I just finished upgrading my Lowrider 2 to NEMA stepper motors last night. I will begin running it through its paces later this morning. My NEMA 23 parts are based on Ryan’s original NEMA 17 parts. I am using Bart Dring’s MPCNC ESP32 board with his external driver adapters.
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That looks like an awesome setup. Those motors are huge! How are you liking the Bart board? Did you use the low rider configuration as-is, or did you have to configure anything for it?
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The only change to Bart’s board was the steps per mm: 640 steps for X and Y and 3200 steps for Z. The external drivers are configured for the max pulses: 25600. I am using the WebUI interface on my ASUS tablet to control the CNC.
I am setting up some simple square and circular patterns to test DOCs at 6mm and 9mm on plywood. Before I was losing steps and ruining my plywood. Cabinets don’t look good when the cuts are wrong…
My next upgrade will be to add two X-rails above the existing (like Karlis Zalitis did on his Lowrider)…
In case you missed it I am using Bart’s opto boards in the stepper sockets…
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I saw those on tindie, and I thought they were pretty interesting. It really creates a lot of opportunity for setups like this. Very cool.
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I’ve been anxious to try out my machine all day, but I have to make sure Momma has new shoes, right?
So finally I caught a break a few minutes ago and ran a simple cut: a circular piece (8" dia) inside a square piece (10"). I set it for 9mm DOC and fired it off. It cut through the 3/4" plywood like it was hot butter…
It WAS a bit louder though…
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Did you change the stainless tubes to accommodate changes in weight and cutting forces?
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My initial build used 1" stainless tubing because I was concerned about the 6’ span. I just returned home from a trip to Metal Supermarkets in Phoenix. Six new pieces of 1" x 6’ SS tubing…
Time to beef up the gantry…
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This looks great! Would you be wiling to share the modified STL’s?
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I decided to create a shared folder, Lowrider 2, on my Google Drive. It contains the STLs for my NEMA 23 parts. I just realized that I should also upload DXFs as well. I will add those soon. I have not created these yet. Here is the link to the folder:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1-NlAQWnQT9-zR6cHg8TlpPaHQktba3oB
I have added the DXFs. The Y-plate is modified from Karlis Zalitis’ version that allows 2 extra wheels below the spoilboard. The router plate is for my Bosch 1617EVS. You should be able to easily modify this to work with your router.
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Thank you Tom! I have some Nema 23’s left over from a previous project that I can now use for my Lowrider build 
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Please share your thoughts/suggestions on these parts as you use them. Enjoy!
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I was wondering what voltage you are running your drives at? I am working on a Lowrider2 and have bought the db6600 drives. I am planing on running the drives at 42 volts as it almost quadruples the max rpm over 12v. I’m going to use the nema 17’s to start.
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I am powering Bart Dring’s custom controller for the MPCNC/Lowrider with a 24VDC PS and 5 external drivers (DM542S) /NEMA 23 steppers with a 36VDC PS. I am connecting these with Bart’s opto boards in the controller’s stepper sockets.
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IMPORTANT: My Lowrider 2 is the Jumbo (J) build using 25.4cm (1") tubing…
Were you planning for a “J” build?
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Thanks for the concern Tom. I am. Fortunately for me, it’s far easier to get 25.4mm tubing in South Africa than 25 mm tubing.
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Perfect…
I am actually using SS tubing.
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That’s a robust looking lowrider.
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I decided to stiffen the gantry by doubling the rails since I am using NEMA 23 motors and a much heavier router (Bosch 1617EVS). About to replace the router with a 2.2KW (3HP) spindle.
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