We currently do not sell any plan's for any of our machines, only for our scratch and build kit.

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Would you sell a kit that has all of the hardware and electronics with CNC plans for the table and gantry? Some of have access to a CNC temporarily (TechShop) but want one of our own.

You will need PlanetCNC software for the USB breakout board and when plugging in the USB the computer should automatically recognize the board, however you can go into device manager to see if the USB terminal is working correctly.
The parallel breakout board; the USB is not a connection terminal rather than a power source, and the parallel port will be the communication terminal.
The items you will need for a water cooled spindle would be: water pump, silicon tubing(length desired by customer), a extension cord(from a hardware store(orange))(1 same gauge wire/length as extension cord).

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I am making my own CNC setup using all the electronics from your website and I have many questions. Please advise how to have my computer recognize the USB connection from my breakout board also I would like to use a water cooled spindle but I need to know the parts required for a 4x10 bed area used for woods and plastics

Yes, you can send your electronics to us for repair, or retrofit to work with either Mach3, Mach4 or LinuxCNC. You can send us an email at customerService@buildyourcnc.com to set up your appointment.

Some of the types of CNC electronics we will consider.

- We will work on electronics from other manufacturers as long as you are ok with the Mach3, Mach4 or LinuxCNC control software for your CNC machine or CNC router.

- We will repair or retrofit used CNC electronics.

- Some customers find that electronics are overwhelming to put together so we will finish these electronics wiring and assembly for you.

The cost for these includes labor cost for the time it takes to finish the CNC electronics repair or retrofit and for any parts that need to be replaced or added.

Here is an example of CNC electronics that we worked on for a customer:

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I would like to use Mach3 instead of the software for my CNC router. Can you fix the electronics for me?

You can find the datasheets to our motors be going to the the stepping motor category page https://www.buildyourcnc.com/category/nema and selecting the motor. This will bring you to the product page for the motor and all of the motor information will be found there.

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I would like to design my own CNC router around one of your electronics bundles, either the 3 Axis - Heavy Gantry or 3 Axis - All Large Motors. Do you have the data sheets for the motors so that I can use the dimensions in my model?

The files and hardware option for our machines has been removed from the site due to the following reasons:
Difficulty for the end use of the files and the challenges (and time/money) on our side to assist in using these files.
The abuse of these files over the internet.
Ultimately may reduce the sales of machines keeping us in business.
Sadly, this is what has come out of our company attempting to be open; however, the machines sold on this site is still far lower in price than the competition for the quality that we provide as we have a great desire to engender the cottage industry to fulfill their need for low end manufacturing. My sincere apologies if this causes any inconvenience.

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NO, is not possible, I can help with the shipping cost

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Is it possible to buy just the electronics and hardware for the bigfoot along with the plans for the timber components so that I could have them cut here in the UK and reduce the amount of material that needs to be shipped?

There are three options on the blackFoot product page.

Two options include either electronics that use the USB interface, or parallel interface. Both of these options include stepping motors (two 425 oz-in and one 651 oz-in), motor drivers (two 3.0 amp and one 6.0 amp), power supply and either a parallel breakout board, or USB breakout board. The USB interface must be used with the planet-cnc software. The parallel interface can be used in a wider variety of control software but will require a parallel port on your computer. If a parallel port doesn't exist, you can purchase a PCI parallel port adapter (for desktop computers only).

The other option does not include electronics. This option is if you already have electronics, motors and drivers that will work with this machine, or you wish to purchase the redLeaf or redSprout assembled and plug and play CNC electronics and computer system.

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What electronics configuration is included with the blackfoot if I choose that option?

The parallel (printer cable) port is uses the computer as its main source of pulse trains to operate the motor driver directly. Parallel ports are a direct connection from the processor commonly referred to as GPIO pins (General Purpose I/O pins) and provides a convenient and powerful way to interface with the computer. The parallel breakout board is included in those kits only to condition those signals for use with the drivers.

The USB serves at the actual controller, sending the pulse trains, but the computer sends simple human readable instructions to the USB controller to tell the controller how to send pulses.

The non-technical differences that may serve as the most important information to you is that the parallel configurations allow for a wider variety of industry standard software that can be used to control the cnc machine. The USB that we offer requires the operator to use a software called Planet-CNC software which is a very well made and feature full cnc control software.

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USB Motion controller breakout board work with planet cnc software?

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what is the difference between parallel and USB electronics. I have a laptop that will run the mach3 program.

The files and hardware option for our machines has been removed from the site due to the following reasons:
Difficulty for the end use of the files and the challenges (and time/money) on our side to assist in using these files.
The abuse of these files over the internet.
Ultimately may reduce the sales of machines keeping us in business.
Sadly, this is what has come out of our company attempting to be open; however, the machines sold on this site is still far lower in price than the competition for the quality that we provide as we have a great desire to engender the cottage industry to fulfill their need for low end manufacturing. My sincere apologies if this causes any inconvenience.

Additional Information:
NO, is not possible, I can help with the shipping cost

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IT POSSIBLE TO BUY THE CAD FILES FOR BLACK FOOT MACHINE, MECHANICAL PARTS AND ELECTRONICS BUT NOT WOODEN PARTS, SAVE SHIPPING COSTS? IN THAT CASE I WOULD INSTRUCT SOMEONE MILL ME.

Yes, our porter cable collets and nuts will fit the porter cable 7518.

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HAVE PORTER CABLE 7518 ROUTER ON MY CNC AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOUR ER20 COLLET NUT, FOR THE CABLE, WILL FIT ROUTER.

Our electronics contains a switchable power supply that allows you to switch the input mains voltage between 115 volts (110/120) and 230 volts (220/240). the hertx range is not specified, but there are capacitors to smooth out standard frequencies to enable DC output.

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hi, what about, if I buy from you some elecronic parts like (3 Axis Electronics Combo) and I use them here in france , where the electric voltage is 220V 50Hertz ? thats gonna works? thanks

if you purchased the USB interface, you will need planet-cnc software rather than Mach3, and you will need a usb cable to connect the usb interface to the computer.

The blackToe 2x4 CNC Machine Kit with optional table will need wire to connect the electronics. Don't forget to get some end mills to use for cutting the intended material.


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If I purchase the [blackToe 2x4 v4.1 CNC Machine Kit - USB Electronics - Table Included] all I would need for this CNC to be fully operational is a laptop with mach 3 software and a router. Is this correct?

Dealing with our USB BoB, the potentiometer that will be used in the key jog, is a 5V, 5k - 10k Ohm potentiometer.

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I am building a cnc mill using your USB controller and i would like to know what is the specification of potentiometer used for adjusting manual axis jog speed

The plans/hardware/electronics/mechanical includes everything but the wood structural components that can be cut by the customer. This plans/hardware option includes all of the electronics, like motors, drivers, controller, and all of the cables and wires to connect all of the electronics together. The mechanical components include shafts, couplings, linear rails, bearing blocks, sprockets, lead screws, etc. The hardware consists of all of the screws nuts, insert nuts, cross dowels, etc, to assemble all of the structural, mechanical, and electronics together.

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what does the plans, hardware, electronics and mechanical option consists of for a CNC router?

Sure, email me at customerservice@buildyourcnc.com and I will send you a replacement for a minimal fee. I now use HDPE for that part. The HDPE holds up much better.

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I have a Blackfoot 4x4 v2 chain drive. my Y plate is broken . do you sell just the Y plate or can I buy just the Y plate spec plan? I love this machine Its great. my name is Jeff Krug I bought the complete package and electronics from you guys. thanks

Considering enlarging the machine, might have its down sides do to the structural integrity of the scratch build machine. Primarily by making the width longer it will start to sag in the center, which will lead to having to redesign the gantry to be more structurally rigid to support the added length. Which then will increase the weight and height of your gantry to support the add size, which will always end up to creating a larger CNC.

We usually do not recommend modifying the scratch build CNC, due to the very limited capabilities, and the structural design of the scratch build. We also do not recommend using longer than 48" ACME screw/leadscrew due to the increasing chance of warping and bending in the ACME screws/leadscrew in the given length.
We do recommend modifying the CNC machines we sell to accommodate the added requests that some of our customers desire, but you will be limited to the width of the gantry with our machines.

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I've read your book and I'm looking to purchase the hardware kit with DVD as well as an electronics kit. I would like my machine to have a working area of at least 24" wide by 48" long. Can I just make the bed (and gantry) wider to accommodate larger priceslike 30"x60"? If so what electronics kit would you recommend?

Attaching two motors in parallel is possible, but you will need another motor and driver for the opposite side. Each motor must have its own driver to work accordingly and fluently. The two can be wired together, to the same pins on your breakout board and set the dip switches on the driver to match the ones on your x-axis(ex). But remember to view the orientation of the motor and which way it spins, since it is on the opposite side it will have to be orientated correctly to move in sync with the other motor.

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I just finished building my first CNC with the electronics I purchased from you and I am already thinking about improving it. I would like to build a 2 motor X axis solution. Is it possible to attach 2 parallel motors and drivers to the BlueBrew Breakout Board? If so, how?

Please contact sales@buildyourcnc.com for a custom quote.

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I want to build a 4 x 4 plasma table. I am not good with the electronic parts of the system. What would you recommend as a turn key electronics package? I also want to build it with chain drive

We are developing plans for our machine, but they are not completed yet. Please let me know if you would like to be added to our list of customers wanting plans. Thanks,

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If you have specific questions regarding CAD, CAM and Control, please add another question to the customer service and I will answer them in detail.

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How do I get started I would like to build a cnc router. Making the machine I can do, but I am weak on cad,cam and mach3. I am thinking about a 4’x4’. Do you have plans I can buy?

Dealing with the machine not cutting the design you may have correctly, could be a variety of things.
Most common, is the machine is not properly calibrated or tighten correctly (in specific areas).
To calibrate the machine, go to the settings(alt-6) page, and click the set steps per unit(right above the reset button). You will receive a tab which asks to select the a axis, once selected it will ask how much you plan on moving. Here you will enter a value of inches/mm's. The machine will move what it thinks is the correct length and might be dead on or might be off, we recommend doing this about 2-3 times per axis, and in long distances. (ex: for the BF you may do 2-4Ft on y-axis and 5-8Ft on the x-axis)

Make sure the v-groove bearings are tight, on the y-axis plate and z-axis, as well as the v-groove bearings on the gantry legs. (test: try moving them with your finger, if tighten correctly they will not move)
Also having the chain too loose will not move the machine enough to create your design, the chain should have about a 1" - 1"-1/2" of slack in the middle of the table when the gantry is in either of the far ends of the table. (larger machines will have a bit more slack).

Trying to run the machine faster then the bit can cut, or running with a old endmill/router bit.
This is a rare occurrence but is seen, having the correct endmill, feedrate, and RPM will have a great impact on your cut. They all work together in one complete conjunction, if one is off they will all be working incorrectly.
Each endmill will have its manufactured specifications.

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Why is my 4x8 blackfoot not cutting shapes correctly. I have ran the moter test in Mach 3 and still cuts terrible