Assembling any of our machines will vary from customer to customer as it is a measure of the ability of the assembler. For the blackTooth laser machines, you should be able to have it assembled between two to four well focused days.

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How many hours are required top build the 40 watt kit?

The blackTooth Laser cutter and Engraver can be built in a weekend. Take a look at the build instructions and try to determine if you feel you have sufficient capability to put together the laser system.

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HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO BUILD THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUTTER?

The length of time it will take to build a CNC machine kit is not an easy answer. There may be a wide array of circumstances that limit a persons abilities to build the cnc machine kit in an efficient timeframe; however, if you have moderate dexterity and moderately mechanically inclined, you should have no problem building one of our machines within one weekend if the project has very little downtime.

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HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE FOR MY TO BUILD A MACHINE?

Unfortunately I am not able to give an estimate of shipping time. This is because there are multiple shipping options, Some of them cost more than others, but ensure the package arrives in a certain number of days. Others do not give a number of days, and many factors could change the length of shipping time, such as weather, or busy season. It would be best to choose an option you are comfortable with the price of, and then Google search the typical times it takes for that option to get to you, or call the shipping company and request that estimated time from them.

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HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SHIP

The general bill of materials for the blackTooth 24"x20" laser system is as follows:

- The structural components (MDO and Plastic parts)
- The hardware to assemble all of the structural and mechanical parts
- Mechanical parts like v-groove bearings, bearings for shafts, shafts, pulleys, belts, etc.
- All of the motion electronics like motors, drivers, and laser controller
- Wire to connect all of the electronics
- All of the laser components including the laser tube, mirrors, mirror mounts, nozzle and lens
- Pneumatic components including the air pump and tubing
- Hydraulic components to cool the laser tube including a water pump and tubing

blackTooth 24"x20" Laser

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What is the bill of materials included in the build your own laser 2' x 4' 40 watt

Yes, we have the optional table for the blackToe, but we need to fabricate it, which only takes one day. We generally reserve one week for the total fabrication and packing of all parts.

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DO YOU HAVE BLACKTOE MACHINES WITH TABLES READY TO GO OR HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE MAKE ONE?

CO2 laser will not cut wood material fast at all. This is just the nature of the laser energy. The wood is a very low absorbent of the laser energy and you will need to run probably around 10 ipm to cut through the wood. CNC is much more efficient for cutting and laser as more efficient at marking or slowly cutting if you need the small kerf. You will also need a relatively high output air source to cut efficiently. The air will blow away the char (carbon) on the wood. The black char will absorb most of the laser energy not allowing the wood to be cut well. We use a compressor for the air source, but you can use a commercial hydroponic air pump instead.

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How fast can I cut 1/4" wood with the 40 watt CO2 laser?

The blackTooth Laser cutter and Engraver can be built in a weekend. Take a look at the build instructions and try to determine if you feel you have sufficient capability to put together the laser system.

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HOW COMPLEX IS YOUR KIT TO ASSEMBLE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - HARD IT SETUP CONTROL THE LASER WITH MACH3?

The length of time it will take to build a CNC machine kit is not an easy answer. There may be a wide array of circumstances that limit a persons abilities to build the cnc machine kit in an efficient timeframe; however, if you have moderate dexterity and moderately mechanically inclined, you should have no problem building one of our machines within one weekend if the project has very little downtime.

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HOW LONG FOR ME TO BUILD IT?

The blackTooth Laser cutter and Engraver can be built in a weekend. Take a look at the build instructions and try to determine if you feel you have sufficient capability to put together the laser system.

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HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO BUILD THE BLACKTOOTH

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

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.

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HOW TO COOL THE BLACKTOOTH 40W LASER TUBE

The blackTooth machine, as it is designed cannot be modified easily as the box within which it is contained also serve as its structure. We are currently designing a special mount for the greenBull (for the 40 watt tube) which will provide 5'x10' or 6'x12' work area and the machine is far less expensive than comparable 4'x8' laser systems. We are also developing a 4'x8' 80 watt system where the tube is in the horizontal orientation. More information can be found in the R&D section.

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I am interested in getting your 40W laser system. How difficult will it be to increase the size to 48" x 48"?

The greenBull 4X comes with all of the components and electronics to assemble the gantry of the machine. You will need to build the table. We provide the rails and roller chain for the X-axis (along the length of the table for full 8 feet of travel). You will need to provide some wire to connect the electronics and a computer to run the machine. You will also need to purchase the software that you will need to run the machine that matches how you will apply the machine. We suggest the mach3 control program. The CAM program is up to you as there are many options out there.

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WHAT DOES THE GREENBULL KIT INCLUDE AND DO I NEED TO INCLUDE?

You can cut at varying depths with the 40w laser cutting and engraving machine. Each layer of engraving with the laser will leave behind a black charred film that will reduce the effectiveness of the engraving for deeper layers; therefore, a very strong air assist will be needed to blow this film off of the surface of the material.

CNC machines are more successful and efficient at carving and should be considered.

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I wonder if it is possible to do 3d engraving with the 40w laser kit? different depths is the same piece of wood.

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HOW LONG DOES IMMUNITY FROM INFLUENZA (FLU) VACCINE LAST?

Temperature probe monitor. Very valuable. This keeps you up to date on your coolant temperature levels.

Voltage meter. This will tell you the exact level of voltage/power you are running telling the laser to run at instead of an arbitrary mark on a drawn wheel around your POT.

Ammeter sensitive to 1mA. This will be sure your not over driving your tube and reducing it's life significantly.

Hour meter. This will tell you exactly how long your system has been 'on' giving you a more accurate bead on the length of your tubes life.

Exhaust fan upgrade. The current fan included is 100CFM. You can buy 120mm fans that push 250CFM and I have included a guide on how to go about doing this here. http://buildyourtools.com/phpBB3/viewto ... 8cdd1802bf

To push the exhaust fan even further, if you have the room/power, I would highly recommend investing in a 600+ CFM "Dust Collector" system. 250CFM is still not suffice to draw all the smoke that can come off of 3mm or 1/8 MDF cutting job.

A cutting surface. I bought myself a aluminum 'egg crate' mesh from my local HVAC company. They are used a cover for fluorescent lights and work great for low impact cutting surface. They come in 4'x8' sheets and are easily cut to fit. The other side is if you can find a steel honeycomb cutting bed to fit. These can be quite costly or fairly affordable depending where you are looking. The benefit of a steel honeycomb is you can use high power magnets to hold material down.

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HOW CAN YOU ENHANCE THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUTTER?

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?