After using a CNC at School, I decided I wanted one of my own. In my research, I came across the V1 Engineering Lowrider 2. This CNC is designed to be a fairly cheap CNC, while still offering a large area for machining. This seemed to be the best machine for my use-case, as I planned on using it to cut R/C Airplanes out of sheets of housing insulation. I started by 3D Printing the parts and purchasing the necessary materials.
Box of Electronic Parts
I then began assembly. The first set I took was to assemble the Gantry.
Assembled Gantry
From there, I had my dad help build me a custom table for it.
Completed Assembly
I was then able to Install all the required software, and begin to use it. I started by machining foam, and moved onto wood. Ultimately I have not used the CNC as much as I would’ve liked due to the relative difficulty of programming a CNC vs a 3D Printer, and the lack of rigidity due to the belt system. Despite these shortcomings, I have completed several projects on this CNC, and have plans to add belt tensioners as seen here. If I am still not able to achieve the rigidity via belt tensioners alone, I will also shorten the belts, however this will result in a smaller machinable area.
Sample Project (Etching of a Dymaxion Map)