I was thinking of using my old 24v PSU from my Ender 3 3d printer for the LR3 but would it work (not tech savvy)?
And if so, where would be best location for it? Together with the motherboard? Or somehow on the table?
A 3D printer PSU will have plenty of available power. We don’t need nearly the wattage sonce we don’t have a hotend nor a heated build platform.
Most of us have main boards that can deal with 24V power. It requires zero changes to firmware if you do. If you are using something that usss A4988 or DRV8825 stepper drivers, you should re-adjust your Vref, but if you are using something like an SKR Pro or a RAMBo, or the new Jackpot board, it will be fine.
Any 12V power accessories on the other hand will need to be updated, including but not limited to fans and LEDs. (I have 1 fan for my mainboard on my CNC.) If you are running a diode laser, check its power requirements. I run 24V main power, and my laser needs 12V, so it has a separate power supply.)
1 Like
Folks who intend to leave their LowRider on its table more or less permanently seem to often install a PSU on the table somewhere. Installing one with the motherboard would require a really big control box.
I bought the smallest 12V switching power supply I could find on Amazon for my LR3, and I think I can squeeze it inside the gantry with a custom mount I designed.
1 Like
I run the 24v from Ryan and have it in the gantry next to the control box. Works great. As far as fitting a larger one I’m not sure on that. You would probably have to mount it to the table and run wires. Just make sure to leave enough slack for the machine to run the length of the table
1 Like
For the PSU location, it does somewhat depend on size.
One way or another you have to get power to a moving gantry. You can either get AC power to the PSU, or you can get your DC to it. One could argue the merits of both, but since I also have to get AC to the router, I chose to run AC to the gantry.
I have a 24V “brick” power supply that fits inside the beam, so I run an AC power cord to it and it’s all good. The router power is separate from this, though I did consider putting a plug box into the beam. I still might if I end up changing stuff there.
With a physically larger power supply, I might mount jt to the table, and run the DC to the gantry. One of the standard 2.1Ă—5.5mm barrel jacks would be a nice interface that would look good and be convenient.
1 Like
Edited my earlier reply to mention that I’m using an AC → DC switching power supply in my gantry. I will hard-wire an AC power cord to the PSU and then run DC power to the control box attached to the gantry. The AC power cord and the router power cord will run up alongside the dust collection hose to an extension cord suspended on a rail above the gantry (I may incorporate a router plug at some point, perhaps to even turn the spindle on/off with a relay, but not at first). I will be able to disconnect power, dust collection, and belts to remove the gantry from its table quickly, since I will be building a table that folds up against the wall.
So, that’s another possible configuration.
1 Like