Well, its been a while since I have been on this forum. I am been lurking a little bit, but not very active. Anyways, I really have not been using my LR4 as much as I would like. However, coming up within the next year I will have quite a few woodworking projects that could really benefit from a CNC machine, so I figured it was time to get it back up and running.
I have an old build log here, LR3 to LR4 Upgrade! (Alabama, 2024) and I was going to add this update to it, but it has since been closed.
Previously, I had my LR4 in an enclosure with a working area of around 18in x 28in. Which was fine, but I am now going to be doing a lot of bigger plywood projects where a larger build area would be beneficial. So this time I opted to build my LR4 on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I cut it down from 96in to 72in so that it would fit between my garage shelving units nicely when stored away. This gives a build area of around 36in x 60in which should be much nicer than before.
I purchased some “nicer” plywood for this, rather than the normal big box store stuff, and let me say it is much better to work with, and much better quality, than anything else I have used. I reused my old strut plates in the middle simply because I had them, but mainly to act as a holder for the controller board and power supply on the backside. I also did not have long enough belts for the y axis on both side, so I had to glue two belts together using an offcut.
I do not plan to actually perform any cuts with the belts like this, but really only did it so that I could at least get the machine up and running. It is surprisingly strong, but obviously it would not fit through the pulleys, so my build area is greatly diminished.
Given the fact I plan to do a lot of plywood cutting, I am considering getting a laser to use on the machine rather than using the router. From my brief research it seems like a diode laser in the 20w range would offer the best price/performance for that type of work. Fiber/CO2 seem too expensive, so its just a matter of what wattage diode laser I need. I was curious on some thoughts regarding a laser for the sole purpose of through cuts in plywood for designs/whatnot. Obviously i would do some engraving with it also.
Would anyone with a laser on their LR4 care to chime in on recommendations/advice? Given my previous build log of having the LR4 in an enclosure for the sole purpose of noise reduction, it seems to me that using a laser for simple plywood 2D contour cuts should be much quieter, and maybe a bit faster? than using something like a 1/4in bit all around.