I haven't delved into using encoders with stepping motors too much. From my research, you need to have a controller that can provide the closed loop control, rather than software handling that process. I have also found from my research that using encoders on stepping motors is generally used to stop the machine in the case that the motor failed to achieve the commanded position for some reason and gives the user the chance to correct and continue with the job.

If you want proper closed loop control, it may be best to go with servos and servo controller that provide the closed loop control within the real of those two components.

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I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY REFERENCES TO ENCODER FEED-BACK CAPABILITY IN OF THE HARDWARE YOU SELL. THIS A SUPPORTED FEATURE WITH HARDWARE/SOFTWARE SELL?

Yes, the CNC machine hardware and plans combo is the same machine as in the book. The machine that we provide the plans for, can be found on the website, here http://buildyourcnc.com/Item/cnc-machine-scratchbuild

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IS THE CNC MACHINE HARDWARE & PLANS COMBO SHOWN AT LINK YOU LISTED SAME DESCRIBED IN BOOK?

the package sizes will be listed in your shopping cart, in the item detail. The site will also fully calculate shipping charges directly from the carrier, for each package you purchase.

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AND WHAT SIZES ARE THE PACKAGES OF MACHINE.

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

I haven't delved into using encoders with stepping motors too much. From my research, you need to have a controller that can provide the closed loop control, rather than software handling that process. I have also found from my research that using encoders on stepping motors is generally used to stop the machine in the case that the motor failed to achieve the commanded position for some reason and gives the user the chance to correct and continue with the job.

If you want proper closed loop control, it may be best to go with servos and servo controller that provide the closed loop control within the real of those two components.

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I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY REFERENCES TO STEPPING MOTOR ENCODER FEED-BACK FOR CLOSED LOOP CAPABILITY IN OF THE HARDWARE YOU SELL. THIS A SUPPORTED FEATURE WITH HARDWARE/SOFTWARE SELL?

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

There are several CAD/CAM programs out there for MacOS. Here is a list of a few: http://www.macuser.de/forum/f53/3d-2d-cad-395058/#post4499316
I've also read good things about punchCAD: http://www.punchcad.com/
Of course, there is always SketchUp if you are in a pinch. There are a few CAM plugins for SketchUp as well, but I've never used them, so I can't vouch for them.

CAD/CAM will get you as far as designing your parts and producing the g-code, but if you also want to run the CNC machine with your Mac, you will need a piece of software similar to Mach3 or EMC to run the g-code. I haven't been able to find anything like these programs that runs on Mac, so you may have to run Mach3 or EMC in Windows using Boot Camp or a virtual machine such as VMware or Parallels.

Personally, I would use the Mac to do all the CAD/CAM, then use a cheap PC to run the CNC machine.

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EasyDNC for OSX
www.dnc-x.com

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Hi guys I’m new to the cnc and I’m beginning to learn how to operate and cad-cam software also my cnc runs on Mach3 my questions is if I should use MacBook to do all designs if I can have all this software to run on Mac or I have to use windows software to operate it? I have separate small computer connected to the cnc table who have Mach3 on it please help. Also if you know any other software much easy for beginners please let me know thank you guys!
My email if needed is r1jastrzebski@gmail.com

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Hi , thank you for your advise!

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Hi , thank you for your advise!

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Hi , thank you for your advise!

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Hi , thank you for your advise!

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DOES ANY OF THE SOFTWARE THAT COMES WITH IT COMPATIBLE MAC 10.6?

Depth of Field. This is how far the focal point goes before re-expanding again. With a 2" lens, you have approximately 2-3mm of DOF. This means that you'll have 2-3mm of perfectly focused laser before it starts to re-expand again. If you have a 4" lens, you will have up to 7mm of DOF.

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WHAT IS D.O.F OR DEPTH OF FIELD FOR THE BLACKTOOTH LASER AND LENS?

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?

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.

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what is life span of CO2 generator in videojet laser coding machineVJ3320

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HOW LONG DOES THE TUBE LAST?

If you select the Settings Page and select or tick Auto Limit Override - this will allow you to back off the switch.

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limit and home switch

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IS THERE A WAY TO GET RID OF THE PARALLEL CABLE AND SOMEHOW USE USB ?

You can expect a two week lead time for the redFrog pick and place machine.

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WHAT IS THE PICK AND PLACE LEAD TIME?

3 axis machines cannot create undercuts in the part.

These videos show the capabilities of 3 and 5 axis machining:

3-axis CNC:

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WHAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 3 AXIS AND 5 CNC?

Standard Version Features Mach3 Mach4 Hobby Mach4 Industrial
Number of Planners 1 1 1
Number of Axis 6 6 6
Out of Band Axis (OBA) 0 1 6
Slave axis (uses up coordinated axes) 3 N/A N/A
Slave motors (does not use up coordinated axes) N/A 4 per Axis 4 per Axis
API Interface - Open to All Hardware Yes Yes Yes
Extended Plugin Support Yes Yes Yes
User customizable GUI Yes Yes Yes
Unified (GUI) Interface - PLC, CNC, etc.. Yes Yes
Unlimited IO Yes Yes Yes
Modbus PLC Yes Yes Yes
PMC (Ladder Logic addressing for cnc/plc) Yes Yes
Unlimited File Size Yes Yes
Tool Path Display Yes Yes Yes
Tool Path Speed & Quality Low High High
Scripting - Customization Yes Yes Yes
LUA Scripting - simple, fast, cross-platform Yes Yes
- Lua sockets (ftp, http, smtp,..) Yes Yes
- SSL (security layer) Yes Yes
- LFS (manage large files and data storage) Yes Yes
- Seriel port Yes Yes
- Enraving of part numbers / serial numbering of parts Yes Yes
- Plugin panel objects Yes Yes
IPC Library for Data Sharing/tracking (Interprocess communication) Yes Yes
Full Feature Screens/Controls Per Machine Type Yes Yes
Currently Availabe: Mill, Router, Lathe, 3d Printer Yes Yes
Multiple gcode Interpruters (Per Machine Type) Yes Yes
Probing - Intergrated in standard screens Yes Yes
Simulated 3d Machining (with additional plugin license) Yes Yes
Tool Life Management (G10 L3 command) Yes
Screw Mapping Yes
Professional Screen Designer (advanced G.U.I.) Yes
- Screen Animation Control Yes
- Screen Integrated Tool Table Control Yes
- Screen Integrated Work Offset Control Yes
- Screen Integrated gcode editor Yes
- Screen Artsoft Wizard Package Integration Yes
Macro B gcode Programming (#variables) Yes
- User definable gcodes via marco calls Yes
- Macro Calls: G65, G66, G66.1 Yes
- gcode via marco call (custom G codes via macro B) Yes
- mcode via macro call (custom M codes via macro B) Yes
- mcode via sub code (custom M code via sup program) Yes
- Conditional gcodes Yes
- set VN call - define variable names Yes
gcode Editor Included Yes
Scripted M code (custom M code via LUA script) Yes Yes
Variable Speed Spindle Yes Yes Yes
Spindle Relay Yes Yes Yes
Coolant relay Yes Yes Yes
Mist Relay Yes Yes Yes
Threading Yes Yes Yes
Rigid Tapping Yes Yes Yes
Single Block Yes Yes Yes
Block Delete Yes Yes Yes
Optional Stop Yes Yes Yes
MACH CNC CONTROL SOFTWARE MAIN FEATURES AND VERSION DIFFERENCES
Standard Version Features Mach3 Mach4 Hobby Mach4 Industrial
MACH CNC CONTROL SOFTWARE MAIN FEATURES AND VERSION DIFFERENCES
Cutter Comp Yes Yes Yes
Fanuc Type C Cutter Comp Yes Yes
Fixture Offsets Yes Yes Yes
G51 Scaling Yes Yes Yes
G92 Offsets Yes Yes Yes
G52 Offsets Yes Yes Yes
Event Driven Yes Yes
Multi Line MDI Yes Yes
Subs In MDI Yes Yes
OpenGL Optimization Yes Yes
Multi-platform OS Compatibility Option Yes Yes
Online Support Yes Yes Yes
Phone Support Option Available Yes
Support Priority Yes
Available to End Users as "Do-it-yourself" Yes Yes
Summary - Mach3 versus Mach4 :
Mach4 Hobby is the closest comparable version to Mach3, yet it is still much more advanced. The price point of these versions is nearly
identical. Mach3 is very popular for hobby enthusiest and is used in highly modified form by some great OEM's. In general, Mach4 is more
complex than Mach3 and follows cnc industry standards. Mach3 has many customizations to make it easier for hobby users, but can lead to
difficulties if users plan to apply their knowledge to more advanced systems. Mach4 is built as a full featured cnc controller capable of high
speed machining for servo and stepper systems. Mach3's feature set is complete, while Mach4's will continue to expand. If you are new to cnc,
Artsoft highly recommends using and learning Mach4 even if it appears that Mach3's feature set will be adequate for your needs.

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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MACH3 AND MACH4?

I'll be honest, it can be pretty awful at times. You'll want a dedicated exhaust line. Cut a new hole, make a dedicated line. Also, invest in a charcoal air filter, it will help. Trust me. They can also be done DIY very inexpensively. Buy a "Universal Pre-filter" and simply wrap it around a screen and have air push down through the screen wrapped in the charcoal laden felt. $20 + fan + screen. Away you go =)

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HOW BAD IS THE SMOKE AND EXHAUST USING BLACKTOOTH?

The greenlean requires 56 feet of 1/4 Inside Diameter and 3/8 Outside Diameter silicon tube for the spindle.

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20

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20

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HOW MUCH SILICONE TUBE DO I NEED FOR A GREEN LEAN TO CONNECT THE SPINDLE

You can determine if the area is serviceable by:
- selecting the items you want to purchase on the website
- go to the cart (shopping cart top left of any webpage)
- log in, or register
- Enter the address and click on calculate shipping.

The webpage will return the direct rates and whether your area is serviced or not. Feel free to enter any address as long as you are able to receive the package from that address.

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WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD TELL ME WHETHER OR NOT SHIP ANY OF YOUR KIT PRODUCTS TO THE UK?

You can expect a two week lead time for the redFrog pick and place machine.

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WHAT IS THE LEAD TIME FOR REDFROG PICK AND PLACE MACHINE?

Shipping crate 121" X 36" X 92"

Weight 511 LBS

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ship in india pls

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International shipping rates can be determined by:
- adding products to the cart
- go to the cart and enter shipped by address
- and pressing the calculate shipping button

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WHAT IS THE SHIPPING WEIGHT AND DIMENSIONS FOR GREENLEAN?