So, I started printing out all the parts for the LowRider CNC. The build will be a 30" x 50" , and I will be using 4130 tubing to help z axis sag with a pretty heavy 1.5KW water cooled spindle. The steppers that I bought are 92oz-in nema 17’s (http://www.ebay.com/itm/162272525838), and I will be using 2 of them on the center assembly. I also ordered 3 tb6600 stepper drivers, rated at 4A to drive the pairs of steppers through an Arduino uno using grbl. I will be using aluminum for the plates, and I am printing everything out with a 100% infill in hopes that the plastic is stiff/strong enough for the weight of the spindle. This is also the reason for keeping the table as small as I can, based on the projected use of it. For the table, I have some 3" aluminum c channel laying around, begging for use in this project.
Here is the advice/question that I have: Does anyone have dimensional drawings of the plates? I lack access to a cnc plasma cutter for the aluminum plates, but own a milling machine, and can lay out the cuts. I have tried several online .dfx to .pdf programs (thinking that I will just use a printout as a template), but they all seem to randomly scale the plates. This is a bit of a long-term project, as I am having a pole barn built at the moment, so progress will be slow at the beginning. Thank you in advance.
Try out the free solidworks viewer and let me know if it works for you. I used to use it with clients that didn’t have solidworks. I know you can make measurements and such.
If that doesn;t work I can look into a different kind of export out of solidworks but I am kinda swamped. So if the viewer works it would save me some time. If not I will give it a shot.
Thanks, I will give it a try when I get home in the morning.
That’s going to be a pretty beefy build. I’m excited to see it.
You might also try libreCAD.