Lowrider 2 - The phoenix Rising from the ashes of my MPCNC

So I have decided that the Lowrider surely has to be the solution to my workshop space crisis. Having the MPCNC permanently taking up 1.5m square of valuable floor space even when not being used for some time is just stopping other projects getting done and I have ripped enough pairs of shorts scraping past it now on the ali extrusion I used to make up the table… Something has to change

Is the Lowrider going to work being taken on and off a work table? I could use the work table for cutting wood and assembling things and fold it away when not in use to allow trailers etc pass through.

My Question is 2 parts

1 - Will I sacrifice significant precision breaking up and reassembling? Is the design up to the stresses of being put on a shelf then being dusted off and assembled to perform a task or am I looking for trouble.

2 - Using the Makita RT0700C Router from the MPCNC in its original Makita base and 76mm skate wheels from my sons unused skates he has outgrown, do I need to modify anything to suit? I have found the Makita mod on Thingiverse so will make that base up ( Says Lowrider 2) but do I need to make allowances or modifications for the large diameter wheels or do I just compensate on the table thickness? Do I need to compensate for the extra diameter on the wheel mount holes?

I hope I am making the right decision to use the parts from the MPCNC and I wont regret doing it as teh MPCNC has been a great little machine and very chuffed at the service I have had from it so far.

Your advice please especially if someone is already using the Lowrider 2 in this manner.

Thanks

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Someone a long time ago had a winch for lifting the whole mpcnc off of the desk and storing it near the ceiling. You would just need some pulleys or eye bolts to do this on the cheap yourself. I’ve also seen cnc machines packed under a table, near the floor. Not fun to work on, but you can use the above space just fine then.

The LR can be removed. but the belts need to come with it. Precision is relative. If you’re doing a lot of fancy stuff to increase Z precision, you may lose that by removing it. But for through cuts, I think it would be fine. The big issue in my mind is just redoing the belts every time I wanted to use it. I think that would be enough of a barrier that I would use it less often.

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I’d sooner put it out of the way, make space for it in the shop than need to assemble it over and over. Like Jeff suggests the belts alone would make me not want to pursue it. There are some neat solutions to the space considerations, like fold up tables, under bench setups etc. Crafty people abound in these forums so post up what you ultimately do as it’ll probably address ideas or questions the next people will have.

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I dont know if anyone though about this as I am very new to the forums. Is there a way to make the “Y” belts a quick release. If the belts could be connected a slip over plastic part then snapped into place the lowrider could be placed on a storage jig and the table put on a wall or similiar. I may draft up something I was thinking about later. So the endstops would act and remain in place and the belts could be mounted to a holder that could slip over the endstop. So the endstop would have three functions…endstop, belt placement, removable base. Or just endstop and removable base and the removable hat would be the belt holder and removable hat. Probably stupid and already thought of. I am not meaning to open a can of worms here.

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That’s essentially how my MPCNC belts are setup, using a tensioner block that just clips into place, so I don’t see why not. The other option is just have a couple slots that a cover clips into so the belts are covered when not in use, and just move the lowrider assembly against the wall when not in use and use the table for whatever else.

IIRC, Teaching Tech promised to make something like that. I don’t know if he ever did though.

I have a table that tilts and is able to be stored on the wall. that table surface is about six foot by three and a half foot. The floor foot print is only only take up 18 inches or so by 50 inches. I have some pictures somewhere on the forums here. I am going to do the LR2 over my table saw now. The MPCNC is going on the tilt table. I will complete that later in January. I believe I will store the LR1 under my folding table. :smiley: I will need to make custom holders though.

Thank you all for your input.

I tried the pulleys option to lift and fix the MPCNC up against the ceiling, but I have a fairly low concrete ceiling. I fixed in 4 x 10mm eye bolts and shackled pulleys to these but it did not lift up enough to be out of the way and the weight of the base board (18mm ply 1.5mx1.5m) makes it heavy and I did battle with keeping it balanced while lifting. It worked, but a real headache to lift and lower and not really a one man operation especially when things got cockeyed. Lowering it, I had a few close calls. A fold up solution would definitely have been a better idea if the wall space was available but it would still be sizable at 1.5 x 800mm (the height of my MPCNC) so only really a 50% saving.

For The Lowrider 2, I like the clip on belt idea as that makes sense to keep it as easy as possible to set up and break down. Then it does not need dedicated wall space and can be set up where ever space allows.

How well would the MPCNC fold away. I was also concerned at the probability of breaking the printed feet if stored at 90 degrees


All that is left is the frame and the wood bed. I took off the gantry and side rails. Well in a week or so I will be trying this out on this table. My MPCNC will be mounted to this table. The table has been stored for about 2 years. Anyways this may help give you an idea. Take care. :smiley: I just noticed the picture on the right is setup I created at first and it worked well. I used all thread. This was the proof in concept that kept my interest for quite some time. The pic on the left was my failed attempt to rework the gantry. I basically lost interest for a while. I had it all running with nema 23’s.

Hi Michael

That sort of set up looks like it could work for the Lowrider 2 if it was perhaps held in place at the top to take the strain off the belts. So store it vertically rather than on its side then put it on tressels or fold out legs when you want to use it.

Your machine looks distinctively more rugged though. Those Nema’s look like they could winch the whole thing up on their own.:grin:

I solved the space issue for my MPCNC by mounting it in an enclosure that was right off the ground. The total height is about 6" taller than all my other work benches, but it gives me a full 4’x4’ area. The opening is tall enough that I can crawl inside to work on it.

At the last house, I used the top part as a build-out bench for projects. At this house, I have more room, so I have a small laser engraver mounted above it. My plan is to build another MPCNC on the top for a more robust Laser Engraver solution.

The clip ideas for the belts is pretty brilliant. With solid fasteners at each end and some small turnbuckles this would be great for tension and on off abilities. I’m glad this was brought up.

Hey Guys. Nice to see yout posts. I was brought up in a wood shop on a navy base. I know that sounds wierd. But my father was a Navy Chief and was working at the DIY shop. Most bases have them or use to. My uncle has run the one on fort hood for over 30 years. My father taught me to make stuff that could be broken down and reused. He never got a chance to see my cnc in action. I really regret that. I was working on it as he passed.
So you ask what does all that have to do with anything :smiley: I got it. Well I am starting to print up the MPCNC and It will be mounted to that table I showed you all in the pics. I just have to pick up some conduit. I am going to use 1 inch od with 1/8 inch steel pipes for the long axis and the short will be the 3/4 inch conduit aka 1in od. I will pick that stuff up tomorrow. I am printing it up with the RED you may have seen in the LR2 I printed up and additionally I am contrasting the red parts with a semi dark blue or a light royal blue. I hope to have the parts printed in about 35 hours. I am just now getting my three FDM printers going. After that and once I have the router printed. I am changing the FDM printers over to the printers that Ryan has provided parts for us. Mine are the chineese anet a8/ a6 clones and they are horible. as far as screws suddenly falling out and all. I may post a file based on what I was thinking this evening or tomorrow about the quick release for the belts so one can store the LR2 if Ryan is ok with that. Its not really all that tough to do.

The parts are for a particular OD. The 3/4" EMT is 23.5mm OD and incompatible with the parts for 25.4mm or even 25mm parts.

thanks for catching that Jeff. I keep thinking that the EMT will work. Crud. I will be picking up more of the heavy stuff. The good news is that I will be running the machine slow. LOL. Nice catch jeff! ty Anyone got a good pattern to use with Blue and Red? on the MPCNC? Thanks guys. The feet are being printed as I write this on two different machines. I hope to have all the corner pieces printed by the morning. Wish me luck. :smiley:

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Add some White and your patriotic in the US and UK.:grinning:

I think so far the removable belt idea is going to be the best solution in my situation in terms of saving space.

My days of lifting and moving heavy things around I am told have gone having just had hernia surgery, and I need to start acting my age (60 in Feb). Hard concept to grasp having always been so active & independent. That is why breaking the Lowrider down into manageable pieces is so important that I can set up on my own when it is required.

We are about to start building a trailer/caravan similar to the teardrop design but more angular so need the extra space in the garage, and the first job for the Lowrider is going to be doors for the caravan.

If Ryans OK with it, Then really looking forward to seeing your ideas for quick release belt mechanism.

Ryan is fine with remixed parts, if the are licensed NC, or completely new parts. Just not copies of parts released CC0.

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@markal. Hey, I make stuff all the time for myself. I will look at the parts that I printed and see how I can alter but not alter to make the belts removable. Then I will pass them to Jeff to see that they are published the correct way. Even if he publishes them for me. Either way, Let me look at them tomorrow. The wife is sleeping and going to work soon. I am in the same boat as you. I can do stuff for a bit then I am chair bound soon after. No worries though.

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It is easy if you publish them on thingiverse.

To start, go to the version (tubing thickness) you used when designing it and choose “remix it” on the right. This helps you because people can easily find it from the LR, and they can find what version you mase it from, in case he comes out with an incompatible v3 or something.

Then in the form, choose the license on the left. “Creative Commons - Attribution - Non Commercial - Share alike”. That’s it.

In general, it is a good idea to match your license to anything you’re remixing. The little symbols are visible for what you’re remixing.

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Thank you, Jeff. I appreciate that. I have bookmarked it for future reference. @markal no need to do anything with the parts. A few solutions I can share with you that does not require you to reprint anything and get you the results you want. 1. You could mount the endstops to a small piece of aluminum and screw or make it so you can install a clip to the metal. Not my favorite solution. 2. You can do some epoxy magic. The part already has a hollow section. Smooth out that section put some relief like vaseline and then epoxy in the middle. It will form a perfect mating part when taken apart and simply install a single screw in the middle of the part. 3. In the R/C world, we put thin CA on softwood to create hard threaded surfaces. Well, I believe this is the solution I would use. I suggest just using the two holes in the part and instead of wood screws, I would use a machined like screw and tap the wood then use the CA method I described above or install metal threaded inserts in the table at the end locations. And when finished with your LR2, simply unscrew the end stops and put the machine away. I sure hope this helps. No need for a bunch of new printed parts. You already have what you need.