The instructions on how to use a plate for z-axis homing (moveable sensor) can be found here:

http://www.planet-cnc.com/faq/moveable_sensor/

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Using your USB control board, is it possible to install and use a Z axis touch plate? If yes, what board connections would it be installed to?

To stop the laser completely from continuous firing after a job is complete, I recommend to have your file to end while reaching the clearance plane which you will enter in your CAM software. Make sure that your clearance plane value is very small (ex.) 0.001 above 0 and activates at -0.001 also adding a additional g-code manually that raises the z-axis towards the end of the job/run(only if experienced would we recommend using this). This will turn of the laser, rather than the laser staying on and at its current height.

When activating the emergency e-stop, (personal opinion) I would wire the e-stop at the beginning of the live/load wire going to the electronics power supply and the laser power supply.
It will be in at the beginning of the y connection, (https://buildyourcnc.com/blackToothLaserCutterAndEngraver.aspx#prettyPhoto/13/) so you will cut power to both instead of just the CNC electronics.

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Need help configuring Planet CNC software to control laser firing. Currently it is firing using the Z axis but leaves the laser on after a run or when the emergency stop is activated. HELP!!

Software specific questions for Planet-CNC will have to come from them or other sources as we are not fully equipped to troubleshoot all issues. If the issue is related to motor tuning or setup involving our electronics, then we will gladly assist you. You may contact techsupport@buildyourcnc.com with inquiries.

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What do I need to purchase from you to get me running. I have planet cnc control board but it is difficult contacting them when I need help.

That video was hosted by Metacafe and I just went to the permalink for the video, but no video. Metacafe failed me on this one. I will look for my raw video (which will take a bit of time) and re-post it to youtube.

If there are specific questions; please post them here and I will help you along the way. As these questions are asked and answered, they help others as well in the future.

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"Step 34 - Software Toolchain Part 1 - Mach 3 Installation" Video is missing. Do you have? Am trying to install Mach3, need someone to hold my hand a bit here :-)

No, you do not need another motion controller if you have the parallel breakout board and you are using the "Legacy Parallel Port Plug-In" with Mach4. The motion controller is the parallel port.

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I purchased hardware for my plasma table which included 3 nema 34 stepper motors and drivers, power supply,Blue brew BOB, and Mach 4 Control software with parallel port plug-in. In configuring the Mach 4 software it asks for a motion controler. Do I need another device such as a smoothstepper motion controler?

What controller are you using to control the cnc machine (Mach3 usb, parallel breakout board, etc.)?

The spindle VFD has an input for 0-10 volts to control the speed and can be used with the MAch3 USB or the Pokeys57CNC board. There are also other terminals in the VFD to control the forwared/reverse and start and stop. Mach3 has parameters to control these output and you need to specify which pins are used for these.

You can also use the TX/RX RS-485 connection on the VFD to have total control using an FTDI USB to serial connector board to connect the computer directly to the VFD.

How to connect the USB to Serial adapter to the VFD:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/FAQ/13790

FTDI USB to Serial:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/Interfaces-newbiehack-Interfaces-TTL232R-USB-UART-Serial

Pokeys57CNC board:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach4-mach3-USB-ethernet-Board

Mach3 USB board:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

Parallel Breakout board:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-parallel-breakout-relay



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I do apologize for leaving out the parts list.
Leadshine MX4660 4-Axis Digital Stepper Motor Driver
Ethernet SmoothStepper
YL600-2S-2K20 VFD
4 Relay control board
Has anyone had any success getting Mach3 to control the spindle speed and direction?

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I have the 2.2KW VFD. I would like to have it controlled through software. What are the Mode parameters that need to be changed that will allow FWD/ REV, START/STOP and RPM control?

The USB controller will only work with the Planet-CNC software. This software is well made and will provide great functionality. The planet-cnc software delivers instructions to the microcontroller on the board and the microcontroller will send out the pulse trains needed to move the machine correctly.

There are two main alternatives if you want to use the mach3 software:
First, get a parallel port card and add it to your computer and get a parallel breakout board. If you have a laptop/notebook computer, this will not be possible.
Second, if you have a laptop, or really want to use the USB as the main interface for controlling the machine, you will need to get the smoothstepper board which works with mach3. The price combination is much higher than the USB controller with planet-cnc, but will work with Mach3.

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The planet cnc controller can be prone to electrical interference and has been known to cause such problems. In the first instance try to use a quality double sheilded USB cable, hopefully this will fix your problem. Alternatively you may need to sheild your limit switch, estop and or motor cabling. My pick is that a quality USB cable will fix it though, worked for me.

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I have your USB controller sitting here and want to control it with something other than PlanetCNC control software?

You can find instructions for the Mach3 USB here:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

You will probably need to use the Mach3 USB board with Mach3. We have not tested the Mach3 usb card with Mach4.

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Whereb can I find directions on how to install the Mach3 USB board with Mach 4 software? I do not have a parallell port.

The best place to find information and step by step instructions for Mach4 is to use the manuals provided by MachSupport.com.

Here is a link to the PDF manuals for Mach4: http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning/product-manuals/

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I purchased Mach 4 control software and am in need of a very elementary tutorial on set up. I am extremely new to this and need step by step help. Thanks

When you plug the USB controller into the computer using a USB cable, and the planet-cnc software is running, you will be presented with a dialog box that will contain a text box for the key that you received from the planet-cnc folks.

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Is there any other software that will work with your controller Mach3? Thanks for the help!

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However it how do I get the software to work? PlanetCNC sent me a key that looks like it will only work with a backup control board I purchased from them?

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 building a wet plasma table for my shop that is 8'x 16'. I will need hardware and software. Please heko me wuth the list, My phone is 9124273734. I would like to talk with someone if possible. Thanks, Rus

The on/off laser control for the blackTooth laser system is controlled by software. Software controls a digital trigger on the laser power supply that turns the laser on and off.

Our blackTooth works more like a CNC machine where g-code is used as the instructions to cut and engrave. Generally, CNC machines have a z-axis that moves up and down. When the z-axis is moving down, the end mill (cutting tool) is penetrating the surface of the material to be cut. We use this same technique to control the laser on and off. If the z-axis is in the down state, the laser is on. If the z-axis is in the up state, the laser turns off. All of this is automatically generated in the g-code when the machining operations are created in CAM software. This eliminates the need for an expensive laser controller board; however, a traditional laser controller board can be used with our system.

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I am looking at purchasing a blacktooth laser system but after reading some of the post I am unsure if laser power is under software control. Is laser power ( on/off) directly controlled with the off the shelf hardware and software

The files and hardware option for our machines has been removed from the site due to the following reasons:
Difficulty for the end use of the files and the challenges (and time/money) on our side to assist in using these files.
The abuse of these files over the internet.
Ultimately may reduce the sales of machines keeping us in business.
Sadly, this is what has come out of our company attempting to be open; however, the machines sold on this site is still far lower in price than the competition for the quality that we provide as we have a great desire to engender the cottage industry to fulfill their need for low end manufacturing. My sincere apologies if this causes any inconvenience.

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NO, is not possible, I can help with the shipping cost

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I was wondering if it is at possible to get a autocadd drawing of the pieces that need to be built for your cnc hardware kit

If the Z-Axis is moving down when you press the page up or page down (or by moving the z-axis by another means like with an MPG, Pendant, or the built-in MPG in Mach3), then the direction signal wire is not connected correctly. The direction signal wire works by moving in one direction with a low signal (like gnd) and moving in the other direction with a high signal (like 5v). If the signal stays at one of the two signals, it will only move in the direction of the current signal state. Recommended action is to determine if the DIR- and DIR+ signal wires are connected securely and make good contact at the driver and controller sides.

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I installed a pokeys57cnc and use Mach3 for the mill. When I page up or down the Z axis moves down. Is there a setting I need to change? I checked the Z axis wiring and it matches the X and Y axis which function correctly.

If the Z-Axis is moving down when you press the page up or page down (or by moving the z-axis by another means like with an MPG, Pendant, or the built-in MPG in Mach3), then the direction signal wire is not connected correctly. The direction signal wire works by moving in one direction with a low signal (like gnd) and moving in the other direction with a high signal (like 5v). If the signal stays at one of the two signals, it will only move in the direction of the current signal state. Recommended action is to determine if the DIR- and DIR+ signal wires are connected securely and make good contact at the driver and controller sides.

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I installed a pokeys57cnc and use Mach3 for the mill. When I page up or down the Z axis moves down. Is there a setting I need to change? I checked the Z axis wiring and it matches the X and Y axis which function correctly.

To make an axis move in the opposite direction to what it is currently moving, you will need to toggle the ":direction:" active low setting for that axis. for instance, if when you press the page up button and your z-axis move down instead of up, then you need to make this change in the configuration.

To do this in Mach3:
- Click on the config option in the top menu
- Click on ports & pins
- Click on the motor outputs tab
- on the axis you wish to reverse, click on the "dir active low" to toggle the state of that parameter.

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I installed a pokeys57cnc and use Mach3 for the mill. When I page up or down the Z axis moves down. Is there a setting I need to change? I checked the Z axis wiring and it matches the X and Y axis which function correctly.

Looking for a solution myself. Proper operation would be for the limit switch to only disable further travel in the effected direction while still allowing travel in the opposite direction.

As for now, I am just using the jog arrows within the software or the VGA controller.

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After limit switch is activated on planet cnc control software, what do I need to do to get axis to move again?

The redLeaf CNC computer systems will have either Mach3 or LinuxCNC installed as per the customer's request. If the Mach3 license is purchased, the license file will also be installed on the redLeaf CNC computer system.

The Mach3 or LinuxCNC settings will be configured during the assembly of the system. We contact the customer to determine the drive (mechanics) and inertial (weight of gantry and other parts of the gantry) specifications in order to correctly configure the steps per inch, velocity and acceleration.

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I ordered a redLeaf with Mach3 installed. Do you guys configure any of the setting in mach3 or will I need to do that all myself?

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