Stepper motors are designed to move in specific increments; these increments are called "steps". For example, a common standard is for 200 steps per full revolution. Microstepping is a method to send signals to the motor to move only a fraction of a full step at a time. For example, if a motor has 200 steps per revolution and is microstepped 1/16, then effectively there are 3200 small step movements (microsteps) per revolution instead of 200 larger ones. This makes the motion of the motor much smoother and more precisely controllable, at the cost of decreased holding torque.

Here are is a good references for stepper motor theory: http://users.ece.utexas.edu/~valvano/Datasheets/StepperMicrostep.pdf

And Wikipedia has a good overview as well:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepper_motor

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I am looking at 2 of your motor drivers. 1 is the 1/64 step and the other is 1/256. What is the difference between the two?

Stepper motors are designed to move in specific increments; these increments are called "steps". For example, a common standard is for 200 steps per full revolution. Microstepping is a method to send signals to the motor to move only a fraction of a full step at a time. For example, if a motor has 200 steps per revolution and is microstepped 1/16, then effectively there are 3200 small step movements (microsteps) per revolution instead of 200 larger ones. This makes the motion of the motor much smoother and more precisely controllable, at the cost of decreased holding torque.

Here are is a good references for stepper motor theory: http://users.ece.utexas.edu/~valvano/Datasheets/StepperMicrostep.pdf

And Wikipedia has a good overview as well:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepper_motor

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I am looking at 2 of your drivers. 1 is the 1/64 step and the other is 1/256. What is the difference between the two?

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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Is there a manual or some documentation of how a binary value in the printer port translates to position on each motor?

Yes, we can customize almost any size of a machine. 2'x16' is within the possible dimensions. For a customized machine that you do not see in the "Design Your CNC" section, you will need to contact customerservice@buildyourcnc.com and make the request there.

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I am interested in the "Design Your CNC" page. However I need an extra long table. Is there any possibility of designing a custom 2' x 16' CNC, or can two 2' x 8' tables be combined some how?

There has been a cell phone base installed in the fire tower. The panels are vertical and located about 75 feet at the top of the tower. Unlike some towers I have seen there are no round disks and no beaming lights. At night, the tower and cell phone material are dark. Does this make any difference in any related health issues with RF exposure and is it possible the tower is a receive-only transmitter ?

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THERE HAS BEEN A CELL PHONE BASE INSTALLED IN THE FIRE TOWER. PANELS ARE VERTICAL AND LOCATED ABOUT 75 FEET AT TOP OF UNLIKE SOME TOWERS I HAVE SEEN NO ROUND DISKS BEAMING LIGHTS. NIGHT, TOWER MATERIAL DARK. DOES THIS MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE RELATED HEALTH ISSUES WITH RF EXPOSURE IT POSSIBLE RECEIVE-ONLY TRANSMITTER ?

The KL-4030 is a Keling 3.0 amp stepper motor driver. These are generally pretty robust drivers. You mentioned in the question that it worked for one hour. This sounds like it could be a contact issue with the wiring in the terminals. I would recommend that you check all of the connections. The terminals that are used in these drivers have terminals that are easily used incorrectly.

Make sure to open the terminal all the way using a small screw driver. Then insert the exposed wire into the opening and re-tighten the terminal. Make sure of a good connection by tugging on the wires.

Also, check kthe digital wires that connect from the driver to the control board.

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I have a KL-4030 stepper motor driver that I only have about an hour use on it but seems to be bad already. Has anyone out there had the same problem?

I will address the two separately (precision and accuracy):

Precision (repeatability):
This is most closely related to the resolution. The blackTooth uses the same mechanical drive (timing belts and pulley) of the same ratios and specifications, so the two machines will be the same in this respect.

Accuracy:

The output of the machine (the final physical work) matching the input given to the machine (the design data or instructions for the machine to product the physical work. This has to do with both resolution and how well the machine will hold up over time and through environmental changes.

With that said, both machines have very similar attributes in mechanics and structure. The overall structure is made of MDO (Medium Density Overlay) and has a very low coefficient of linear expansion with regards to temperature change, so accuracy will not be affected in any appreciable manner over time with the two machines. The Vertical Laser XL does use more industry standard rails to hold the heavy gantry, but this will be differ appreciably since the blackTooth will exhibit rigidity by virtue of its size.

It really is best to consider the application and size as the main aspects of deciding between these two machines.

Hope this helps.


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We're looking at getting the vertical so we can run both large and small jobs on the same machine. It sounds like running a small job on the vertical (using a positioning jig) would provide results at least as
good as running the same job on the blacktooth. Does this sound about right?

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Is there any precision or accuracy difference between the vertical and blacktooth lasers?

Adding a laser tube and supporting electronics and mirrors to larger milling machines is problematic unless a proper mount is provided, as in the greenBull CNC (https://buildyourcnc.com/item/cnc-machine-laser-spindle-combo-head).

The existing larger machines (other than the greenBull CNC machine) are designed to be used as milling machines and the laser will not be able to be easily mounted on these machines. Modifications can be done to accomplish this task, but there is quite a bit of effort needed.

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If a person wanted a larger laser machine than what is offered would they simply mount a laser on one of the larger machines, or is there a problem with doing this?

The Y-Axis on the vertical laser XL use the stepper motor on this link:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-nema24-425ozin

Here is the wiring diagram for this stepper motor:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/Documents/PN.SM60HT86-2008BF-U%20(inhouse%20PN.60BYGH303-13)%20(1).pdf

Use the bipolar parallel option for wiring:
Red/Blue - A+
Yellow/Black - A-
White/Brown - B+
Orange/Green - B-


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As in, wire all 8 in pairs? Also, what would you suggest for lubrication on the rails?

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Yes, the color/color would be two separate wires going to a single terminal on the driver.

The lubrication question would be great as a new question on the CSL.

Also, the above link to the pdf isn't parsing correctly. The link to the pdf datasheet is in the description in the first link (link to the stepper motor).

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Same on the vlxl. Is the y stepper wired as in the diagram or is there a different diagram?

Our electronics and plug and play systems can be used with any industry standard software, including but definitely not limited to the Vectric line of software.

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I am getting ready (within a week) to purchase your lug in play controller kits... The software I want to use is Vectric. I notice you talk about Mach software and sketch up. Be fore I purchase I want to make sure I can use what ever software I want... Thank you for your time. Pam

The plans supplied with the DVD combo has the measurements and is built to spec. according to the manual. There may be dimensions missing from both of the download version and the physical plans that can be purchased; however, these measurements can be derived from other measurements on the page.

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The plans supplied for Combo #1 for download on the book page is missing some of the measurements. Is this PDF the same plans supplied when you purchase the dvd and plans? Is there a corrected plans file?

Yes, we can provide a pre-wired electronics listed on this page:

https://www.buildyourcnc.com/AssembledElectronics.aspx

If you require these without the motors, please give us a call so your motors can be wired correctly and you can purchase the system without the motors.

Currently, the office is closed due to flooding in the area, but we plan to re-open very shortly.

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Hi there. I am looking upgrading the electronics on my 8x4 machine. Do you do your pre wired kits without the motors?

The CNC router build from book "Build Your Own CNC Machine" uses the basic electronics combo kit that includes three 425 oz-in motors is the kit designed for that machine. Here is a link to that electronics package: https://www.buildyourcnc.com/Item/electronicsAndMotors-3axis-425-elcombo

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I AM BUILDING THE CNC DEMONSTRATED IN YOUR PUBLISHED BOOK 'BUILD OWN MACHINE', 2009. YOU SELL 3 AXIS ELECTRONIS COMBO, PARALLEL, FOR $390. IS THIS PACKAGE FROM BOOK. OR ARE THERE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS. THANK YOU, HARY HOLSTEIN

At this time we are in the process of developing a UK distributor. Stay tuned for details.

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Hi! I am interested in the blacktooth Kit. I live in UK. Is there any possibility of decrease the price of the shipment or do you know maybe an UK based kit provider? Thanks.

All of our machines exhibis radial loads on all of our bearings with the exception of the bearings on the z-axis lead screw that holds the lead screw in place. These lead screw bearings are held between a coupling and a collar and the load on these bearings are well within their specifications.

The v-groove bearings that are used for movement along rails have load centered between the double races of the bearings (from where the point load from the rails exist within the center of the "W" profile of the bearing). There may be slight axial load on bearings on the z-axis positioned on the rails for z-axis up and down movement and y-axis side to side movement where torsion load exists from load on the end mill during the milling process; however, this is a very small fraction of total load on these bearings are are well within specification.

Can you let us know where you see side (axial) load on our bearings, so we can better describe the conditions? Thanks.

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I've been interested in your machines, but the designs seem to side load most of the v-bearings, which raise questions about bearing life, and reliability. Isn't there a better choice of bearing configurations?

The frame size difference of the NEMA 23 and 24 is very slight and, depending on the motor mount both will most likely fit. The bigger difference between these stepping motors is the torque. Make sure that the motor that you purchase has the appropriate torque for the axis that it will move.

Is is safe to go with the higher torque? Or if the torque is too high for what i need is that bad?

You can use a motor with higher torque. Just make sure to select the correct driver for that motor.

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The frame size has nothing to do with torque. Nema 23 means a 2.3" frame. Nema 24 means a 2.4" frame. That's all. Either could have more or less torque depending on speed and power.

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What is the difference between a NEMA 23 and NEMA 24 motor? can I use either one on a machine?

The frame size difference of the NEMA 23 and 24 is very slight and, depending on the motor mount both will most likely fit. The bigger difference between these stepping motors is the torque. Make sure that the motor that you purchase has the appropriate torque for the axis that it will move.

Is is safe to go with the higher torque? Or if the torque is too high for what i need is that bad?

You can use a motor with higher torque. Just make sure to select the correct driver for that motor.

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The frame size has nothing to do with torque. Nema 23 means a 2.3" frame. Nema 24 means a 2.4" frame. That's all. Either could have more or less torque depending on speed and power.

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What is the difference between a NEMA 23 and NEMA 24 motor? can I use either one on a machine?

BYCNC Response:
The book build was intended to be 20 inches x 40 inches. Larger machines were designed after the book build was introduced so customers would have the option to go bigger than what the book offered. Check out our larger machines on the website as the machines sizes range from 1 foot x 3 feet all the way up to 6 feet x 12+ feet.

User Response:
I'm not wanting to spend $3,000+ on a machine, I want to build one that will do a 4x8 sheet of wood. Will the plans in the book scale up?

BYCNC Response:
It is possible to scale the book build up, but the rigidity of the gantry would be questionable at that span, even if the height of the gantry structure were to be increased. The gantry design would need to be modified to become a box shape rather than a flat configuration. The kits on the site were design for those wanting a larger machine.

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I BOUGHT YOUR BOOK AND WAS HOPEING IT HAD PLANS OR DIMENTIONS ON HOW TO BUILD A CNC HOLD 4X8 SHEET OF PLY. WILL THE IN SCALE UP?

Most motherboard do contain parallel ports, but the port connector may not be at the back (in the section where external connectors will be connected). Instead, the motherboard may contain an LPT ribbon connector on the actual face of the motherboard (usually along one of the edges). You will need a ribbon connector to a DB25 female connector.

If your motherboard does not contain an LPT header on the motherboard, you can purchase a parallel printer adapter that plugs into one of the PCI slots. The price of the adapter is very inexpensive and sometimes is actually less costly than the actual ribbon connector.

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As I am building my 20" x 24" laser engraver cutter, I notice that there is no parallel port on the onboard computer and I have the parallel breakout board any answers?