Over the past 4 years I have gone through a steep learning curve with regard to CNC machining. I started with Ryan Zellars excellent Lowrider V3. This served as a platform for learning CNC from scratch. I already had experience with laser engraving (using Lightburn) and 3d printing using an Ender3 V2. So the basics came easy. I very quickly came up against the limitations of the LR3, but very quickly afterwards, Ryan released the LR4. This was a significant improvement in capability, but again I soon came up against limitations. My main hobby is building solid body guitars and I use the Lowrider to rough out the bodies, but I have lost count of the number of times I’ve ruined expensive body blanks when the router suddenly catches or bites into the wood grain and starts veering off on its own path due to skipping teeth on the belt or climbing off the rail. I also found that I needed more depth than the standard version would allow. I have tried all of the modifications available, Doug Joseph’s hidden belts mod https://www.printables.com/model/1486226-unofficial-lowrider-4-cnc-hidden-belts-mod-hidepro, Mirko Ferronato’s high Z-axis extender https://www.printables.com/model/1320121-high-z-axis-extender-for-lowrider-4-cnc-300mm-or-c. Some will definitely stay going forward, Bart Dring’s Fluiddial mod paired with Doug Joseph’s case Fluid Dial (Fluid NC dial pendant by Bart Dring, using M5 Stack's M5 Dial) . I’ve also designed a few mods myself, but one mod I’ve wanted to do for a while is a y-axis linear rail modification, and here it is. I’ll be adding all of the printable parts and setup procedure. I’ve still to assess if it gives any performance benefits, but one big advantage is that the whole CNC table can be stored vertically, without taking it apart.
That’s really nice. I can’t wait to hear how it performs.
You have a real knack for modding to suit your needs! Impressive looking rig. Let us know how it does!
Congratulations on the project! Are you planning to make this modification available for download?
I have a CNC machine whose table would actually work very well with this modification, as it’s built from 2.5-inch steel angle. However, depending on the cutting speed and depth, the X-axis gantry on my current machine tends to flex.
So I’d like to try mounting the LowRider gantry on linear rails like you did. It would also be a good opportunity to test whether the LowRider gantry can handle the weight of a 2 HP water-cooled spindle over a relatively large span of about 2.3 m.
I’m currently building a standard LowRider V4 as well, using a regular router, so I’d be able to compare the two setups directly. If the linear-rail version performs better than my current CNC, I’ll probably keep it as the permanent setup.
I’m just in the middle of doing a write-up for posting on MakerWorld with photo’s etc. I can send the 3MF file if required, but there’s no explanations or setup with it. It is fairly self explanatory. The only fiddly bit is the y-axis datum switches.
I’m going away on 11 days holiday tomorrow, so it may be a couple of weeks before I get it on MakerWorld. Let me know.
No problem at all! In the meantime, I’m finishing my standard LowRider V4 build. By the time your modification is available, mine should be ready for testing and comparison.