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?

We offer a 4'x8' laser system that uses an 80 watt laser tube.
Vertical Laser XL 4'x8'

Our blackTooth 24"x20" laser uses a 40 watt laser tube due to the internal size constraints and that the laser tube is mounted on the gantry for ease of aligning and maintaining better power at the cutting end.
blackTooth 24"x20" Laser

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Can you use an 80 watt laser in the smaller system?

Power is measured in watts. The 80 watt laser tube can output more than 80 watts of power; however, it is not advisable to run the laser tube above its rated power.

This video will illustrate how to test for laser power:

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What is the peak power of the 80 watt laser tube?

Yes, other CO2 laser tubes will work fine with our laser controller (including the Reci tube). Our laser controller is a digital based controller that controls the laser tube power supply, the motor drivers and other peripherals by outputting digital signals to these devices.

Laser controller URL:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/Laser-Component-Laser-Control-System

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Can other types of laser tubes work with the controller you are selling, for example, the 80W Reci tube?

We don't have a laser kit to retrofit another CNC router other than ours, but we can create one. Some things that may help:

- You are located close to use so we can work closely with you to implement to retrofit,
- or you can provide very detailed drawings or measurements so we can use them to create the necessary parts for the kit.

Other things that you need to understand:

- A laser has a number of parts that will bulk up the head of the CNC router causing a bit more inertia which may require lowering the acceleration for smooth ramping up and down of the velocity

- The bulk of the parts required for the laser may restrict the travel of the x and/or y axes.

- The nozzle of the laser will be offset from the end mill of the spindle.

Can you tell me the brand of the CNC router that you would like to stick a laser on? (you can answer by submitting additional information.

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Can I put a laser on my cnc router that I didn't purchase from buildyourcnc?

Note that the plans(with DVD) is for a smaller scale machine and for DYI CNC from the ground up,

Here is the Plans with Hardware: (http://www.amazon.com/CNC-Machine-Hardware-and-Plans/dp/B005WD8WBO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407187007&sr=8-1&keywords=plans+and+hardware+kit+cnc)

Here is our blackToe 2' x 4': (http://www.amazon.com/CNC-Routing-Machine-Kit-BuildYourCNC/dp/B005VTB23O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407186874&sr=8-1&keywords=blacktoe+cnc)

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can you offer the blackToe 2'x4', Combo #1 (Plans with DVD) on amazon so I can use my amazon credit to purchase?

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

No you cannot sketch any kind of metal unless its coated from the molecular level or having it coated individually. However there are some types of coatings (Thermark and Cermark) that you can use to coat the steel so that you will be able to use our laser machine to sketch any metal.

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I know you cant cut it but can you etch stainless steel with the laser?

Here is a list of the parts needed to get the electronics combo functioning (parallel or USB interface options):

- 22 or 24 gauge stranded hookup wire to connect all of the drivers to the USB or parallel interface (terminal to terminal connections),
- 18 gauge stranded hookup wire to connect the drivers to the power supply,
- a power cable (extension cord) to connect from the power outlet to the power supply,
- 4 conductor cable to connect the drivers to the stepper motors,
- a USB cable to connect from the computer to the USB interface (or for power to the parallel interface),
- for the parallel interface, a parallel cable is needed (male to male db-25),
- a computer (for parallel interface, the computer will need a parallel port and if the computer does not contain a parallel interface, the motherboard may have a header for it, or you can purchase a parallel adapter to plug into the motherboard, very inexpensive),
- cnc control software: for the USB interface, you will need planet-cnc software, for the parallel interface, you can use any industry standard cnc control software (the typical is Mach3 for Windows, or EMC2 or Linuxcnc for Linux (Linuxcnc.org).

5v power supply is not needed. The 5 volts signal level power is derived from the computer through USB on both types of interfaces.

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What do I need to purchase that doesn't come with the electronics packages?

If you're talking about the anti-backlash nut, ou can find replacements on our website here: https://buildyourcnc.com/CNCMachineMechanicalParts.aspx and here: https://buildyourcnc.com/CNCMachineMechanicalParts.aspx. If you have something else in mind, please contact us to further describe the part you need.

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I own a BlackToe cnc machine. The plastic threads with the spring over them broke. Where can i purchase a replacement part?

If you take the standard parallel cable BoB (Break Out Board), then you will need control software (Mach 3 or EMC2) and CAM software to make your G-Code (such as CamBam). Personally I use CamBam and Mach 3, they work beautifully but don't expect to turn them on and know how they work out of the box. Give yourself a few weeks to get familiar with the basics. CamBam is VERY powerful software for it's price. I'm surprised how much I keep learning on what I can do with it...I highly recommend it if you want as much control as possible.

Mach 3 + CamBam as a bundle costs $310. EMC2 will give you a free replacement for Mach 3 and is exclusively for Linux.

If you use the USB BoB, it will cost an extra $75 + $75 for the software. This is an all-in-one package so no need for Mach 3 or CamBam.

For etching rasters (jpeg, bmp, tiff, non-vectors, photos), I highly recommend PicEngrave. It has been a labor of love for the past 9 years and John has done a wonderful job with it. It easily compares in quality compared to software that is in the $200-$300 range. John's software runs $40 and can be found here: http://picengrave.com/ (don't let the modest website fool you, this stuff can do amazing things). DotG and the Mach3 engrave plugin are two other options and instructions can be found on Dustans page in the gallery on buildyourcnc.com website.

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Additional Information:



Additional Information:

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WHAT SOFTWARE CAN BE USED WITH THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUTTER?

You will need to build the table unit for your machine. There are instructions on how to do this at the bottom of the product page here, https://www.buildyourcnc.com/Item/cnc-machine-blackFoot-v4
There is no estimate on how much this will cost though, since there are too many variables involved to do this.

- PC with parallel port and USB port
- 20awg stranded wires for the motors - http://www.buildyourcnc.com/electronicscombo.aspx
- 18awg stranded wires for power supply to drivers
- 24awg stranded wires for breakout board to drivers
(location and spacing of components varies from one person to another, so we do not provide cables/wires)
- General purpose extension cord (cut the female end off) to provide power to power supply
- USB cable to power breakout board
- Parallel cable to communicate to breakout board
- Router
- (optional - instead of router) Spindle with power inverter http://www.buildyourcnc.com/SpindlesAndAccessories.aspx
- (if purchasing spindle with inverter) General purpose extension cord (240v) (cut the female end off) to provide power to power inverter
- End Mill(s) http://www.buildyourcnc.com/ProductsEndMills.aspx
- CAD, and/or CAD-CAM software (to produce geometry, machine operations, and g-code) http://www.buildyourcnc.com/CNCsoftware.aspx
- CNC control software (to read g-code and control machine) http://www.buildyourcnc.com/CNCsoftware.aspx

This answer is applicable to most of our machines with the exception of the greenLean and the blueChick since those machines are equipped with a table structure.

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Additional Information:



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Can I purchase a computer off Amazon (I have a machine I want to use) and still use the USB interface to drive it with LinuxCNC?

We use purified water, but adding some coolant can be a benefit. The addition of coolant can keep the water in a state that maintains no growth of foreign organism like algae and the such. Additionally, If you are in a colder climate, antifreeze will work well.

Additional Information:

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Do you recomend distilled water or coolant for your 80W laser tube with the CW-3000?

Sure. You will need the proper mount for the laser tube and a mount for the power supply in relatively close proximity to the laser tube. If you have one of our greenBull CNC machines, you can use the laser/spindle head that we offer.

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Can I just purchase a laser head to replace my router when all I choose to do is print or copy a photo

Unfortunately we no longer include or sell our CNC plans for none of our machines. We will be here to assist you if any parts wear over time, and will be able to replace the parts if needed.

Charges may be subjected due to time of purchase and cause of wear.

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Can I purchase plans to scratch build the Blackfoot or GreenBull machine

Yes, we can provide a laser attachment for the long Z version of the greenBull 4x, 5x and 6x. Please call us to get more information and pricing for the laser attachment.

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I have a greenbull 5x with the long Z. Is there a laser kit that I can get for that model?

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?

Yes, we can sell that size of fan replacement. Can you provide the type of power supply that you purchased?

Additional Information:
APS02HT86-320-36

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The cooling fan on my power supply has quit. Can I purchase just the replacement fan?

The Vertical Laser XL's 80 watt CO2 laser tube is capable of cutting lighter material such as wood and plastic at up to 1/2" or 12mm.

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am interested in purchasing the 80 Watt Vertical Laser XL 4'x8' Laser Cutter and Engraver, what material depth can it cut?