The Black foot requires 38 feet of 1/4 Inside Diameter and 3/8 Outside Diameter silicon tube for the spindle.

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BLACKFOOT SILICON TUBE FOR SPINDLE

The greenlean requires 56 feet of 1/4 Inside Diameter and 3/8 Outside Diameter silicon tube for the spindle.

Additional Information:
20

Additional Information:
20

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GREENLEAN SILICON TUBE FOR SPINDLE

The blackfoot requires a total of 50 feet of cable.

The X axis needs 15 feet
The Y axis needs 17 feet
and the Z-axis needs 18 feet

These are 20 gauge 4 conductor cable.

Additional Information:

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MOTOR CABLE FOR BLACKFOOT

To convert our CNC machine into a 3D printer, an extruder would need to be attached to the z-axis. The extruder could be added next to the spindle, or the spindle can be removed and the extruder replace the spindle.

The former would be an interesting combination where you would be able to extrude plastic and then run the spindle afterwards to do some finishing passes; however, the weight of the spindle would reduce the performance. Without the spindle, the z-axis will move with reduced inertia.

The electronics would be mostly the same with the addition of an extruder controller and a main controller board to control the existing drivers.

You can find all of the 3D printer parts here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/3DPrinterComponents.aspx

If you need help with fashioning a mount for the FDM extruder, please let us know.



User response:
Yes what type of mount would I need for the FDM extruder ? Thanks Gary

User response:
Could you be a little more specific on what type of main board I'll need to purchase the board I'm using now for my router is a serial port interface purchased from you. Thanks Gary

BYCNC response:

The 3d printing board we sell works with an Arduino Mega 2560. We sell the Arduino here:

https://buildyourcnc.com/Item/3D-Printer-Component-electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-arduino-mega-2560-FDMElectronics

and the board here:

https://buildyourcnc.com/Item/3D-Printer-Component-electronicsAndMotors-3d-printer-mainboard-FDMElectronics-3dprintermainboard

We sell the extruder itself here:

https://buildyourcnc.com/item/3D-Printer-Component-extruder

You can manufacture the mount yourself using the BlackFoot, or you can contact us directly with your requirements and we would be happy to prepare a custom quote.

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CONVERT BLACKFOOT 3D PRINTER

The blackfoot requires a total of 50 feet of cable.

The X axis needs 15 feet
The Y axis needs 17 feet
and the Z-axis needs 18 feet

These are 20 gauge 4 conductor cable.

Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
CABLE LENGTHS FOR THE BLACKFOOT

You can expect a one week lead time for our machines.

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WHAT IS THE LEAD TIME FOR BLACKFOOT

The blackfoot requires a total of 50 feet of cable.

The X axis needs 15 feet
The Y axis needs 17 feet
and the Z-axis needs 18 feet

These are 20 gauge 4 conductor cable.

Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
MOTOR 4 CONDUCTOR CABLES FOR BLACKFOOT

The motor cables for the blackToe are as follows:

Total 30 feet

X - 9
Y - 10
Z - 11

Additional Information:



Additional Information:



Additional Information:



Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
HOW MUCH MOTOR CABLE FOR THE BLACKFOOT?

The blackfoot requires a total of 50 feet of cable.

The X axis needs 15 feet
The Y axis needs 17 feet
and the Z-axis needs 18 feet

These are 20 gauge 4 conductor cable.

Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
HOW MUCH MOTOR CABLE DO I NEED FOR A BLACKFOOT

The greenBull can range is routing width sizes of 5 feet and 6 feet. The blackFoot has a 4 foot routing width.

Previous Solution:
The greenBull machine has a sturdier gantry than the blackFoot, so you can be more agressive with the cutting feedrate (cutting speed). The blackFoot is also a good machine, but it all comes down to the speed at which you want to produce the fabrication

The spindle is also highly recommended for it's quietness and easier cleanup (no fan blowing the dust in the air)

Additional Information:



Additional Information:

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WHICH MACHINE SHOULD I BUY, GREENBULL OR BLACKFOOT?

The greenBull can range is routing width sizes of 5 feet and 6 feet. The blackFoot has a 4 foot routing width.

Previous Solution:
The greenBull machine has a sturdier gantry than the blackFoot, so you can be more agressive with the cutting feedrate (cutting speed). The blackFoot is also a good machine, but it all comes down to the speed at which you want to produce the fabrication

The spindle is also highly recommended for it's quietness and easier cleanup (no fan blowing the dust in the air)

Additional Information:



Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WHICH MACHINE SHOULD I BUY, THE GREENBULL OR BLACKFOOT?

The greenBull can range is routing width sizes of 5 feet and 6 feet. The blackFoot has a 4 foot routing width.

Previous Solution:
The greenBull machine has a sturdier gantry than the blackFoot, so you can be more agressive with the cutting feedrate (cutting speed). The blackFoot is also a good machine, but it all comes down to the speed at which you want to produce the fabrication

The spindle is also highly recommended for it's quietness and easier cleanup (no fan blowing the dust in the air)

Additional Information:



Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
SHOULD I SELECT THE GREENBULL OR BLACKFOOT CNC MACHINE?

The blackfoot requires a total of 50 feet of cable.

The X axis needs 15 feet
The Y axis needs 17 feet
and the Z-axis needs 18 feet

These are 20 gauge 4 conductor cable.

Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WHAT CABLE LENGTHS SHOULD USE FOR THE BLACKFOOT CNC MACHINE

The greenBull 6X, uses a total of 52 Ft, of silicon tubing 1/4" ID - 3/8" OD. One way uses 26 Ft.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
GREENBULL 6X SILICON TUBING

This video will illustrate how to test for laser power:

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LOSE POWER IN MY LASER TUBE

Cooling is not as tricky as you might think. There is 3 ways to approach this, only 2 really matter for a low scale 40w setup. First one is the cheapest and easiest. The higher the temp of water the worse your performance will be, from what I understand anything in the 30C range is about the most tolerable it gets. Lower is better. But not frozen...from what I've been told a very experienced cutter, he found 8C was the highest power he achieved.

1. Use a 5 Gallon resovoir system which gives you a fairly large space of water to heat up before you need to tend to it. Add about a cup of anti-freeze to the mix of DISTILLED water. You don't want ANY minerals in the water that might build up in your system. The anti-freeze works to keep algae and other ickies from growing in your water.

2. Use a smaller resovoir system (or even closed loop) and install 1 or more radiators found in CPU cooling systems with 120mm fans attached. This will continously cool your water system to ambient room temperatures, but with a tiny resovoir it will be difficult to add things like ice-packs to drop the temps if the ambient is quite hot.

3. Using an industrial coolant system. Overkill and unless your cutting A LOT, this is a very expensive option to take. You can also explore the idea of Peltier cooling but it is extremely expensive electricity/BTU wise compared to an industrial cooler.

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HOW CAN COOL THE LASER TUBE?

The average lifespan of a tube is 1000-1500 hours IF ran at a max of 16mA for most of it's life. It's life will go down if you run constantly at it's max rating.

CO2 laser tubes also have a shelf life. So make sure to only buy a replacement tube close to when you plan to install it, keeping it on a shelf for the future will only compromise it's life span.

To measure your amperage going through your system. You go from the negative line of the tube and run it THROUGH your multimeter/ammeter and back out to the laser PSU. This will give you your amp usage. It will not hurt your multimeter either. Just be sure your connections are very snug since 20,000V is liable to arc very easily if a connection comes loose.

Additional Information:
what is life span of CO2 generator in videojet laser coding machineVJ3320

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HOW LONG DOES THE TUBE LAST?

Cooling is not as tricky as you might think. There is 3 ways to approach this, only 2 really matter for a low scale 40w setup. First one is the cheapest and easiest. The higher the temp of water the worse your performance will be, from what I understand anything in the 30C range is about the most tolerable it gets. Lower is better. But not frozen...from what I've been told a very experienced cutter, he found 8C was the highest power he achieved.

1. Use a 5 Gallon resovoir system which gives you a fairly large space of water to heat up before you need to tend to it. Add about a cup of anti-freeze to the mix of DISTILLED water. You don't want ANY minerals in the water that might build up in your system. The anti-freeze works to keep algae and other ickies from growing in your water.

2. Use a smaller resovoir system (or even closed loop) and install 1 or more radiators found in CPU cooling systems with 120mm fans attached. This will continously cool your water system to ambient room temperatures, but with a tiny resovoir it will be difficult to add things like ice-packs to drop the temps if the ambient is quite hot.

3. Using an industrial coolant system. Overkill and unless your cutting A LOT, this is a very expensive option to take. You can also explore the idea of Peltier cooling but it is extremely expensive electricity/BTU wise compared to an industrial cooler.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
HOW TO COOL THE BLACKTOOTH 40W LASER TUBE

This video will illustrate how to test for laser power:

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HOW TO KNOW IF THE POWER SUPPLY OF THE LASER TUBE IS DAMAGED