LR4, how many hours to build LR4?

Hours to Assemble your LR4? Just assembly of a mostly stock build. Do NOT include time to 3D print or mill parts. Exclude time for uncommon enhancements.

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Short: How many project focused hours to build your LR4?

Why are we asking?
Understanding how many project focused hours it took to get those chips flying, people’s experience, and improvement ideas could:

  1. Help future builders know what they’re getting into.
  2. Help builders decide whether LR4 is good fit for their fun/profit priorities.
  3. Help identify improvements worth pursuing.

This topic focuses on how long people took to build their LR4. Hopefully getting feedback on steps that felt like more of a struggle than they should (guess we could also infer this by reading/ML-analyzing frequent forum questions, but am explicitly asking here anyway…).

For me LR4 was/is a fun project, one that’s way more affordable than commercial alternatives. Self funding hobby would be a bonus. For my previous LR3 build, I intentionally spent the many hours it took to 3D print parts, and mill MDF/Aluminum plates, because I wanted to learn those skills, not to optimize my time. Others may have different requirements/priorities for their hobby/business. Discussions comparing LR4 with other DIY/Commercial alternatives would be good to have in other topics.

Here’s some poll questions to help folks anonymously provide fast feedback. Ideally a better poll mechanism would be used to help correlate build time with makers’ experience/related-skills. Maybe this is good enough, or at least a conversation starter that results in action… I’m hoping folks will chime in and post their experience, questions, suggestions too…

Hours spent researching CNCs before deciding to build a LR4? Guessing many of us spent many hours researching pros/cons, and alternative DIY/Commerical options.

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Hours spent finalizing design for your build? Decide on dimensions, EMT, wiring, table size, controller board, controller software, etc…?

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Hours to search, source and buy hardware? Filament, EMT, plate materials, electrical, kit or individual hardware components?

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Hours to calibrate, troubleshoot, install and learn CAM software enough to be able to make your first cut?

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Was LowRider 4 your first CNC build? Or have you built or used other CNCs before?

  • First CNC build/purchase!
  • LowRider 3
  • LowRider 1/2
  • MPCNC
  • Other (please share, learning about similar CNC projects is great)
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Please consider sharing:

  • Ideas/suggestions for reducing Time To Chips Flying?
  • Ideas/suggestions for increasing joy of your build experience?
  • Build Time related questions/suggestions that would help the community?

Can find LR3 build experience feedback in this topic. Cheers!

3 Likes

Using my experience with the LR3 (I wasn’t part of the Beta test team) , the biggest time sink was first learning how to set up and calibrate my printer, then actually printing the parts.

The former is dependent on your previous experience with 3D printers, and the latter is VERY dependent on the type of printer used, printer settings, etc. For example, my core took almost 50 hours to print, while others were telling me that it should take 13-15 hours.

So any suggestions to future builders will need to be tempered with caveats about printing time being quite variable, depending on user experience, machine used, and printer settings (IMO)

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I think Ryan has the LR4 core down to something like 6 hours on his V5 printers :eyes: I think I was doing them in 7 1/2 with PLA. Closer to 11 with the PET-GF

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I think my second core print was 13 hours after the v5 upgrade. 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.36 mm layer height, 3 walls, 4 layers, 30% cubic 45% infill. It was ~23 hours the first time on the v4. Total print time on the v4 was like 75 hours at 60 mm/min. The v5 was ~40% less than that. Need to do the math on it.

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Is this the Prusa v5 upgrade?

Man 6 hours is blazing. I’m at 14 hours with my modified Ender running klipper and I thought that was pretty good (.6mm noz, .3mm LH , 3 walls, 30% infill). Stock my LR3 core took 22+ hours with the same nozzle.

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This is as much about extruder/hotend as anything. My ancient TAZ 5 is limited by the E3D V6 hotend to 14mm3/s. In theory with the .6 nozzle and .38 layer height and a high-flow hotend I could be doing a core in 6 or 7 hours as well.

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Nah, his MP3DP v5. :slight_smile:

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Oooof

How did I forget about the mostly printed 3 d printer?

Thanks philipp

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The milled/printed 3d printer of his own design… I have one too. It is pretty sweet.

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All this talk of super fast prints makes me think I should bite the bullet and get a new printer

Anyone know the min bed size needed for the core and side plates?

(On my phone in the Islands right now, can’t measure in my slicer).

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200x200… But only if you print them one at a time

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You guys must be screaming along. Even set on .28 ‘superdraft speed’ and 30% infill prusa is telling me the core is 1 day+

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200x200, I need to add this to the docs. x165 Z

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While we are talking about it, these, https://qidi3d.com/, printers seem to be a smoking deal. I have never used one but Selfsourcing and cutting my own parts for a mp3dpv5 costs more than this fully built ready to go klipper printer. Bambu is nice but this is the makers version of a machine. Bambu is locked down (no Z skew compensation), These are klipper ready to go with hardened nozzles.

I honestly am not sure if I will build another V5, they take 2-3 days to make at best. these are the same price and I think have everything I want.

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Maybe you can buy one from @Jonathjon :rofl:

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That sounds wrong. Which Prusa do you have? I printed it with a 0.6mm nozzle with around 150 colourchanges in 16 hours with the structural profile and 0.32mm layer height. Without the changes it would be 14.

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That Qidi Plus4 sounds pretty good actually.

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I just got one of the Flashforge printers. I don’t print a lot so I can’t justify a Bambu or a Prusa at the moment. Still seems like a major upgrade over my Ender 3.

Anyway, I now see that there is Rapid/High Speed/Hyper filaments for printing at faster speeds. What’s up with that? Is it necessary? Does that affect rigidity? What kind of speeds are people realistically printing at? My Ender 3 is usually set at 60 mm/s. I know there’s more to it than that but just trying to get a general idea.

I have a qidi FlashForge Creator pro clone. It’s been a great printer.

I’ve only looked a couple of data sheets, but the high speed filaments were lower rigidity from my recollection.