All of our controller will allow two steppers on any of the axes. Multiple stepper motors and drivers on a single axis is more a function of the way the stepper motor drives are connected to the output pins of the controller. To connect two stepper drivers to a single axis, you need to connect the output pins (dir and step) to each of the two stepper motor drivers.

Consider the controller on cost, features and how they are connected to the computer.

Out lowest cost controllers are:

Mach3 USB board - Has good features and uses the USB from the computer as the main connection
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

Parallel Breakout - The computer generates the main signals and this board conditions the signals for the drivers. Although it requires the parallel port from older computer, the board has the most broad compatibility with control software out there including Mach3 and LinuxCNC.
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-parallel-breakout-relay

Highest cost but most feature rich:

Pokey57CNC - works with both Mach3 and Mach4
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach4-mach3-USB-ethernet-Board

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I am looking for a controller for a 3 axis dual Y stepper cnc machine. If at all possible I would like a list of the parts that will be needed. I prefer to go with an ethernet setup vs a parallel port.

Dealing with our USB BoB, the potentiometer that will be used in the key jog, is a 5V, 5k - 10k Ohm potentiometer.

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I am building a cnc mill using your USB controller and i would like to know what is the specification of potentiometer used for adjusting manual axis jog speed

I have very detailed wiring videos for the Pokeys57CNC controller on the pokeys57CNC controller webpage: https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach4-mach3-USB-ethernet-Board

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[50] I purchased 3 Axis Heavy Gantry Electronics /w Pokeys57CNC controller (Mach3 and 4 Compatible) and Cable Pack I plan to use Mach 3 do You have a wiring diagram Thanks

Yes, the redLeaf plug-and-play CNC electronics can include a THC (Torch Height Controller) and motors of any size. The limit of the number of motors that this package can include is 8 motors in total.

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Will the redleaf package allow me to run a torch height controller and 2 nema 34 motors for my gantry? I would prefer to have motors on both sides of the machine with a heavy gantry

Yes, our porter cable collets and nuts will fit the porter cable 7518.

Additional Information:

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HAVE PORTER CABLE 7518 ROUTER ON MY CNC AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOUR ER20 COLLET NUT, FOR THE CABLE, WILL FIT ROUTER.

You can control our 40W laser power supply (which controls the laser tube) with an Arduino, if that is your intention. The trigger for turning the laser on and off uses a 5V level. To control intensity, you can use the Arduino PWM output. If you want the Arduino to move the machine as well (providing pulse trains to each of the stepper motor drivers) then you will need to make sure you consider the processing speed of the Arduino so you will be able to run the stepper motors at the speed you need for the laser engraving/cutting.

Our laser controller do all of these functions. Here is a link to our laser control system:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/Laser-Component-Laser-Control-System



Additional Information:
Thank you! I am building a 3 axis cnc/ engraver and I think this would be a good option as well as the router head and the 3d printing head. How heavy is the tube? I may mount it directly onto one of the axis of the machine to eliminate the need to line up all three axis, similar to what you have with your xl engraver.

Additional Information:
The tube isn't that heavy, but when filled with water, it can get up to a few pounds. The key is to use the axis moving the nozzle for engraving as this requires fast back and forth motion. The cutting is generally dependent on the axes moving from vector to vector at a relatively slow motion, so this is not a problem.

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I would like to build a low cost laser engraver/ cutter, can your 40w laser power supply be controlled with an arduino or is it only controlled by the controller sold here?

Yes, you can use the 4 axis kit and use two of the motors on the gantry. You will need to wire the gantry axis motors to the same step and direction signals on the controller interface. For example, if the gantry axis is the X axis, then on the controller step and direction terminals (CP and CW) is wired to both of the stepper motor drivers for the X axis.

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4 axis kit can I use 2 motors for the gantry with one controller card? or I buy the 3 axis kit instead?

The available options for the blackFoot, is only structural components with hardware, and structure components/hardware with electronic components.
However we currently do not have any plans available for public use/distribution.

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I have a 4x8 CNC and would like to cut my own parts for the Blackfoot. What is the price for the plans and the electronics ?

Yes, here is the URL for the parallel breakout board that we sell:

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

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can I purchase just the parallel controller board? I purchased the usb option 4 axis combo and would like to also try the system with my parallel port computer. Any help with this will be greatly appreciated; my goal is to implement mach4.

You are making the right choice. The overall cost benefit of a spindle over a router is worth the change. We used a router back in 2008-2012 and constantly replaced it due to the daily use, but we are still using the same spindle we began using back in 2012.

We sell a mount that you can find here:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/spindle-inverter-2!2kw-spindle-80mm-mount

The mount fits standard 80mm spindles.

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Have a CNC routher that uses the Porter Cable 78125 considering 2.2kw spindle and controller do you have any mounts and our recommenadtions?

VFD settings........
1) To program the VFD, wire it up, plug it in. It takes several seconds to come to life.

2) Push the PRGM button to enter programing mode.

3 )Push the SET button. The display will read PD000.

4) If you push the SET button again, it will display the present setting of PD000.

5 )By pushing the up or down arrows, you can change the setting to whatever it needs to be. (This is just an example. PD000 needs no changes)

6)Push the SET button again to lock in the setting of PD000 and advance to the next number, in this case, PD001.

7) Push the SET button and it will display the present setting of PD001. Again, use the up and down arrows as necessary to set PD001, then push SET again to lock it in.

Note: You can also scroll through the PD numbers with the up and down arrows.

8) make all settings this way.

9) by pushing the SET button you can scroll through the settings. First push of SET moves to the next number, second push displays it's setting, third push moves to the next PD number.

Note- If you take too long, it will leave the programing mode on it's own. If it does, just push PRGM again to return to programing mode. Then press SET and continue what you were doing.

10) Start with PD013. Set it to 1, which returns the settings to the factory settings.

11) Then set PD005 to 400, PD004 to 400, and PD003 to 400 IN THAT ORDER.

12) Then set the following: PD041=8, PD144=3000

13) Set PD209=50

That's it for the programing. You should get 24000RPM when you push RUN.

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I JUST RECEIVED A REPLACEMENT SPINDLE (2.2KW 220V). HOWEVER, WHEN ATTEMPTED IT USE THE NEW SPINDLE, WOULD ONLY REACH 1500 RPM. IS THERE SOMETHING NEED TO CHANGE ON CONTROLLER?

Unfortunately, we don't sell the planet-cnc controller anymore. They made a change to their software that prohibits us from creating the open source board.

We do sell three other boards that may work for you.

The Pokeys57CNC board is the mose feature rich and will work with both Mach3 and Mach4:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach4-mach3-USB-ethernet-Board

The MAch3 USB board is a good inexpensive interface that will work well if you need the interface to be USB only:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

Our in-house parallel breakout board (ytou need a parallel port for this interface to work):
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-parallel-breakout-relay
Most motherboards have the parallel port connector on the motherboard, but not as a connector on the back of the computer case.

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Do you sell the 3 axis electronics combo , for heavy gantry , with the new Planet CNC usb controller ?

The diagram for wiring the USB interface board is located here: https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-USB-Controller-Breakout#prettyPhoto/2/

Under the board illustration, there are three smaller diagrams of limit switch wiring. On each, there are two connections, the GND and the pin which are labeled at the ends of the circuit on the diagrams. The pin side would go to the axis label ++ or -- terminal (i.e. X++, or X--). The other end, labeled GND would connect to any ground terminal on the board.

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I am using 5 limit switches on my 3 axis machine. I am using the usb controller for planet cnc. I would like to know where all the wires related to the limit switches get connected? A diagram would be helpful.

Yes, you can send your electronics to us for repair, or retrofit to work with either Mach3, Mach4 or LinuxCNC. You can send us an email at customerService@buildyourcnc.com to set up your appointment.

Some of the types of CNC electronics we will consider.

- We will work on electronics from other manufacturers as long as you are ok with the Mach3, Mach4 or LinuxCNC control software for your CNC machine or CNC router.

- We will repair or retrofit used CNC electronics.

- Some customers find that electronics are overwhelming to put together so we will finish these electronics wiring and assembly for you.

The cost for these includes labor cost for the time it takes to finish the CNC electronics repair or retrofit and for any parts that need to be replaced or added.

Here is an example of CNC electronics that we worked on for a customer:

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I would like to use Mach3 instead of the software for my CNC router. Can you fix the electronics for me?

Yes, it is feasible to create a machine with a cutting area of 13'x15'. Your mechanical and structural systems will need to be able to span a bit more than the 13' if that will be the axis travel along the gantry.

We have not cut carpet with our lasers, but I don't see why not. With that said, be extremely careful with the materials in the rug. Read the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for the rug you intend to cut as some materials will emit corrosive and harmful gases and chemicals when lased.

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Hi I want to build a cnc laser table 13'x15' cuttting area. Is this feasible. Also would the 80watt laser be enough power to cut through carpet

The following videos are helpful when connecting the VFD to a pokeys57CNC controller; however, there is useful information on the external terminals of the VFD and how to connect the VFD to any controller using a relay. Additionally, the videos have useful information on how to program the VFD.

Start and stop for spindle
https://youtu.be/0SLFuM4tzuU

Speed control:
https://youtu.be/pA69t1ZLY2s

The following video uses the Mach3 usb controller to control a spindle.

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Do you have a diagram on how to connect the vfd so the CNC controller box can turn the spindle on and off whenever i start a job?

VFD settings........
1) To program the VFD, wire it up, plug it in. It takes several seconds to come to life.

2) Push the PRGM button to enter programing mode.

3 )Push the SET button. The display will read PD000.

4) If you push the SET button again, it will display the present setting of PD000.

5 )By pushing the up or down arrows, you can change the setting to whatever it needs to be. (This is just an example. PD000 needs no changes)

6)Push the SET button again to lock in the setting of PD000 and advance to the next number, in this case, PD001.

7) Push the SET button and it will display the present setting of PD001. Again, use the up and down arrows as necessary to set PD001, then push SET again to lock it in.

Note: You can also scroll through the PD numbers with the up and down arrows.

8) make all settings this way.

9) by pushing the SET button you can scroll through the settings. First push of SET moves to the next number, second push displays it's setting, third push moves to the next PD number.

Note- If you take too long, it will leave the programing mode on it's own. If it does, just push PRGM again to return to programing mode. Then press SET and continue what you were doing.

10) Start with PD013. Set it to 1, which returns the settings to the factory settings.

11) Then set PD005 to 400, PD004 to 400, and PD003 to 400 IN THAT ORDER.

12) Then set the following: PD041=8, PD144=3000

13) Set PD209=50

That's it for the programing. You should get 24000RPM when you push RUN.

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I just received a replacement spindle (2.2kW 220v). However, when I attempted it use the new spindle, it would only reach 1500 rpm. Is there something I need to change on the spindle controller?

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



Additional Information:
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?

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?