The drivers have quite a bit of protection, so you probably won't ruin anything. You motors are jumping and that is just the motors engaging from getting power from the power supply.

There could be many reasons your motors don't turn. Consider these troubleshooting tips:

- If you are using our parallel breakout board, make sure that the step pins are set for active low (config -> Ports and Pins -> Motor Outputs -> the steps pins should be enabled and set active low)

- The parallel breakout board is powered (connect the USB to the computer using a USB cable)

- In Mach3, make sure you have jog enabled (a little green button at thelower middle of the page in the program run screen).

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My stepper motors stopped working all of a sudden. Mach 3 is running fine, just no signals getting to the motors. The lights on the motor drivers began blinking erratically when this started. Any advice where a problem like this can come from would be greatly appreciated.

The size of the stepper motor is measured in holding torque, generally oz/in. You will determine the torque loads of your axes when selecting steppers. Once you know which stepper you need, the drivers and controller board are simple to pair with them.

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I'm trying to build my CNC router 3m*1.3m, but i'm not sure what is the type of stepper motor i should pay, all my CNC body is Al. I need to bay 4 Stepper motors, 4 drivers, spindle, inverter, and i don't know what is the type of controller ?

The settings that will have to be change will be your steps per inch in motor tuning (mach 3), or settings/axes(planetCNC). But we do not have the actual numbers/specs that will fit your 10 TPI 5 start lead screw, here is a tutorial video which explains how to get the exact numbers you need! (

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On the Book Build: I'm changing the 13TPI 1/2" lead screw with the 1/2" 10 TPI Acme screw with the anti backlash nut. This is for the Z axis only. What should I know about installing it and what are the numbers I need to plug into the motor tuning area.

There is a drop menu next to JOG on the main page. Will be the arrow pointing down next to the the JOG box, disable the step option which is the very first option.

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my motor only steps in single increments when i click the jog button on the planet cnc software, it doesn't continue stepping as I am holding down the jog button, can anyone help me with this?

Yes, if you have an ordering or shipping issue, please call us during our normal business hours and we will personally look into the issue.

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Hi I have ordered the ARM Microcontroller Beginners Kit (STM32F0) on the 23rd of April but the shipping has still yet to arrive. I did not create an account at the time of purchasing and I am not in the address I provided anymore. May I know how should I go about this problem

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?

It generally does not matter if it is longer at the other end as long as the lead screw provides the desired travel for that axis. The lead screw will only need to be long enough for the travel, plus any structure and lead-nut positioning.

For example:
- The motor that will turn the lead screw will need to be mounted at some position (generally at one end of the axis). In many cases, this positioning will be mounted where some of the lead screw will not be used (the lead nut will not be able to moved close to the coupling of the lead screw to the motor shaft). Add some of the length of the lead screw to be inserted into the coupling.

- If the lead screw will contain bearings at either end of the travel, that portion of the mechanical assembly will need to be considered in the lead screw length.

- The lead-nut will need to be mounted in a position on a structural member of the part that is to move. The distance from the part of the structure that will extend closest to the motor will have some distance to the position of the lead nut. This distance will need to be added to the lead screw length.

Add these discrepancies to the length of the lead screw and the travel length and you will have the final length.

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How to determine lead screw length needed. My Thomson 1 1:4 rails are 60 inches long roughly for the router I’m building. I know I have to have it long enough to couple up with the stepper motor of course but does it matter if it’s a little long on the other end

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?

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?

If you purchase the greenLean, you will get everything you need except a router, computer to operate the machine, and software to control the machine. You state that you have a computer. You can use this computer, but you will need to determine if it has a parallel port, or if you are going to need the USB controller option. As for the software, there are too many different options for you to choose from. We would not be able to tell you which to get, and how much it will cost you. This is a matter of preference. I can tell you, however, that you will need 3 types of software to complete a CNC project. You will need CAD software to design your design, CAM software to add tool paths and convert the design to g-code, and then control software to take the g-code and operate the machine.

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I am a novice to CNC and I am building the "Book Build" CNC machine. I need to know whaqt software I will need to get me started routing simple signs and lettering and maybe some simple stuff

Make sure all your bolts/screws are tighten correctly and if using a lead screw make sure your anti-backlash nut is not offset. Now a default setting will be 10101100 for your driver dip switch settings and in motor tuning (mach3) 1600 steps per, 400.02 velocity, 4 in acceleration. now the acceleration and velocity can be adjusted to move your machine faster, but if set to high they could stall. Make sure you have the correct wiring from your motor to your driver (https://www.buildyourcnc.com/Documents/PN.SM60HT86-2008BF-U%20(inhouse%20PN.60BYGH303-13)%20(1).pdf).

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I have your Nema 24 electronics kit and am having problems with the Z axis dropping over time. I am using a PC 8902 motor. Any ideas on what the problem is? What should be the motor tuning values in Mach3? Thanks

See the question on our "Ask the Expert" question-and-answer list on cellular towers under nonionizing radiation for a discussion of RF safety issues associated with cellular radios. The technology underlying cellular radios and base station antennas is similar around the world, but there are differences in systems design and RF safety limits in different countries. For a summary of cellular radio RF safety issues with attention to international differences see the excellent Web page, Cellular Phone Antennas (Base Stations) and Human Health, by John E. Molder, Ph.D., from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Gary H. Zeman Sc.D., CHP

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I LIVE IN ITALY AND WISH TO KNOW MORE ABOUT RADIATIONS CAUSED FROM MOBILE TELEPHONES. TELECOM WOULD LIKE PLACE A WIRE-ANTENNA THE HEARTH OF MY TOWN, I'M AFRAID IT. WHICH KIND RISK HEALTH COULD IT CAUSE? THANK YOU IF WILL SEND ME SOME INFORMATION SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES THIS PROBLEM!

The motor is helped by the mechanical leverage of the screw. The 425 oz-in motors that are included in the standard electronics combo has very high torque for that type of machine. You will have no problem using that motor for the book machine.

We use that motor for very heavy spindles on the blackToe and blackFoot CNC Machine kits.

You will need to do the mechanical leverage calculation along with the torque of the motor to determine the actual weight it will lift. The calculation will need to consider the type and pitch of the screw and it would also consider the gravity constant of 9.8 m/s/s.

If you need me to determine this formula and work out the calculation based on the screw you are using, please let me know.

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thank you for the reply. I would be really good to know the calculation. The lead screw is 1/2" diameter with 13 TPI. Please provide the calculation. And one more question. If I am cutting 18mm MDF with 6mm cutting bit (so 6mm pass), what can be the maximum speed rate of cutting and spindle speed of router?
thank you

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I received the electronics for book build cnc machine. I need to know how much weight the z-axis motor can hold since my (craftsman) router seems to be heavy. It is 2HP with variable speed

I would try asking this in our fourms page: http://buildyourtools.com/phpBB3/

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I live in North Houston by Lake Conroe, Anyone around here have a 4x8 or larger machine that would not mind doing some simple cutting for me for a project?

Which controller card are you using?

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USB connection can not move the gantry, it is connected but noticed in device manager is missing drivers. PCI serial port... any help would be great also there is two mach3 profiles one showers numbers moving as like the gantry should be but is not.

That is correct. We send the fewer ribs than could be fastened within the gantry. One reduction of a rib will provide more space for the motor at the midpoint of the gantry and at the other side of the gantry (opposite the motor) can be reduced to provide more space to work with the coupling.

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I'm assembling the gantry for a 5x10 greenbull and noticed that there are 9 spaces for torsion spacers but only 7 in the kit. Should I just space them out on the right side behind the motor?

Did you connect the USB connector to the breakout board?

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YES I CONNECTED THE USB TO THE BREAKOUT BOARD

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I connected the electronics (for 2 x 4 feet) that I ordered from you. But how do I check if I connected all the wiring properly. There is neither any light on motor drivers nor on breakout board. And the motor shaft also does not move before and after the power supply is given.

If your motors turn very slowly using your Mach3 USB board, then either the pulse from the board is being output at a slow rate or the motor drivers are set to a higher than expected microstepping:

The Mach3 USB board outputs the pulse rather than the computer, but Mach3 controls this pulse frequency within the motor tuning section. First, determine if the travel distance is correct with the computer and the physical travel of the machine.

If the travel is different, then your stepper motor driver's microstepping is incorrect, or the steps per inch/mm in the motor tuning within Mach3 is incorrect.

If the travel is correct, then simply change the velocity and acceleration parameters to your desired level. If Mach3 will not achieve the velocity you desire, then decrease your stepper motor driver's microstepping setting, readjust the step per inch/mm in mach3 and readjust the acceleration and velocity to your desired levels.

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I have not used my CNC router (Mach3, USB interface board) for several months. When I tried to use it, all 3 stepper motors moved extremely slowly. Where should I start troubleshooting?

Sure, the USB interface has a place for 4 axes of limit switches.

Each axis can have two limit switches: one for the ++ (positive) end and one for the -- (negative) end. The positive end would be the limit switch at the end of the machine that, say the machine has a 4'x8' area, reaches a bit after the 8 foot mark. The negative end would be the limit switch behind the 0 foot location behind the origin. If the origin is in the middle, the negative would be at a little more than the -4 foot end and the positive would be at a bit more than the +4 foot end. Note that you can have more than one switch on each pin where the NC is connected in serial fashion and the NO is connected in parallel fashion (this can be seen on the diagram in the multiple limits switch section). The software configurations for the limits switches are under File -> Settings -> Limit.

A typical limit switch has three connections on it. These connections consist of COM (common), NC (normally closed) and NO (normally open). The COM would generally go to GND and the NC or the NO would go to the pin. If the NC is used, then the the switch is constantly connected until the switch is pushed (engaged) then the connection from the pin to gnd is broken (open). Use the settings in software to set whether in NC or NO configuration.

Let me know if this information was helpful (or not) by adding information to this question. Thanks.

User response:
Thank you very much for this helpful information. I'm still a little fuzzy on how the 6 limit switches physically connect to each other and to the USB breakout board. You've stated one switch (home) goes to positive and another switch (limit) goes to negative. Are all the GND prongs from all 6 switches connected to each other and going to GND on the breakout board, or no? And the NC prongs, how exactly are they connected to each other? And to the board? There has to be a diagram somewhere shows this visually, no? I don't know how to wire the switches in series or in parallel. I have already physically installed all the switches on the machine and ran the wires to where the board is. Now I just need to know where to plug these wires into the board. Also, taking into consideration that I'm using the Planet CNC software, the only settings I have pertaining to limit switches is "Enable/Disable" for each axis, and the actual limit for each axis. Nothing about NC or NO. Is that only in Mach3?
Thank you.

buildyourcnc response:
On the USB interface, the COM on the switch connects to GND and the NC or NO connects to the input pin (i.e. x++, y--, etc.)

Limit switch configuration is rather difficult to understand, especially with series and parallel. You can think of series as a single wire going from GND to the axis letter input terminal (i.e. X++ or X--). If the wire is broken, then the circuit is open (or the switch is engaged in a normally closed scenario). Normally closed is like an actual wire, and when engaged, the switch "opens" (breaks the wire). This is why we recommend in some systems that you can put many switches in series on a single pin. When one of the switches is engaged (breaking the connection) then the entire circuit of switches is broken and the machine stops.

In a parallel scenario, the state of the circuit is always broken until the one of the switches is engaged and the circuit is then closed or connected. The topology looks like a ladder. All the switches connect to both sides of the ladder and the switches are like the runs of the ladder (the horizontal bars that the feet are placed while climbing). Imagine all of the switches broken in this scenario (normally open). It would be like the ladder could be split in two, but if one of the ladder runs (switches) is closed by engaging it, then that run would connect both sides of the ladder and the two sides of the ladder would have a connection.

There is a diagram on the USB page of the various limit switch configurations. If you need more information (visual and/or otherwise), please let us know and we will immediately add that information to benefit everyone.

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I purchased limit switches from you mounted them on my machine and wire them to the breakout for using pin 12 and the ground on the breakout board, after a few minutes I got a message about a limit switch trip. Am I supposed to use the extra outport on the board instead of the ground?