Does your plasma cutter have an external trigger that voltage can be applied to make the trigger engage? If I known, please provide the brand and model of your plasma cutter so we can determine this.

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I converted my blackToe to do plasma cutting. Used the Motor control relay on the break out board and just wired it into the plasma cutter trigger. Put a large pan (like a car oil drip pan) with about 1/4 inch of water on the table and attached fixtures. 400 15ga parts later it's still working great.

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That is so cool!!

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I would like to post a story on your setup and conversion. Do you have pictures of the process and/or the new setup?

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Hello I bought a full setup of parts a couple years ago to make a cnc router and now I have decided that I want to make a cnc router/plasma. I was wondering how to go about hooking up the plasma to the breakout board

The motor with that model number is here: https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-nema24-425ozin

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In looking for a stepper motor amongst old parts in my lab, I found one with a sticker that says buildyourowncnc.com and PN SM60HT86-2008BF U2 on it. I found a Q&A on your website that says it's a NEMA 24 motor with 425 oz/in holding torque. I was wondering if you were able to confirm this? Any specs sheets and details of the motor would be much appreciated

Depending on the type of motors and connection type, you could adapt your motors to work with our electronic packages, but you will receive additional motors since our kit is complete.

Now you will have to take into affect the actual motors you have and compare or get accurate replacements(Ex. our 425 oz motor(1/4" input shaft) will have to be same size or similar entry holes)

Your Controller board will be the major issue, due to its wiring and processing manner, you can view the connections for our breakout boards to compare with yours! (parallel: https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-parallel-breakout-relay#prettyPhoto/2/)(USB: https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-USB-Controller-Breakout#prettyPhoto/2/)
Email(customerservice@buildyourcnc.com for further help)

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I purchased the original instructions about 3 years ago and successfully built that device. Now I am looking at the 13X36 Bluechick base kit. Will all my original electronics work with the new kit? Is there a parts list that you could send me for the 13x36 Kit?

Yes, the board and kit is available and for sale. If you need the board without the chip installed (so you can solder the chip on the board yourself), we can offer that. Give us a call and we will let you know the price of that option.

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Hello. I'm trying to start a cortex M4 based project and found your STM32 M0 MCU and Interface to Breadboard on newbiehack. I saw your name was listed as the author and it led me to here. Is this board still available and is it available without the M0 chip already on it? I need to use a M4 chip for the extra memory. Thank you.

Cutting metal with lasers even at 100W and 130W is difficult. The main problem is molten is a byproduct of lasing, which can severely damage the laser.

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For the XL Vertical Laser Machine I see it won't cut metal as it is only 80w. However, I noticed that you are working on 100w and 130w versions so will that be sufficient to cut through sheet metal? If so, how much longer until those are available?

As long as the bearing has a minimum thickness of 1/4" and 9/32" is a bit thicker, there will be no problem with the book build using the bearing that is 1/32" thicker. There is actually more surface area which is better.

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I am building the CNC in your book - Build you own CNC Machine. One of the bearing thicknesses is 1/4" I can't find that bearing online. I can find 9/32, will that be a problem. Do you have a source? Thx

Yes, if you are using 1/2" standard allthread lead screw coupled to your stepping motors, you can increase the speed by changing the lead screw to 10 TPI 5 Start Lead Screws with antibacklash nuts. This will allow you to have up to 200-300 IPM (inches per minute) travel and cutting speeds.

The reason why the feedrate and jogging speed is faster is because the lead screw will travel a farther distance for each turn of the motor. A standard allthread will only travel one inch after 13 turns of the motor. The above (link below) 5 start 1/2" lead screws will travel one inch with only 2 turns of the motor! That is a drastic difference and you will get more torque from your motor since most of the torque is present at low speeds.

Lead screw link:
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/mechanical-leadscrews-lead-screw-!5-5-starts-10-tpi

Antibacklash nut link:
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/mechanical-leadscrews-antibacklash-nut-!5-5-starts-10-tpi

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I built a 2' x 4' cnc about 2 years ago and bought all the plans and part through this website. My average 2D design takes approximately 35-40 minutes to complete. Is there a way to make my cnc faster?

We did give out the plans for our machines many moons ago, but a few winters back we had to cease this practice as the night was young and full of terrors. Unfortunately we no longer offer the .dxf files or g-code files for any of our CNC machines.

To build a roll cart for your blueChick, check out the similar cart we created for our blackTooth laser. (https://buildyourcnc.com/tutorials/Tutorial-sketchup-fabrication-fabricate-cad-cam-dxf).

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Many moons ago (when we were all a lot younger) you offered an export plan that consisted of various combinations of hardware/electronics and SketchUp of the CNC machine. Do you still offer SketchUp of your projects? I bought the new BlueChick and would like to build a roll-around cart for it. I might also wish to make modifications so a SketchUp would be most helpful.

As shown in the instructions the laser tube that was used was a different model which had the metal end, compared to our full glass tube models we currently ship with the machines.
So there is no difference besides appearance between the two tubes.
The focus lens should be placed in the laser nozzle assembly and not on the laser tube itself.


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I bought a blacktooth laser from you about a year ago.. I am finally getting around to installing the laser tube and I noticed that my tube does't have the metal end on it like all the pictures I've seen. is this a focus lense and can I purchase one?

We carry several sizes of lead screw and stepper motors on our website, for example here https://buildyourcnc.com/Item/mechanical-leadscrews-lead-screw-!5-5-starts-10-tpi and here https://buildyourcnc.com/ProductSearchResults.aspx. Please call us at 281-815-7701 to discuss the particular lengths you would need and shipping options.

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I have a project very similar to cnc machine. I need 3 lead screws of 1.8 m with all set (supports, bearings...etc). and 3 NEMA 42 motors that I can connect with. if those are available, I need the information about shipping to Oman or UAE.

You can find the datasheets to our motors be going to the the stepping motor category page https://www.buildyourcnc.com/category/nema and selecting the motor. This will bring you to the product page for the motor and all of the motor information will be found there.

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I would like to design my own CNC router around one of your electronics bundles, either the 3 Axis - Heavy Gantry or 3 Axis - All Large Motors. Do you have the data sheets for the motors so that I can use the dimensions in my model?

Currently we do not have that modification kit, our set up is fixed for our greenBull only modification kit we have for this model is the long z-axis kit(Designed for Foam cutting).

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I am building your "Green Bull' 6 foot wide kit and I am at the stage of attaching the motor and drive chain. I would like to know if you have an modification kit available to put the 1/2" ACME screw on the Y-axis?

The Mach3 USB will not work with Linux CNC. You can use our parallel breakout baord instead (if you have a computer that has a parallel port available).

Here is the link to that interface:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-parallel-breakout-relay

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Hello. I'm currently building my first CNC router, and I'm powering it with a 3 axis electronics kit that was purchased through your site. I chose to get the Mach 3 USB Breakout board, but now I'm wanting to try to use Linux CNC to work with the computer I have available. Will that work with this board?

The CNC router build from book "Build Your Own CNC Machine" uses the basic electronics combo kit that includes three 425 oz-in motors is the kit designed for that machine. Here is a link to that electronics package: https://www.buildyourcnc.com/Item/electronicsAndMotors-3axis-425-elcombo

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I am building the CNC demonstrated in your published book 'Build Your Own CNC Machine', 2009. You sell the 3 axis electronis combo, parallel, for $390. Is this the package from the book. Or are there other recommendations. Thank you, Hary Holstein

We have the image at that size to encourage the purchase of the kit from us. This helps to keep buildyourcnc alive and allows us to fund development of other awesome low cost machines.

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could you make available a larger size picture of the exploded view of the BlackTooth laser cutter? I would like to use for reference when building my laser cutter, but it is too small to be really useful.

We only have these models in SketchUp. Is that a format that will be acceptable?

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Anything with basic profile dimensions will work just fine.

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Would you be able to supply solidworks files for the laser nozzle, mirror mounts, & laser tube? I plan to build a laser engraver and would like to model everything up before i start building to make sure it all fits.

The CNC router build from book "Build Your Own CNC Machine" uses the basic electronics combo kit that includes three 425 oz-in motors is the kit designed for that machine. Here is a link to that electronics package: https://www.buildyourcnc.com/Item/electronicsAndMotors-3axis-425-elcombo

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I AM BUILDING THE CNC DEMONSTRATED IN YOUR PUBLISHED BOOK 'BUILD OWN MACHINE', 2009. YOU SELL 3 AXIS ELECTRONIS COMBO, PARALLEL, FOR $390. IS THIS PACKAGE FROM BOOK. OR ARE THERE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS. THANK YOU, HARY HOLSTEIN

Is there a test button on the laser tube power supply? You can test the laser output by using the test button. This will help you determine if the laser tube is bad, or if you have wiring issues. Sometimes, wiring to he TL may not work as some controllers are set to active low, so you may need to wire the controller to TH instead.

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Additionally, the mA on the high tension line does not have any relationship to the digital trigger signal from the controller to the power supply.

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I am building my own laser and have watch your trocen videos.....but laser wont fire...double checked wiring and all seems correct to diagram....but the kit i bought was for a 40 watt and i amd using a 60 watt power supply and tube.....What size does the power switching unit need to be ....I think mine is too small for the trigger mA

If the pdf. files cannot be viewed please update your pdf. reader, also for the X Table End, There are two of these table ends on the machine, each an exact mirror of the other. You will need six (1/4") 2" screws to fasten this to the two table halves. The two holes on either side of the bearing seat require 3" screws to fasten the motor mounts.

For specific requests with needed files (please state email address or email customerservice@buildyourcnc.com)

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I am building the machine frome the book. The measurements for the 6 screws that hold the table together are missing. The chapter seven addisional material on the your website has the measurements but they are unreadable. Can you send me a PDF of that sheet. The cnckit1-1.pdf file on your website also is missing the measurements. Thanks Joe