Lowrider 2, 5'x10', Dual Endstops, Sensorless Homing, SKR 1.3, TMC2130

Hey everyone,

I somehow stumbled across the LowRider on the old interwebs last week, and have watched just about every video on youtube on it since then! Looks cool!

I dont have a CNC myself, but have a very early Maslow (im sure you’re all familiar) which i was converting to an XY machine, but now just wont bother because this just looks so much better! the only upside on the Maslow is the fact it’s vertical for space saving, but with this i can use the table for other stuff, or hoist it into the rafters in the garage or something… Plus i dont want to design any more things for it… i just wanna print and build and have something usable!

So thought i’d start a thread here as i have just spent $69.59 (NZD) on 6 meters of 1" stainless tube!! so it’s officially begun!!! I pick it up this weekend from Auckland (i live in Taupo, 3 hour drive each way, for those who are curious) Figured i’d start there and print some parts and see how they fit before i commit to printing the whole lot. My printer is pretty crummy and wanna see if i need to give it a tune up before printing or not.

Which brings me to my list of plans/goals/dreams so that you guys can set me straight before i get too far down the rabbit hole in the wrong direction!

My garage isnt too big, so will build a small-ish version to see how it goes, and build a bigger version when i need it. Ideally, i would like to be able to cut 5’x10’ sheets. Im guessing i’ll be pushing the limits a bit there with the 1" tubes? One of the main reasons being that i built a teardrop trailer years ago, and want to build a bigger one… and will need a machine that can cut 1.5m (5’) wide panels ideally.

Next, im thinking of using a board with 5 stepper drivers to drive each stepper with its own driver, and am wanting to use the TMC2130 stepper drivers? For 3 reasons mainly;

  • quiet (for when i want to use it with a pen or drag knife or some other silent tool)
  • detect loss of steps to tune in feeds and speeds etc and re-home if it loses steps
  • virtual endstop/software endstop/whatever you want to call it
    this way i can hopefully square the machine easily, and potentially do a ‘bed level’ and possibly z probe as well?

Those are the main ‘weird’ things i wish to accomplish with it anyway.

I’ll try keep a log of things here for me (or others in NZ) to look back on later with where i got things and what i spent etc. Though i assume the main thing people will get from NZ and might struggle with is the SS tube, which i just got :smiley:

Anyway, thanks for reading! and feel free to explain why nobody else is doing the things i want to do, as im sure there are great reasons for not using 5 axis controllers and building 5’ wide machines etc, i just havent realised yet :slight_smile:

Oh, and thanks Ryan for designing all these bits… much appreciated!!!

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I don’t think anyone has built one that wide yet. For most of us in the states full sheet is 4X8, so the table is roughly a foot bigger in both directions. You’ll need something 6 feet-ish wide. Through cuts will probably be alright though.

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As Barry mentioned, the standard is 5’ span, amd you’ll need about 6’. 6’ is 20% longer, but it’s probably one of those proporional to square deals. So 1.44x more sag, and less rigidity. I think sag in the middle will be the worst. The 10’ length is no big deal if you can build a flat table that long. There was one user here in the forums with a table that big and they use marlins probing (bilinear bed levelling) to measure the Z across the whole thing.

You can do 5 drivers relatively easy, if you’re comfortable with configuring the software. Adding dual endstops is harder, and since you’ll need to home Z to max, that makes it a bit harder on the low rider. IMHO, you won’t need dual endstops. The gantry is 6’ wide, so if you have a good reference for square (like the end of the table), you can get each side within a few milimeters and that is going to be very square compared to a 6’ gantry. I would suggest starting without the endstops until you log some hours with the machine.

The TMC noise isn’t going to matter if you’ve got hearing protection on because of the vacumns and router. It’s not silent in the normal operating mode. The quiet mode has less power. I am not sure how the automatic step loss detection works. I use them in my printers and I still lose steps. I have sensorless homing enabled. I use a minirambo on my CNC machine though.

And… Welcome! I am excited to see what you make.

Hey guys,

Thanks! and sheets here are 4’ x 8’ as well, but they have bigger ones too going to 5’ x 10’ or 12’ or even longer if you really want for somethings. So having the ability to go bigger might be nice! i may make the table extendable or something for cutting big things… (or build a second machine? that seems reasonable right? :stuck_out_tongue: )

I will let you all know how i get on! looking forward to sharing my frustrations and hopefully my successes with you guys!

Having a giant table for a maybe project is not worth it. If you need extra length adding pins into your CAM is easy and you just keep moving your project down. Way better to have small rigid and fast everyday and dealing with pins every blue moon than dealing with a giant less rigid and fast machine everyday and no pins.

Valid point. The good thing is the only thing required to change it if it doesnt work is cut 2 bits of SS tube shorter, so i might give a 5’ wide machine a go and see how i get on.

Im planning on cutting quite a bit of big sheets though TBH and wont do a lot of small cutting (who knows what actually happens in time though) but the dream would be to build teardrops for a living, and that means cutting 5’ sheet (semi) regularly, and would hardly cut small stuff.

I wont build a 6’x12’ table right away, but i might build the x axis as the long axis and build a 5’x3’ machine or something just to see if 5’ is doable or not and will do a bunch of tests and see how it works out.

First part is on the printer BTW! will test it with the SS tube after picking it up this weekend and then decide what colour to actually print everything in… because thats clearly very important!

Hi Ned,

More lowrider builds in NZ. I also building one right now. Just screwed the gantry together.

The SS tube was easy to find. Ordered from trademe and was cut to size and shipped to Napier.

 

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I had kept the second post as a place where i kept all my prices etc, but thats gone after the last edit… so here is a new one?

List of parts i bought: (everything in NZD unless noted differently)

Aliexpress:
$46.09 USD 5 x Nema 17
$15.92 USD 50 x Bearings
$12.19 USD 3 x Lead screw (with nut)
$1.35 USD lube
$3.54 USD 3 x coupler

$3.75 USD 5 x GT2 pulley
$7.73 USD 8 x GT2 idler
$12.47 USD 10M GT2 belt (type A)

$3.40 USD wheel spacers
$1.69 USD second type of spacer to try

$65.75 USD bigtreetech SKR V1.3 controller with TFT35 and TMC2130 SPI drivers
$9.85 USD 12864 LCD
$11.40 USD zip ties (lots of them)
$7.69 USD cables
$17.42 USD power supply (24V 6A)
$26 USD ER11 collet
$2.06 USD 10M x 4mm Black Braid

Aliexpress Order 1 total: $248.30 USD = $391.61 NZD

$14.63 USD 2mm Router Bits
$12.21 USD 1/8" Router Bits
$3.24 USD ER11M Wrench

$69.59 - 3 x 2m length of 1" x 1.5mm stainless steel tube. Part number P0007320 from Steel and Tube Auckland

$53.67 - 4 x 60mm YAK wheels

$89.57 - All fasteners (with 1 x spare of each) online at fasttrade.co.nz

total: 391.61 + 69.59 + 53.67 + 89.57 + 30.08 USD = $649.92

Left to buy:

  • Router
  • Table
  • Flat parts

Already owned:

  • 3D print filament ($24.49 USD per KG)
  • Big Router bits ($49.94 USD)
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Question…

I had a second post with a list of things i had purchased etc that i was going to keep up to date.

I edited it today with a squillion links (as it’s pay day and i went a little nuts) and it then magically deleted the whole post when i hit submit? I managed to go back and copy the post and tried to post it as a new post (like this one) but it wouldnt let me either.

Is there a limit on edits? or limit on links i can post? or any such something something im not aware of?

As an update, i’ve printed a few parts (like 3, not many) but they seem to fit well! and my printer isnt doing as bad a job as i thought it would which is nice. I have 2kg of black PLA, so that should allow for some failures haha.

I bought basically all the bits i’ll need today though! which is exciting! just need a router and the flat pieces and a table. Most stuff is coming from china, so will be a couple weeks until its here, but thats ok. Im not sure if you make any money off of the store Ryan, or if it’s just a token amount and you offer it more so people dont have to hunt for their own stuff? I thought about buying from you as a ‘thank you’ but decided to source my own stuff as i was going with a different controller and found some different steppers with plugs and wiring that supposedly nicely connects them all… so with those different, it was easier to source all my own stuff (but has taken DAYS).

There will be a ‘thank you’ order in the future though or a ‘tip the designer’ thing or something once the machine cuts something :slight_smile:

I decided on the hard-to-find-information-on BigTreeTech SKR V1.3 board, which has 5 stepper drivers, and is wired to be able to run TMC2130 SPI modules without silly wiring. It also has the TFT35 module, which i may or may not use, and i got the normal 12864 LCD as well. I’ve also decided to get a 24V PSU to try because why not.
A lot of this is to try get a quiet machine. Not because i need it to be quiet, but because i want to see what difference it makes so i can decide if i should convert my 3D printers. Plus, i plan on maybe running a drag knife or a plotter or maybe even a laser, so quiet would be nice.

The only other thing of note is the ER11 collet i ordered for the router. Still no router, but that should be easy :slight_smile:

 

So shiny!!!

 

The forums have some spam protection, so it will delete posts that have only links. I guess it also doesn’t like posts with lots of links?

FWIW, Ryan’s full time job is v1engineering and the store. Buying from amazon through his links also supports him. Donating straight is a good way for non US customers to pay it back, because international shipping can get high from the US.

Your pictures aren’t showing up. If they are coming from google photos or something, then they need public permissions. You can test what we see by opening this post in a private window. imgur is a good place to post public photos.

Cheers.

Any way to get around the links thing? or add more other text and hope it works?
Will get the photos working tomorrow :slight_smile:

The spam bot is a black box to me, and to some degree Ryan. I think he can resurrect them though.

if you need flat parts there are a couple of us in NZ who should be able to cut then for you…I still haven’t done an update but I’ve got a pretty nifty take design of you’re interested, it was about $130nzd for timber not including the spoil board… That said I still haven’t got my lowrider 2 quite dialed in yet but when I do I’ll be posting some photos.

 

I would say be wary of the steppers, I went the AliExpress route and they seem to be the biggest issue…

That sounds pretty cool! Keen to hear what others there are in NZ… keen to maybe see some other machines IRL when out and about in other peoples areas etc!

Im pretty dam lucky that i have a friend with a few CNCs and has already agreed to cut me whatever i need :slight_smile:
His ‘small’ machine is 3000 x 1500 x 800 mm (~10’x5’x2.5’ for those in imperial land) and you dont even want to know how big the big one is haha

Table design is a tough one ATM as im not sure where to put it yet, so not sure how to build it

options:

  1. flip up on a wall
    1b) make it a work bench with an flip up/down extension for CNC work
    2)lift up onto garage ceiling (have a heigh-ish ceiling)
  2. build a big rolling table that functions as lots of other things
  3. do nothing until the last minute and build something totally sub-par

But my links post has appeared (second post still gone though that was my place holder for it)
And photo’s fixed!

thanks all for input :smiley:

Thanks for the list Ned. If I had that a few mnds ago would have saved me lots of time.

Fasttrade is also my place to go for bolts.

The tubes you got are much shinier as the ones I have. This weekend I put the gantry together, and everything runs quite nice over the tubes. Next weekend I going to wire it up.

Did you find a place where to buy vacuum hose for a reasonable price? All the ones I came across charge you an arm and a leg.

I havent looked at vacuum hose at all yet. Im not sure what i will use… might use a random spare vacuum, but hope to get a decent shop vac or dust collection system for the garage. We’ll see what happens

Also, that list is obviously completely untested stuff! so hope nobody is using it until i at least build mine etc :slight_smile:

oh yeah! first parts showed up in the mail! im excited!!! even though they messed up part of the order haha

 

Printer still going. That honeycomb though <3 <3 <3

dont mind me, just excited :smiley:

Getting there with the prints!

Those are all 0.3mm layer height, 30% fast honeycomb infill on Simplify3D. So far have a decent amount left from 1kg but a few more things to print. Only one failure so far… and it was usable still, just diont like it. It was a XY Main i think it’s called? the big one anyway. It lifted SLIGHTLY on one corner, but also had a weird layer shift when the filament spool fell off the shelf and onto the printed haha

I’ll see which parts break first, and will reprint them at 0.15 and/or higher infill etc but they feel crazy strong already!

Still waiting on a few parts… mainly cables and zip ties and couplers… Main bits are here, so assembly started last night!

And these were on my desk this morning too

I got lazy last night and used my impact driver to get the M8s started, and would tighten the last bit by hand. Got a little complacent and managed to squash a part and had to re-print. Not a big deal, but this is how much PLA i now have left from the fresh 1KG spool i opened at the start of this project… cutting it close!!

Really need to design a table and start building that this weekend…