Dewalt DCW604NT cordless router/ controller board choice

Hi all,

First post here, hello to all.

I’m new to CNC routers but not to woodworking/making/3D printing.

I am currenly printing a lowrider 3 and have a Dewalt DCW604NT which is the 18v cordless version of the D26203. Rather than buying a new router is it possible to run a battery operated router in this setup?

In regards to the controller board I have 2 anycubic motherboards, 1 8bit new from a I3 mega and a new 32bit vyper control board. would either of these work to run the lowrider?

thanks in advance.

1 Like

Possible? Yes. But you will likely find that the need to swap batteries… disturbing to your calm. Especially if you end up with any long-running jobs. You’ll have to either get good at pausing the job to switch batteries, or breaking the job up into battery-long runs. I think it was the MM channel that built a LR2, and used a cordless router for a while. If you’re into it, it also makes paranoia difficult, as there’s no way to tie an e-stop into the mains power for your router.

Better brains will be along to hopefully give a real answer, but the reality is, if you can flash the board with Marlin or grbl, and it supports 3 or 5 drivers (5 separate drivers are needed for auto-squaring during the homing sequence). When scavenging from printers, those could be x, y, z, and extruder drivers. If it’s not one of the “officially” supported boards, it’s going to take some (brain) sweat equity to get the firmware working for your board (if it’s possible). Of course, there are plenty of helpful and curious folk around here who will help you as much as they can, so don’t be too afraid to try.

And welcome to the fun house! :candle: :goat: :candle: (Apparently, I got put in charge of initiations…)

2 Likes

Adding to @kvcummins points, the cordless routers are almost always less powerful than the similar corded ones. The Lowrider will function with a less powerful router, but you may pay a speed and/or quality price. In addition, for the price of one replacement battery for the DCW604NT and a 1/8" collet, you can purchase a quality Makita clone router that includes the 1/8" collet.

8bit new from a I3 mega

A quick search indicates this is a Ramps 1.4 compatible board, and Marlin has support (pins) files for this specific board. V1 does maintain a version of Marlin for the Ramps 1.4 board, so you should be able to use your board. It may be as simple as changing the MOTHERBOARD define in configuration.h and recompiling, or it might take some trials to get it working. I couldn’t find any Marlin support for your 32bit viper control board, but maybe I missed it in my quick search.

1 Like

Thank you both for your input so far, I have a while to think about things while im printing parts. and then general construction. I suppose I can use the router I have and test it out at least. Ive been looking at MAKITA RT0700CX4 which would be cheaper option than buying the clone version. but struggling to find specs on spindle speed etc.

The biggest hurdle is going to be the flashing of firmware to the control board and getting that up and running, Ive run away from compiling firmware for 3D printers thus far, but have used and installed custom firmware for 3D printers. Maybe its time to face this and get my head into compiling firmware…

1 Like

It’s not too bad. VS Code is free, handles platformio, and therefore Marlin with no problem. @jeffeb3 and others have done a great job with the github for V1, and it should be fairly easy to customize the firmware. And like I said, there are plenty of helpful people with much more experience than I do (I mostly have free time/work avoidance “issues”) who can help you get up and running. The docs are pretty good, but if you find anything that seems really out of sync with reality, I know @vicious1 appreciates feedback (and well written edits/pull requests even more).

3 Likes

I think the X4 refers to the package, not the router, so you should be able to use this reference for specs. You likely want the ability to use 1/8 or 3mm bits. A 1/8" collet for this router runs around $25 USD in the US. The RT0700 series routers do well in the Lowrider, and Ryan provides a mount.

1 Like

I know Teaching Tech had a cordless router on his to start with, and quickly switched to a corded one. He mentions having to keep a close eye on battery use in this video, especially when cutting aluminum.

MM may have done it also.

1 Like

The Harbor Freight Bauer palm router is also a direct match to the Makita and even takes the same collets. That’s what I ended up going with and with an extended warranty, is still much less than the Makita.

1 Like

No, you are right, it was TT, not MM. Southern hemisphere, double initials… Just got them mixed up. :stuck_out_tongue: Was it MM who recently blasted diode lasers as dangerous because it’s too easy to be unsafe with them? Just wondering why I had him on the brain…

1 Like

Yup - saw the MM video linked in the comments of the Hack-a-day article that featured @dkj4linux’s work on the $79 laser.

1 Like

Thanks all for the help so far,

Well I decided to buy the SKR pro 1.2 kit from the store now its back in stock, printed parts are on their way, I think im 70% through the printing now.

Ive decided to stay with my original router to setup with for the time being, but may upgrade in the future. im looking forward to getting the build started now…

going for a black and blue colour scheme, so its going to be nicknamed the bruise.

1 Like