Are you referring to both the gantry plate and the side plates ?
I was thinking of Either going the 9-12mm plywood for trial or about a 6-8mm aluminium.
Still deciding though, not upto that stage, just yet 
Yes, either plates. But I’m mostly concerned about the 611 plate. I’ve just cut it out of mdf yesterday. I suppose the heat isn’t so much of a problem as splash back from the water pan will be. I’ll either paint it or seal it with shellac. Could always put a layer of foil tape over it too.
I have some aluminum plate around here somewhere, I think I’ll eventually switch over to that for the 611 plate when I figure out how to mill it with the mpcnc.
I am currently thinking along the lines of 3d printing an outline template to hand plasma cut around. Would probably need to be a 4 piece screwed together.
However i haven’t seen any templates for the side roller assembly plate, does anyone know if these are available?
The dxf files are on thingiverse.
Or, just cut it with the plasma.
The thought had occurred to me. Is still have to drill the holes anyway.
[quote="mikedub,post:23,topic:9213"] I am currently thinking along the lines of 3d printing an outline template to hand plasma cut around. Would probably need to be a 4 piece screwed together.
However i haven’t seen any templates for the side roller assembly plate, does anyone know if these are available?
[/quote]
As Barry mentioned the dxf files are on thingiverse. You’ll find them in the same folder as the 3d printed parts.
I made a PDF for the 25.4mm version for printing and cutting out by hand
Thanks, I ended up finding the files, splitting the sketch in fusion and printing it out (Just Y Plate so far).
This is the result, will use as a guide for cutting the mdf (or aluminium if I’m brave enough for first try).
If anyone wants the file to help them I’ve attached it to.
…
As a side note, I’ve also created a little ‘plasma cart’ to help improve the quality and straightness of my plasma cuts while I don’t have my CNC solution (picture attached), designed to slide along an adjacent / parallel straight bar.
And that’s what 3d printers were made for!
I’v thought about doing something similar, attaching a torch to a mpcnc roller part and some conduit for a linear guide for a torch. Someone posted yesterday that they did that for their circular saw (at least I think, I couldn’t see their pictures).
I’ll just highjack my thread for a slightly different question.
I’m in the midst of putting together a POC lowrider 2 and up to the wiring.
Has anyone used Dual endstops with the Lowrider 2?
Is there any clear benefit to this?
I have 5 steppers and endstops at my disposal, so it I could potentially do it, just wondering if there was any downsides.
On a side note, i think i may need a endstop for my Z homing (unless it is already smart enough to do this), was thinking of implementing this for the plasma -> https://planet-cnc.com/floating-z-axis/
Additionally I’ve decided to dual purpose the machine and allow room to use the standard router kit as well (standard design), so will probably just hang the plasma off the side of the 611 plate (yet to solution this).
Thanks!
The trick with the LR is the Z endstops. You want them on max, since the machine would crash into them on min. There isn’t a preconfigured version for it, and IIRC, you need to use Zmax for Z1 and Ymax for Z2.
IMO, it’s not needed because you can get within a mm of square with a tape measure and hard stops. 1mm over five feet is square enough in my book. I just always start the machine against the edge of the table (which I know is square) and I give each Z screw a little twist to make sure there’s no tension before I jog the machine to my starting position. Then a G92 sets the origin.
POC?
How are you going to configure the floating z action in the firmware? Or are you planning on handling touchoffs with a gcode sequence?
Bryan, who linked his plasma lowrider build thread earlier, used that same float mount with success but has redesigned. But he uses linuxcnc instead of a marlin controller.
That’s exactly what Bryan was doing, but he found that with the torch mounted on the edge of the 611 plate that it would torque the gantry. You can see it some of his video clips. His redesigned float mount puts the torch in the middle of the plate.
Proof of Concept, I’m building the LR2 without a table first to get everything right and operational to ensure my plans don’t need to change.
I’ve only decided to dual purpose as I’ve seen people doing it, but I’m not sure if its been 100% successful and maintainable or not. I’m yet to figure out how to manage the z control.
This is the purpose of my POC as well to nut this stuff out, I might end up having to create an adapter or redesign the middle mounting plate as Bryan did, however I have a different ‘hand’ torch so I will need to take this into account.
You’re building it backwards just like me! I finished the lr2 gantry a few weeks ago and now sorting out how I want to build the table. After buying homing switches and shielded wire for them I think I’m going to try go without any homing switches except for a float switch. I think I’ll try to set up a tunable “parking station” to rely on for zeroing/homing.
I’ll be interested to see what you come up with for your hand held torch mount.
Like kd said before, I had mine cantilevered off of the short end of the 611 plate and while it worked, it wasn’t optimal. It depends on how often you are using plasma vs router. I’m using mine as a plasma cutter 95% of the time, so that’s why I switched to designing a better mount in the center. It takes at least 10-15 minutes to take the water pan off so switching the torch mount off as well is no big deal.
If you go with an ohmic sensing setup, you may be able to get away with mounting it on the edge. The float switch causes quite a bit of deflection when the torch moves down.
So my build and I have been in hibernation for a bit, but i finally have time to push forward with my build.
I’m trying out a test run on some similar metal beams to what my table will be (just less square).
From a first glide test, the LR doesn’t seem very rigid, is this normal? Mine is 1.57m wide.
I currently have 3x40mm alu angle for the overhead cables, could one use steel to provide rigidness or would it weigh it down too much?
I haven’t had much luck with the XZ mains, keep breaking, first in abs and now in PLA. Attached is photo of PLA version crack. Printed at 1.2mm wall 45% infill, anyone had similar issue?
(Printing with tear drop facing up)
Just use less tension. They are not really doing anything other than holding against gravity pulling the Z rails out.
I understand the rigidity concerns but it is very different when powered on. Same with the MPCNC, can’t drag it around from one side. Cutting, even metal, only takes a few pounds of force at the very very MAX. The machine can easily do that. Powered of is like trying to sweep with your hand at the top of the broom handle only, powered on gets you two hands one at the top and one at the bottom. Or maybe, turn the router on and set it down on a piece of wood. It’s weight alone will cut into anything. Jeez, neither of those sound right, I guess, trust me it works.
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