So my lowrider 3 is up and running. 4x5 foot live area for now and running the jackpot controller.
I just want to say what an amazing kit and machine this turned out to be. very easy to build and set up. its delivering fantastic precision. (more than sufficient for my needs). first cuts were amazing and its already doing real work. In its very first 2 cuts the machine paid for itself.
I love the fact that I can fix and/or replace any faulty component myself.
I have exactly 1 year experience 3d printing and laser cnc cutting, and the machine was really a breeze to print and assemble. Great instructions helped immensely. Forum users were also very helpful in helping me understand some quirks and get started.
The only thing I’m looking to fix or change is the spindle dropping at power off. I know Ryan sells different lead screws for this so I may go that route. ill be working some expensive materials and a bit resting in the wrong spot would mean a redo I’m afraid.
for the future im thinking of
water cooled spindle for noise reduction. don’t want to annoy my neighbors and want to be able to run the machine at night.
plastic spoil board and vacuum table.
another build for a cnc plasma cutter. perhaps mpcnc suits this better…
perhaps building another lowrider with extended cut depth specifically for foam cutting. still working this out in my head.
a leadscrew y conversion? so the table could tip up 90 degrees for storage without removing the lowrider?
actually near the top of the list. minimum 20 watt laser head for the lowrider to afford large laser cutting area.
Thank you Ryan for such a great machine.
Extremely well documented, worth a read if you are interested in building one
Water cooled adds a lot of weight and complexity to it. I run a vevor air cooled spindle in both of my LR3s and it is much quieter than a palm router. And it fits right in the Makita mount already designed by Ryan. I remixed his mount to give some more surface area to grab and be able to slide the spindle up a little higher and it works well. Located here on Printables. I printed mine out of ASA because the spindle can get quite warm. But I have run one printed in PLA without issue. I will say you still have those times where the bit cutting through the wood makes a ton of noise as well.
I have run my NEJE A40640 on my LR3 off of @DougJosephKinematic mount and it worked quite well. Not sure if it would hold a 20w or not, mine is only 10w. I have a 20w on my primo and its quite a bit larger so YMMV
Great info. thank you.
do you have a link to that vevor spindle?
I do have an air cooled spindle on my 450x450 cnc and after balancing the fan it is pretty darn silent.
You can just remove the command to power down the steppers after a cut.
I am using different drivers and I didn’t even connect the ENA pin, they are just always powered. No dropping in my house.
You somehow have to tell me how to do that. I make cutting boards and give them away to friends. That kinda loses me money…
I build sets and props. So untill the lr3 if I needed something cut on a cnc id have to farm it out to someone. And the guys in my line of work that have them are expensive. ( which is fair because they have expensive machines that sit idle most of the time…and all our jobs seem to be rush)
My current project needed some cnc time and that time was more than the cost of the lowrider… so since now I was able to do it myself…free lowrider…lol. it wont replace the prop shops giant 5 axis foam machine or cut 35 6 foot tall x mas trees overnight…but it can do the vast majority of things ive paid others to do in the past. Im really impressed with it.
Don’t worry about that. I haven’t ordered it yet, but it is the one that I want for my LR3.
It will be back in stock in a few days (and sold out in a few days too)
This has happened a couple of times in the last months.
Does anyone have a comparison between the standard trim routers and the 1.5kW spindle?
I know the spindle should be quieter and typically has air or liquid cooling options, but I’m thinking more along the lines of cutting and carving speed and capability.
Does it make a difference with the LR3 frame being the limiting factor?
Neck and Neck really. I went with a spindle for it being quieter and more fine RPM control. I ran a router on my old LR2 and it always did everything I asked it to just like the spindle does now.
