Yes, the greenLean can cut metals such as aluminum and brass. The gantry and Y carriage was designed to be rigid enough to handle these types of metals. The typical metal cutting techniques should be used, such as high feedrates to reduce heat buildup at the end mill, or the use of cutting fluids or cold air used at the end mill as is necessary with most machines that cut similar metals. This is necessary since the aluminum has a rather low melting point and can clog the end mill.

Additional Information:
All of our machines are capable of cutting many metals, including steel and aluminum as long as the proper CNC machining operations are used like light fast passes, and if desired, using air cooling for better performance.

Here is a video of one of our customer demonstrating aluminum cutting using air to cool the end mill.
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/tutorials/tutorial-milling-cutting-metal-blacktoe-mark-gottschalk

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how do I hold down material on a greenlean

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Is the Greenlean capable of cutting soft metals like aluminum or brass? Thanks

We do not have designated pins for power on our BoB w/Relay, other than through the USB. We would not recommend removing the USB on our board since it may cause issues and irregularities within the board.

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Can I power the BOB w/Relay through appropriate pins and remove USB?

Sure, come on by! You can come and see some of our machines in action; pose difficult questions and hopefully we can answer them; and even have some tests done with stuff you bring.

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I am in Houston. I will use this to make cabinets. Do you have a location I could see one in use cutting similar products?

We do offer all of the parts; but it is best to purchase them a la carte. You will probably not want the hardware since this would not conform to a design in metal.

All of the mechanical parts are available here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/CNCMachineMechanicalParts.aspx

All of the electronics you would need is available here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/electronicscombo.aspx

All of the laser components are available here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/LaserComponents.aspx

And the spindles and VFDs are available here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/SpindlesAndAccessories.aspx

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Is it possible to order the mechanics, motors and electronics, in other words, order the kit without the wood? Reason being is I have aluminum and steel to make a machine out of.

If you are wanting to purchase all of the parts for a machine excluding the structural parts, you will need to order the parts a la carte.

Electronics packages can be found here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/category/elcombo

Mechanical components can be found here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/CNCMachineMechanicalParts.aspx

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Is it possible to order the mechanics, motors and electronics, in other words, order the kit without the wood? Reason being is I have aluminum and steel to make a machine out of.

Yes, I was intending to design a medium sized laser cutter and engraver but the project was put on hold. I will start the design in a few weeks (around mid Dec 2017).

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Do you think you would want a horizontal machine, or a slanted, more vertically oriented machine?

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For the work I plan to do, I would need a horizontal bed. I will be doing some work with cutting small pieces and can not afford to have any drop during a raster or another vector cut.

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Ok. Thanks.

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Can you design and sell a laser that is medium sized? The Black Tooth is too small and the XL is too big. I need about 36" x 24" cutting space minimum. 60x40 is ideal.

There are two things to consider when using two stepping motors on a single axis. Since you want both motors to spin at the same rate and possibly in the same direction, you need to connect both motor drivers to the same breakout board pins. For example, if you want two motors on the x-axis and the x-axis pins on the breakout board are #2 for step and #3 for direction, the #2 will connect to the step (cp) terminal on each driver and the #3 will connect to the dir (cw) terminal on each driver.

However, if the motors will be opposing (one motor will need to spin in the other direction), you will need to consider either flipping the rack on one side, or adding a circuit to invert the direction (#3) signal going to that driver.

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I'm planning a rack and pinion style gantry, and need clarification on how to slave a second stepper to the Y (or X). Can you direct me to that information for your products?

CAMBAM is an excellent choice to use for providing plasma operations for a plasma machine. Here is a link to get you started and for the resource files that you can use with CAMBAM.

http://www.cambam.info/ref/ref.plasma

Since CAMBAM has CAD functionality, you should have no problem using CAMBAM as a CAD design software. If you are dong more intricate work, then you can use MOre CAD oriented software and then load the .DXF files into CAMBAM for the application of plasma operations on top of the primitive CAD geometry.

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I am building a 23' x 10' plasma table with your epuipment and am choosing software. Is Cambam OK or do I need to get a more powerful cad software

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

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 bought a CNC router used and I need help retrofitting the electronics.

Mach3 and Mach4 typically use specific controller cards that are compatible with the software. If your controller connects to your computer using either a USB or Ethernet connection, then you will probably need to change the controller card as well, unless your controller card contains a plug-in that works with the Mach3 or Mach4 software.

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I have cnc fiber laser cutting machines it has operating software cypcut and I need to change it to Mech 3 or 4 do I have to buy the driver card with the software or only the software?

Yes, the radiator is aluminum. I use computer cooling fluid. https://amzn.to/3Oamjke

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[772] Is the radiator aluminum and do you add and algicides or anticorrosive agents?

the greenBull can handle cutting aluminum as long as the correct bit (end mill) is used and the bit is cooled frequently to prevent chips from melting and causing damage to the bit or warping the material.

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Would your greenBull 6X CNC machine be suitable for cutting 2024T3 aircraft aluminium? Working on a kitlpane project and I need this capability.

All of our CNC machines can carve at that depth without a problem and do 3d carving. Our typical application is cutting sheet materials, but a good percentage of our customers cut 3D bas reliefs or even more complex 3D objects using reference points and jigs.

Most of our CNC machines have a Z travel of at least 6 inches for the smaller machines and 7 to 10 inches for our larger machines. The Fabricator Pro has a Z travel of 10 inches.

Depending on your application, you will need to consider the length of the end mill (more than the deepest depth of the 3D carving) and the stock that you will be using. If the stock plus the length of the end mill exceed the clearance with the Z axis raised to the top extent, then you will need to consider the way the table/bed of the machine is formed (maybe with a depression to take advantage of the greater need for clearance).

The greenBull has the capability of Z axis travel of up to 36 inches, but I would recommend, if milling wood, that the Z-axis not extend more than 12 inches to reduce deflection.

Additional Information:
Most of the CAM software on the market will have 3D profile machining operation capabilities. CAMBAM has a very nice 3D prpfiling feature. The Vectric line of software can definitely handle this as well.

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All of the pics and videos show your cncs cutting sheet materials, I'm interested in carving 3d images in plastic and hardwood slabs up to 2" thick. What machine and software would you recommend?

Yes, to build a computer controlled table saw fence, you can try the following:

Assuming that the fence can already move, add a motor on both sides coupled to either lead screw or chain mechanics. Lead screw would be the best solution. The lead screw nuts would be mounted on the fence aligned with the motor shafts at the front and back of the fence.

I would recommend the 425 oz-in stepper motors and 3.0Amp drivers for each motor. You will need a power supply rated for 24 volts. There is no need for a higher volt power supply. Interface the drivers to the computer using a USB interface, or a parallel breakout board.

Stepping motors: https://buildyourcnc.com/category/nema
Drivers: https://buildyourcnc.com/category/driver
CNC Motion Interfaces: https://buildyourcnc.com/category/breakout

Measure the length of travel and get lead screw twice as long since you will need lead screw on both sides. Add a bit more length for space that will be needed for the mounting. Plan as much as you can before purchasing.

Lead screw: https://buildyourcnc.com/item/mechanical-leadscrews-lead-screw-!5-5-starts-10-tpi
Lead nut (antibacklash nut): https://www.buildyourcnc.com/Item/mechanical-leadscrews-antibacklash-nut-!5-5-starts-10-tpi


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I am interested in building a computer controlled table saw fense. Do you have any products that could help me.. Thanks

The best way to determine the cutting speed is to determine this with respect to the edge quality you desire. This recommendation generally comes from the major end mill manufacturers.

The feedrate (travel speed) should be determined by the chip load of the end mill, the number of flutes, material of the end mill (Solid Carbide, HSS - High Speed Steel, Cobalt, etc.) and the RPM of the spindle. You will need to see the manufacturer's specifications of the end mill to determine this information.

Formula:
Chip Load = (feed rate IPM)/(Spindle RPM x Number of Flutes)

or

Feed Rate IPM = Chip Load x Spindle RPM x Number of Flutes

Once you find this information, apply this to the material at the full depth of the end mill. If you find that your edge condition is aberrant, pull back on either the speed, or the depth per pass. If the edge condition is acceptable, then push the speed higher until the edge condition starts to deteriorate in quality and then pull back to the accepted level.

Using this method, you will be able to reduce the wear on the end mil which will be the most expensive consumable on the machine.

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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?

Currently our only location is in Katy, Texas at this current time, we can help you assemble the machine and if any issues occur we can always help you with the problems, but will have to be managed through email or phone (which ever is your preference).

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I live in China and my company would like to buy the 40w laser cutting machine. I am wondering if you can help us assemble and maintain the machine in China? Do you have any service point here? Thank you

Yes, I will need to know more specifics of the machine so I can recommend the correct electronics.

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ok I Build my CNC machine table and now need a complete set for motor and software how you can help me

We offer as much information as possible about the design and building of CNC machines through this website and the forums at buildyourtools.com. We also still offer our "scratch build" plans at https://buildyourcnc.com/item/cnc-machine-scratchbuild, where you can order the plans and DVD to build your own machine with or without the necessary hardware components.

Our technical support staff are occupied full time assisting customers who have bought complete kits or assembled machines, and unfortunately do not have the resources to provide one-on-one advice to individuals.

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I Want to design and build my own CNC wood working machine. Do you give advice and help advice to do this?