I have built the MPCNC and it works well so far for my purposes. My main issue with it is that there seems to be quite a bit of space taken vs. the available work area. What I like about the LR is that I can have a significantly larger work area in about the same space as the MPCNC
I have been considering two options:
Keep my existing MPCNC and build the LR as an additional machine. The downsides of this are cost and space (although I have some ideas as to how I can keep both machines in my workshop). Also, at this point, I don't need 2 CNCs.
Use the MPCNC to cut the parts for the LR, then cannibalize it for parts for my LR build. This would cost less and use less space.
So here are my questions:
Assuming I don't need the extra Z-axis capacity and ability to do things like 3D printing, what are the things that the MPCNC is better at than the LR2?
Is it possible (or advisable) to use the DW660 I already have with the LR2?
At this point I'm leaning towards option 2 (and I guess I can always store the extra parts from the MPCNC in case I want to rebuild it in the future), but if there are things that the MPCNC would do better, I may want to keep both machines.
Has anyone else done this? can you share your experiences?
They are the same. One is designed for large flat sheet material, the other is design for everything else. If your cuts are under 3’ the MPCNC should be the better option, and it does have a smaller footprint.
No as of right now there are no 660 mounts that I know of for the LowRider.
Thank you, Ryan. Running the cut calculators for both machines I see now that it’s not going to make much of a difference in terms of footprint (looking at the table size for reference), so that’s not as much of a factor as I thought.
It sounds like at this point I’m better off improving my existing machine and expanding it within its practical limits, and revisit the LR2 decision when I have projects that need its large work area capabilities.
I made a thread about this recently I was a bit concerned, as they are so similar. I think there is a different perception about the LowRider for some reason. I have both machines side by side and I use the MPCNC for everything except batch jobs like the LR2 parts. I rarely do large cuts…if you do batch or large go LR2 but for one offs and lots of different stuff the MPCNC is in my opinion the most useful/easier tool.