I am starting to research on what I will need to get a lowrider2 functional as a router. I work in a print shop and we use adobe illustrator. since I have never built a cnc machine before, what is my best bet for a control board and what software would work with adobe? I am considering using the SKR PRO1.2 would Estlcam and or Repetier-Host be needed? need any help I can get.
There are so many different ways to go from Illustrator to the router. You do need something that inputs a path (usually a DFX or SVG) and allows you to define what the router does with it…engrave, contour cut, pocket, etc. and generate a g-code file. And you need a way to move that g-code to the control board of the MPCNC. Estlcam and Repetier-Host are only two programs of many possible solutions. There is a chart in this topic that maps out most of the pathways.
P.S. And there are other ways to use the router such as relief carving that require something other than Illustrator to produce 3D models as input.
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If you don’t want to tinker with the control board, then buying a board from Ryan (like the skr pro) is the best bet. It will run Marlin, which will look weird because it will show options for extruding and printing. But it really is a full featured cnc controller too.
You can control it by putting a file on an sd card and using the attached screen, by attaching a v1pi, or by leaving a computer attached with windows oe linux and running repetier host.
To make the files from your svg illustrator files, you need CAM. The recommended CAM is Estlcam and there are some instructions you can read in the estlcam basics. There you will pick the tool, adjust speeds and depth for your material and choose which features from the drawing to cut or carve and how deep. This will make a gcode file, which you can use in the machine.
You’ll still have a lot to learn. But you’ll cut out a bunch of the time by using Estlcam and a board that Ryan sells with Marlin.
thanks Jebb and Robert. This actually is my second attempt. My first attempt I was using mach3 software , machbob2(mb2)break out board , a smooth stepper with a ESS input and the appropriate stepper drives. I got some movement but I think my setting were wrong so I sidelined the project until I could figure it out. Then I saw the lowrider2 and it gave me the inspiration to try a different approach to my project with all different electronics.
thanks for the help.