Advice - Is a Lowrider build right for creating foam core / framing displays?

LowRider CNC Advice
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I’ve been on a 6-month journey to find the right tool for my hobby - I’m hoping I’ve found it in CNC, and I’d appreciate any advice!

I collect coins, and I want to create framed displays using 3mm foam core, with exact sized holes cut into the foam (example: I need a bunch of 38.9 mm holes)

The displays I want to create range from standard paper size all the way up to 12x30” or so. I need the ability to create exact hole sizes, so that coins stay held by the foam.

  1. Is a CNC machine the right tool to be able to accurately place and cut display / frame-worthy round holes for collectibles in a foam core board?
  2. Are Lowrider kits still available? (I notice everything is out of stock currently)
  3. There are several Genmitsu ProVerXL 4030s available used in my area that I could probably get for $400. Would that be better for a beginner than building a Lowrider? (their decks are significantly shorter than my projects - is it easy to complete half of a project, then move it and complete the rest?)

Super appreciate any thoughts or guidance. I’m hopeful that I’ve finally found a tool for my vision.

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Welcome @FoamFanatic !

  1. What tolerance do want ideally? What tolerance can you live with? Personally, I can get sub millimeter accuracy, but not reliable 0.1mm accuracy. That said, I’ve been able to chamfer holes in acrylic using a flat end mill, they look (to my eye…) like they were chamfered with an actual chamfer bit.
  2. Ryan recently mentioned more kits are coming. I don’t know when think they’re shipped or in customs already. Consider checking again in a few days. I think V1E shop has email based item restock waitlist option you can sign up for immediate notification?
  3. $400 for that CNC sounds like a good deal if it’s in good shape. I started with a Genmitsu ProVer 3018 + added 3040 extension + enclosure, by then I was similar price to MPCNC/LR but limited to ~1sqft. Personally wish (for the projects I do…) I’d just gone with the LR3 from the beginning. My Genmitsu has been unused gathering dust for 2yrs. Am even happier with LR4.

Good luck with whatever your first CNC is! They’re neat to have and use.

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Yeah, that should be easily doable. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thank you for your perspective! Do you have an opinion on whether it would be better to build a Lowrider, or try to get a used Genmitsu ProVerXL 4030 for 400-600 dollars? I’m ignorant, but it seems like the “bed” of the Genmitsu is too small, and I don’t know if that means it’s unusable or not for my projects.

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Cutting in foam, you should be able to get very accurate results, well below 0.5mm, and probably within 0.1mm.

As for the LR4 vs Genmitsu question, that probably depends on what your priorities and preferences are.

One of the byproducts of going the LR4 route is the journey that you will take to build it. For some users, that journey is just as important (and in some cases, more) than having a working CNC machine.

The sense of pride and accomplishment from printing, assembling and commissioning a machine from a set of plans provides a reward that can’t be achieved from buying something in a box and plugging it in. If that type of thing appeals to you, then the LR4 is definitely the better choice.

For others, they just want the end result, and the “open the box and plug it in” option is preferable. And that’s okay. But if that’s you, then maybe the Genmitsu is the better choice.

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There is an option close to that here as well. Just have to build your own table and do the final set up :partying_face:

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Thank you for your response! I love the idea of building something and understanding it much better as a result, along with the sense of ownership that would build.

My one fear is that I get to a '“finished” product, and get paralyzed when I discover a bunch of unknown inconsistencies I’ve introduced because I don’t know what I’m doing, and don’t have the skills to diagnose my mistakes. But from what I’ve read, folks here seem pretty confident in the “Yellow Brick Road” concept - that even newbies can build a Lowrider with excellent accuracy.

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Just start you a build thread when you get going on your build. Post often in it. Put pics. Ask ANY question you have along the way. There are TON’s of great people here that will help in any way they can.

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This is true, if you’re worried about not being able to get an accurate machine built, don’t be.

I started knowing nothing about 3D printing and CNC, and was able to build a very stable and accurate machine.

And that’s the reason why I was able to do so…

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Thanks for the reminder. Yes, @FoamFanatic , there’s a pre-built option available from @Jonathjon

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The other thing is that you probably don’t need to have a hole that’s all ‘that’ accurate, depending on your goals here. If you’ve got a coin that measures out at 40mm diameter then maybe you cut a 39.9mm hole in foam that’s extremely rigid, or you could cut a 39mm diameter hole in foam that’s less rigid. The key thing about being able to do this yourself (whether by CNC, 3D printer, laser cutter, water jet, hand tools etc.) is that you can over time tune the fit for the materials you’ve got and what you’re trying to accomplish.

You could also cut a 40mm diameter hole with 3x 0.5mm ‘nubs’ that are left in the hole which take a rigid foam and make it so you’re only deforming a small unsupported part of it to get the coins in place. That would give you a MUCH wider margin whereby 0.1mm either way likely doesn’t affect the actual fit all that much. Tighter fit = taller and wider nubs. Looser fit = shorter and narrower nubs.

Or you could make the hole rigid and then maybe 3D print a TPU ‘carrier’ for the coin to sit in that then squishes into place… Or have a 3D printed ‘clamshell’ type clamp that tapers where it clamps the coin as you push it into the CNC machined hole…

There are a ton of options here and I’m confident that if you started a thread and requested people’s thoughts on how they would go about it, it might shake a few ideas loose for how you might like to handle it for a variety of reasons.

One thing I remember seeing with coin displays in other situations was that the coin or similar object was clipped and positioned vertically in an enclosure where the back face was either clear and free standing or a mirror. That way you could effectively see both sides of the coin, if that matters.

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Wow - I love these ideas, and the ones regarding the nubs are brilliant. Will definitely take the advice on starting a separate thread. Looking forward to playing around with options!

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I’ll add my voice here.

0.1mm accuracy is certainly possible. It will take some dialing in. I have done some projects that require a very close fit, and have been happy with results cut in materials from foamboard, to hardwood. A circle => 38.875mm and <= 38.925mm is a little easier than a panel => 1038.875mm <= 1038.925mm because there are fewer steps with which to possibly accumulate errors over. As such, I think that as long as you are not displaying Ningi, you’ll be fine. (Sorry, my inner geek got to the keyboard for a second. For those who do not know, the Ningi is a fictional currency from The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and is a triangular rubber coin six thousand, eight hundred miles to a side. – If you have one, I would be extremely impressed :rofl::joy::rofl:)

Letter sized paper, the 3040 is probably more than enough, but 12"x30"? There may be ways to do it, but none of them are going to be easy, certainly not “beginner”

Is a CNC “The Right Tool”? Mostly depends on you. If you’re just looking for something to do this, and realistically won’t be doing much else with it? Probably not. You’re probably better off outsourcing the work and just getting the boards cut the way you want when you want another one. But if you’re the type to DIY stuff, and actually enjoy the designing and building of stuff, or if you like tinkering, or want to try a bunch of different layouts and change them often, then probably more so. A CNC machine will allow you to not only make the backdrops (And you can make them out of different woods, not just foam board) but the display cases as well, with carved trim, engraved and carved text detailing information about coins and collections, or even your own “wooden nickels” if you like. Display and storage boxes… If you are the type to do all that? A CNC is overdue in your workshop.

Myself as an example: I have lots of hobbies. Too many, really, but so many of them are things that the CNC makes possible, or at the very least easier and/or cooler. I build stuff. I get a charge out of taking something that only existed inside my own mind yesterday and holding it in my hands today. I’ve done woodworking for a long time, I jumped on the 3D printing bandwagon as soon as it was financially possible for me. I’ve built DIY video projectors, DIY furniture, DIY audio amplifiers, custom car audio, etc. A CNC is an excellent investment to me, because I use it for lots of other things that I enjoy doing, and will continue to use it on a regular basis.

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I’ve done exactly what you’re planning to - I used 5mm foam core and cut recesses for challenge coins, and other souvenirs. There’s a bit of give in the foam so you can get a snug fit that will hold coins without glue.

Edit:using a LR4

IMG_8735
IMG_8735287×320 23.9 KB

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Dan, your last two paragraphs are exactly what I would love to be able to expand to do. I’m part of a hobby community where many of us are constantly looking for new ways to display, store, etc our trinkets, and the idea of being able to experiment and create is the most exciting part of all of this for me. I’ve seen some of the multi-layered wood art folks have created, and I think inventing some “themed” versions of this eventually for specific sample sets I own would be so much fun.

Your post has really convinced me that a CNC is the direction to go. Now the hard part is waiting for the Lowrider to be back in stock! I don’t think the used ones I’m seeing will work, since they have working areas smaller than a few projects I already have planned.

Really appreciate your passionate and detailed response - thank you!

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Dreyfus - this is amazing - exactly what I want to do! Very exciting to see an example in the wild; having talked to so many vendors and done so many searches, this is the first I’ve seen online. Thank you