This is $350
and looks a lot like the MPCNC core.
I don’t really have next steps or anything, but wanted to see if anyone else though of this. I don’t know if I am smart enough to make it happen, but I think there is potential and can’t stop thinking about it.
I’ve been thinking about building a router lift for a while. It’s crossed my mind to use bearings and conduit but the price for 300mm linear rods and bearings is pretty darn reasonable so that’s what I’ve planned to use when I get around to it.
The features I’d want in a controller would just be probing to set 0 and then moving manually. So I’ve debated whether just writing a custom controller using an ESP32 or Arduino or repurposing the marlin board I have from an old 3d printer.
I’m definitely interested in collaborating if someone wants to work on this.
I was going to build a MPCNC before I went with the LR. I even printed all the parts for it, but then it stalled and the project got shelved. I will have to dig out those parts and take a look at them I need a router lift for a home reno project I am working on and this is interesting.
There are a lot of designs out there but this one is pretty neat. It’s motorized and has the controls I think would be good. However buying enough HDPE to build this is as expensive as buying some linear guides https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6YeA3mADdI
This design is interesting because it would be super easy to cut everything on the CNC. But I don’t think it would lend itself well to motorization because you have to lock in your adjustments.
A guy on YouTube by the name of USSA has a very neat router lift. He sells plans and parts for it, I have been tempted to make it before but haven’t found the time yet.
https://youtu.be/KvklVWrYcyE?si=vHUItUVD10elERsH https://youtu.be/KvklVWrYcyE?si=vHUItUVD10elERsH
yeah I’ve seen those. I think his best design (the Odyssey) is similar to what I allude to when I mention buying linear rods and bearings. Basically get a pair of 16 or 20mm linear rods that have the ends tapped for bolts and some matching linear bearings. Bolt the rails to your table surface or plate then cute out a clamp for your router with holes for the bearings and your lead nut and you’ve got yourself a router lift. It would probably take 20 minutes to draw in cad then you could cut and stack parts out of plywood on the cnc or aluminum if you want to be fancy.
Something like this:
Great, now I want to add a stepper motor to my router table, just like I seem to want to do with everything. 
I have this one now since it came with my Bosch 1617 and it’s fine but I also hate it. The range of motion with the screw is pretty short so you have to manually release it and move the router to different positions. You also can’t raise it above the table to change bits.
Thinking about some of the use cases for having a stepper.
Could easily get to the same height. For example, some of the fancy bits that mate together. Pros will setup two router tables, but we could remember the z height and get back to that position.
Would be awesome for sure
This is what I dream of you geniuses here figuring out - a programmable multi-router. Fans of craftsman furniture probably know who Stickley is and the guys in the prototype department use these things and they are pretty damn cool. Just think of all the crazy joinery that could be designed if this thing was programable.
One of the big ironies of having a cnc machine for me is that building some of the crazy machines Mathias Wandel builds would be a lot quicker and easier but with the cnc machine I don’t need them as much.
After shooting down the idea I decided to mess around with it a bit today haha. Here’s a link to my onshape document Onshape
Basically it’s like the LR4 core turned on its side. I haven’t done any of the bolt holes or the brackets to mount the conduit. I think I’ll have a one piece mount for both pieces of conduit and the screw on the top and bottom.
Any thoughts?
Ussa has a few designs.
that is a mouthful!
Yeah, their designs that I’ve seen use linear rods and bearings. Which if you want to use those the design is trivial and I’d probably just machine out of plywood or aluminum. The idea here is to used left over conduit and some 608 bearings.
I had originally looked at making one of these printed tilting router lifts for my workbench, but it was all hard to get hardware for me.
In the end, I just bought a JessEm
