Well here we go!!! Super excited to be building again here soon. I have and love my lr3 zenxy and mpcnc.
But I would really like to make a lr4 so I can do aluminum deeper and faster for some upcoming projects.
Plus this will give me a chance to fix up my table as well.
Anyways not too much going on yet aside from printing the parts and buying the very reasonably priced upgrade kit from V1e. I even got a cool sticker, it’s like this neat kinda satin finish it’s cool.
As with all my projects I have built off of the V1e stuff I need a project to accompany this and I really want to be able to use this to cut out perfect copies of some ribs. Not the fun to eat ones but the ones in a wing.
I found some1” emt locally and confirmed the size. So that will be next then cut out my strut plates.
Thanks again Ryan and his team of master beta’s.
I believe the LR3 can do aluminum, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, just not quite enough confidence in the speed and rigidity kf the machine.
I did try aluminum with the LR4 RC2. I managed to screw up some, but I got a workable piece from it. I do not think that I’d have succeeded with the LR3. Maybe after a few more tries. I believe that if you have a more capable machine, learning the process gets easier, because being able to get results makes fine-tuning easier… Until it gets to the point where your process can be complete and it works anyway because the machine is just that much overkill, then it’s hard to learn again. I think the LR4 is probably easier to learn how to process aluminium than the LR3. It has me thinking about the people who managed steel on a Primo…
It really wasn’t that hard on my stock LR3. 2mm aluminum struts was literally the second thing that I ever CNC cut (after 3mm hardboard struts). 6mm aluminum XZ plates was the third thing, and 9mm aluminum YZ plates was the 4th thing. The 9mm stock did have some screwups, mostly due to inadequate holding and inadequate chip clearing, but that was on me, not the machine.
IMO, it is more about the user’s research and confidence level, than it is about the machines (I spent a lot of time investigating F&S, Trochoidal milling, air/mist cooling systems, etc.). Yes. LR4 is somewhat more rigid, but one needn’t hesitate to use the LR3 either.
Sorry I have cut aluminum with my lr3 I did not mean for it to be assumed it can’t.
I just wanted that extra stiffness and to try and speed thing up because I am lazy.
I’m probably wrong, but I would think that the chip load is the determining factor here, rather than machine characteristics. For a given mill (assuming 1/8" single flute here), the feed rate and RPM would be pretty much the same for both the LR3 and the LR4. Perhaps the LR4 could better handle the speeds required for a 1/8" two flute mill, or a 1/4" single flute. IDK.
But maybe I’m misunderstanding something here…
In any event, by all means go for the LR4, and best of luck with it. Be sure to post lots and lots of pictures along the way!
The machine characteristics affect how well the machine can get to the right chip load.
You can achieve the same chip load with a low spindle speed and low flute count, and slow movement, or higher spindle speed and flute count, with faster speed.
The closer you are to one extreme, the fewer options you have. The LR3 can mill aluminum, I’ve seen enough people do it to be sure of that, but the process has to be good, and I didn’t trust my own skills to get there on the 3.
The 4 can do more, which means more options and more leeway for things not being quite as good, and possibly getting good results. I still muffed up 1.5 aluminum plates, with results getting better, and finally had a good result. Still want to go over stuff before I try again, but I don’t think I would have got this far on the LR3.
Well I cleared off the other jobs off the lr3 and got my new sheet in for my struts.
I went to use my main computer instead of my old laptop and boy did that start a whole thing.
Long story short my setting must have reset or something inside estlcam. I used the strut generator and did everything as I usually would and the machine would stop after the first hole was done. The board would disconnect in repetier host then reconnect. I checked on the documents and made it as it was stated. Tried again and it failed. Converted the svg to dxf in freecad. Then it ran for 5mins then failed. Then I tried to just do the outside and do the holes in a different step.
This actually worked and I was able to do a hover cut of the full job. Then I went to do the holes and it failed at the first one again. Then I tried using a drill function instead thinking I could just use a hand drill as long as they are marked proper. And it failed again.
I went in and adjusted my rapid speeds from what the documents said. 2400 for xy and 900 for z.
To 1500 xy and 500 z
And that was the trick. I am guessing since I haven’t altered my current draw for the steppers when you drive it too fast it will cause the board to lose enough voltage that it turns off then it reconnects.
So for anyone running into this on a stock setup that could be your issue.
Well I have it disassembled now I guess next is trying to figure out how my 2 sheets of 3/4” mdf are going to make my table lol.
That was half my push to do the upgrade was to get a nice flat table top. My old idea was pretty wavy.
and it works anyway because the machine is just that much overkill, then it’s hard to learn again. I think the LR4 is probably easier to learn how to process aluminium than the LR3. It has me thinking about the people who managed steel on a Primo…
