Swapping X and Y Axis on a lowrider

Software / Firmware General
#1

Just finished wiring up my 8x4 lowrider and realized that as designed it wants to run in portrait 4x8 orientation vs landscape by default.

Is there a quick fix in firmware to turn the table so that 0,0 falls in the bottom left corner if facing the long direction of the table. X is left and right. Y is forwards and back?

| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |Y Axis
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
|0,0- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
X Axis

Thanks!

ESTL Cam Change X and Y axis
Change Linear Pocketing Direction in Estlcam?
#2

Yes. Fairly easy. In configuration_adv.h:

Uncomment #define X_DUAL_STEPPER_DRIVERS and comment out //#define Y_DUAL_STEPPER_DRIVERS.

Connect as such.

Good luck

#3

Easy enoughā€¦ thx!

#4

In the dual lr firmware version, also check the X2 endstop and the Z2 endstop. The Z2, at least, should be changed to ymax

#5

My LR is also long x and short y. With TMC2208 drivers.

In configuration.h should this also be changed?

#define X_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2208

#define Y_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2208

#define Z_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2208

//#define X2_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2209

//#define Y2_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2209

//#define Z2_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2209

//#define Z3_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2209

//#define Z4_DRIVER_TYPE A4988

#define E0_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2208

#define E1_DRIVER_TYPE TMC2208

#6

I have become interested in doing this. I keep mentally ā€œdefaultingā€ to this orientation and have to keep reorienting myself the other way. :slight_smile:

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#7

second this

i laid my shop out with the idea of having it in ā€˜landscapeā€™ and would also like to know how to change it.

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#8

Another benefit of switching is that my laptop screen where I layout my cuts, is ā€œlandscapeā€ in its aspect ratio, so to have X be the wide, long axis on the LowRider, means I can design with wide content going in the wide direction of my laptop screen, which reduces scrolling and generally makes my life easier. :slight_smile:

#9

The LR is kind of ā€œlike thatā€ because we like to put the control LCD on the side of the gantryā€¦

I still find it MUCH easier to adjust my mental picture of the machine to match the layout.

There are 2 components. One is to adjust the X and Y axes moving the drives so that the machine calls them differently. This is a firmware adjustment, and is not trivial, but also not terrible. Change the dual Y drive to a dual X drive isnā€™t too badā€¦ Then the real problems beginā€¦

The LR3 is designed to home at min X and min Y. If you swap axes, this will either become max X or max Y. You cannot simply leave the homing coordinates the same If you do, when you cut, you will end up with mirror imaged pieces. This is going to mean that after homing, you are going to want to make the machine do a long jog across the table to get to a reasonable home position to start your cut. It was pretty much at this point that I decided that it would be easier to just keep my mental image of the machine correct rather than try to adjust the machine.

I suppose that you could mirror image print the core, dust collection, XZ plates, and X belt tensioner, probably also the rail riders and bearing wheel pieces to change the X homing direction of the machine, then mount it facing the other way. This would allow you to home at the new X min and Y min. (You should not need to mirror print the Makita tool mounts, but I donā€™t know about other spindles if theyā€™re not symmetrical.)

I suppose that you could also probably just re-engineer the endstop switches to be at the back of the machine, instead of the front as they are, but that seems like a shame when thereā€™s a very nice solution already there.

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#10

I understand wanting it different. It is a fork in the road. There are a few changes that need to happen. Enough that I havenā€™t ever thought it was worth it to support both. The first LR made that XY convention, and we have stuck with it. Iā€™m sure there will be people who would want it the other way if we had made the opposite decision (but we could argue how many would be in each camp).

If you wanted to do it:

  • You do need to change the firmware to use dual X instead of Dual Y. It is mostly easy, if you can already build the firmware.
  • If you want dual endstops (and if, not then it doesnā€™t matter). You also need to rotate the gantry by 180 and make the X have an endstop on the other end.

Not super simple. But also not roclet surgery.

I donā€™t see a good enough argument to flip them as the default.

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#11

Switching where the machine homes to is not only something Iā€™m aware of and would plan to do, itā€™s one of the most welcome parts of the change. Currently (and for the whole time Iā€™ve had a LowRider), due to how my room is laid out, my control box is on the opposite side of where the machine homes. See table on left in illustration below. This means every time I home XY and get ready to find the Z height for the work piece, I have to manually jog a long way to keep from the router being out of reach while I am at my LCD. The table on the right shows how it would home after the switch, to the same side where my LCD is located.

Screen Shot 2022-06-17 at 6.02.34 PM
Screen Shot 2022-06-17 at 6.02.34 PM1920Ɨ1301 130 KB

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#12

Thanks. I will indeed study on what is needed before I make any change. (I am usually prone to do that anyhow.)

#13

Reversing the gantry homing will result in the gantry front facing the other way from those inages, but will allow the reversed directions.

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#14

@SupraGuy

Yes, and I just threw that illustration together super quick.

#15

You can easily make a macro to home the machine and then move to the other end of the table. The hiking position seems like it should be more important to the mechanics and the firmware than the user.

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#16

I would not dream of suggesting a new default, and I certainly understand that having picked one option as the default simplifies design, testing, and support. Iā€™m just up against a particular room configuration and would prefer (and it really is just preference) to have it switched. I just need to think about whether my preference is worth the ramifications of redoing the setup. :slight_smile:

#17

My current thinking is to swap the XZ plates, print mirror reverse versions of the stubs and X endstop, and a new X endstop switch mount, designed to go on same side of core as the stepper motor, so that the gantry does not have to be turned 180, which keeps the Y end stops as they are, and keeps easy access to the router from the end of my table. *note: the above axis names are as is, before swapping X and Y.

#18

A mirror imaged core is pretty much a necessity to reverse the X homing direction. you should not need to swap the XZ plates, but print the mirrored stubs and tensioner.

#19

True. I had forgotten they are interchangeable/ bidirectional

My way of getting around that is why I wrote:

#20

You could also just skip the X endstop. It does not do anything but move the head out of the way. It isnā€™t auto squaring.

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