vacuum pickup tool, they work OK until they fail miserably.

bob5731 wrote: Fri Nov 14, 2025 10:29 am ... looks like a cube model.

Post a link to a picture of it.

tldr; essentially either learn a little or this doesn't happen for you.

I don't think you understand 2 things.

1. "reverse" engineering one of these models is probably not the correct term since it was probably not engineered to be A. controlled remotely B. it's only purpose is to copy the same disc over and over, so it could use fixed x,y cordinates and z's routine can be to raise completely then lower until the pickup tool registers a surface (usually with a feeler gauge and optocoupler)... in other words the arm may run completely without software.

2. To attach your own limit switch for homing and run the motors independently is almost always the only approach. I'd argue it's still the best even for the ones that take command inputs like Gerber/gcode/etc.

Unless there'ss already a USB / WiFi / 9-pin serial _AND_ a control interface of some type... this isn't going to happen out of the box.

Again, best bet is to attach a new switch for homing (or tap the existing one if it has one) and run your own controller. Typically the pickup tool works on a solenoid so you tap that too. This might sound hard, but it's rrrrrrreal easy, even for those with the smallest learning capabilities. Since it's that easy, it is recommended to start with a larger model like I linked to because no matter the size you'll almost certainly be modding the exact components with the same hardware you buy, so why not get the biggest possible?