The machines have minimal to no backlash depending on how you apply the machine. Since the cnc machines use roller chain on the x and y axes, and the roller chain is tensioned, the backlash is nearly eliminated. I say nearly because the if you control the machine in a way that there will be excessive load on the end mill, then the machine could have a tendency to spring to one side or the other because of the length of tensioned roller chain. The movement is minor and can be eliminated with the proper control of the machine.

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I'M CURIOUS IF THESE SYSTEMS WILL ENGRAVE LETTERING ACCURATELY WITHOUT BACKLASH?

It usually takes about three years before you get a viable crop from young grapevines. We planted grapevines at a house we built in California and the first crop that actually had enough grapes that we could actually pick and eat them was three years later. We ate them as we left town on our way to the East coast and our new home. They were growing strong when we passed by the old house some 10 years later.

A few varieties of grapes produce in two years, such as Brianna and Seyval grapes.

The good news is that grape vines usually live between 50 to 70 years, depending on the variety.

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WHEN WILL MY GRAPES GROW?

Try slowing your feedrate down and increasing spindle RPMs. End-mills will leave a poor finish if you go too fast. Make sure your cutting depth isn't too much. Maybe the endmill or cutter is blunt? Could it be the feed direction of the cutter? Some materials need to be fed in a certain direction.

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MOTOR GOING TWO DIRECTION WHEN JUST PUSH UP. IT WILL GO DOWN AND THEN GOES AGAIN UP WITH THE SAME BUTTON.

Whenever they are turned on, cell phones communicate at infrequent intervals with a nearby base station even when they are not being used for a call. This is necessary to tell the system where the user is in case a call should come in. Thus, even while they are inactive, the phones are a source of (very low) radiofrequency energy exposure to the user. Hands-free kits reduce exposure to a user by removing the phone from the vicinity of the head. There is no identifiable health benefit in using the kits, but there is no detriment either, and using them may increase a user's peace of mind. Contrary to a widely publicized report by a British magazine last year, the kits are effective in reducing exposure. (This is not necessarily true of other devices that can be bought to be used with phones.) In your case, the cell phone and hands-free kit are clearly an important link to the outside world and I would not hesitate in using them. There may be comfort issues with having the earpiece in place for a long time, but radiofrequency radiation exposure should not be a concern at all. The hands-free kits will reduce exposure below that which you would receive if the phone were kept close to your head. Kenneth R. Foster Professor, Department of Bioengineering

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DOES THE RADIATION ONLY EXIST WHEN I'M ACTUALLY MAKING A CALL, OR JUST ANY TIME PHONE ON?

These machines are inherently dangerous. Before the machine moves, the machine should be clear of any person by a dimension of at the distance of a persons reach plus a few more feet. This is the policies we institute in our shop and what is recommend to all of our customers. Treat these machines as you would treat any major power tool in the shop.

With that said, you can certainly add some protective parts, but still keep folks away even with those installed. I would use the gantry side to do all of the mounting of the protective parts. Consider using sheet metal that you can bend and make a simple installation right on the gantry side.

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HOW DO ADDRESS THE DANGER OF THESE CNC MACHINES

These machines are inherently dangerous. Before the machine moves, the machine should be clear of any person by a dimension of at the distance of a persons reach plus a few more feet. This is the policies we institute in our shop and what is recommend to all of our customers. Treat these machines as you would treat any major power tool in the shop.

With that said, you can certainly add some protective parts, but still keep folks away even with those installed. I would use the gantry side to do all of the mounting of the protective parts. Consider using sheet metal that you can bend and make a simple installation right on the gantry side.

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THESE MACHINES ARE DANGEROUS, WHAT DO DO?

no, it will only work on anodized aluminum

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WILL THE LASER ENGRAVER WORK ON NON-ANODIZED ALUMINUM

I can't think of any reason that it would be dangerous. However, I checked with the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. The Chairman of the Association sent the following memo on 18 June 1999, to the Associations' Board of Directors and others:
"You may have received inquiries about wireless phones causing fires or explosions at gas stations. In particular, you may have been asked about an alleged explosion at a gas station in Indonesia. We have been unable to verify any such occurrence in Indonesia or anywhere else. Moreover, in our discussions with Shell Oil they have stated they have attempted to verify these reports and also have not been able to document any such occurrence."
Nonetheless, in an abundance of caution, some manufacturers have included language in the owner's manuals for their products that recommends wireless phone users turn off their phones while at refueling points (gas stations). In addition, we have received information that Exxon will begin issuing warning signs at all domestic gas stations advising drivers to turn off all wireless communications devices when entering Exxon gas stations.

While wireless phone owners should always consult their owner's manual for information on the use of the phone, we are not aware of any incident that would justify these concerns."

Gen Roessler, Editor
HPS website

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WILL CELL PHONES SPARK A FIRE AT THE GAS STATION?

You can begin offering vaccine as soon as vaccine becomes available. Early vaccination of children younger than age 9 years who are first time vaccinees can be helpful in assuring routine second doses before the influenza season begins.

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WHEN SHOULD INFLUENZA (THE FLU) VACCINE BE GIVEN?

Lettuce, or any vegetable. Also drink a cup of water before meals, it'll make you feel fuller.

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WHAT ARE THE BEST FOODS THAT WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

Yes, we sell collets for the porter cable 892

http://www.buildyourcnc.com/collets.aspx

http://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/router-colletnut-router-collet-nut
http://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/router-collet-er20-router-complete-collet-kit
http://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/router-collet-!5-er20-router-collet
http://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/router-collet-!25-er20-router-collet
http://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/router-collet-!125-er20-router-collet

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WE HAVE PORTER CABLE 892, WILL YOUR COLLETS FIT?

Portable cell phones emit about 0.6 watts of radiofrequency energy, limited primarily by the power of the battery. As with any radiofrequency transmitter, there will be some amount of absorption in the human body; the amount depends on how close you are to the antenna. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) limits the amount of radiofrequency energy which cell phones can deposit in the body to levels at which no health effects are to be expected. See an article on Cell Phone Safety on this website for more information.

Gary H. Zeman, ScD, CHP

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HOW MUCH RADIATION GIVEN OFF BY A CELL PHONE AND THERE ANY WAY TO STOP THE FROM BEING ABSORBED INTO YOURSELF?

Sure, the USB interface has a place for 4 axes of limit switches.

Each axis can have two limit switches: one for the ++ (positive) end and one for the -- (negative) end. The positive end would be the limit switch at the end of the machine that, say the machine has a 4'x8' area, reaches a bit after the 8 foot mark. The negative end would be the limit switch behind the 0 foot location behind the origin. If the origin is in the middle, the negative would be at a little more than the -4 foot end and the positive would be at a bit more than the +4 foot end. Note that you can have more than one switch on each pin where the NC is connected in serial fashion and the NO is connected in parallel fashion (this can be seen on the diagram in the multiple limits switch section). The software configurations for the limits switches are under File -> Settings -> Limit.

A typical limit switch has three connections on it. These connections consist of COM (common), NC (normally closed) and NO (normally open). The COM would generally go to GND and the NC or the NO would go to the pin. If the NC is used, then the the switch is constantly connected until the switch is pushed (engaged) then the connection from the pin to gnd is broken (open). Use the settings in software to set whether in NC or NO configuration.

Let me know if this information was helpful (or not) by adding information to this question. Thanks.

User response:
Thank you very much for this helpful information. I'm still a little fuzzy on how the 6 limit switches physically connect to each other and to the USB breakout board. You've stated one switch (home) goes to positive and another switch (limit) goes to negative. Are all the GND prongs from all 6 switches connected to each other and going to GND on the breakout board, or no? And the NC prongs, how exactly are they connected to each other? And to the board? There has to be a diagram somewhere shows this visually, no? I don't know how to wire the switches in series or in parallel. I have already physically installed all the switches on the machine and ran the wires to where the board is. Now I just need to know where to plug these wires into the board. Also, taking into consideration that I'm using the Planet CNC software, the only settings I have pertaining to limit switches is "Enable/Disable" for each axis, and the actual limit for each axis. Nothing about NC or NO. Is that only in Mach3?
Thank you.

buildyourcnc response:
On the USB interface, the COM on the switch connects to GND and the NC or NO connects to the input pin (i.e. x++, y--, etc.)

Limit switch configuration is rather difficult to understand, especially with series and parallel. You can think of series as a single wire going from GND to the axis letter input terminal (i.e. X++ or X--). If the wire is broken, then the circuit is open (or the switch is engaged in a normally closed scenario). Normally closed is like an actual wire, and when engaged, the switch "opens" (breaks the wire). This is why we recommend in some systems that you can put many switches in series on a single pin. When one of the switches is engaged (breaking the connection) then the entire circuit of switches is broken and the machine stops.

In a parallel scenario, the state of the circuit is always broken until the one of the switches is engaged and the circuit is then closed or connected. The topology looks like a ladder. All the switches connect to both sides of the ladder and the switches are like the runs of the ladder (the horizontal bars that the feet are placed while climbing). Imagine all of the switches broken in this scenario (normally open). It would be like the ladder could be split in two, but if one of the ladder runs (switches) is closed by engaging it, then that run would connect both sides of the ladder and the two sides of the ladder would have a connection.

There is a diagram on the USB page of the various limit switch configurations. If you need more information (visual and/or otherwise), please let us know and we will immediately add that information to benefit everyone.

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WILL THE USB BREAKOUT BOARD WORK WITH MACH3?

No the ZY plate is part of the machine kit not the head combo kit.

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DOES ZY PLATE COME WITH LASER HEAD COMBO.

The parts list is located on this page: http://buildyourcnc.com/cnckitintro.aspx at the bottom of the description.

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DOES YOUR COMBO #1 WITH PLANS AND THE DVD COME COMPLETE PARTS LIST?

Yes we now have HIWIN rails in stock.

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HIWIN RAILS IN STOCK

Hands-free cell phone car microphones have been tested by the manufacturers and meet the current ANSI/IEEE (American National Standards Institute/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) standards for radiofrequency (RF) safety. These are the same standards that the Federal Communications Commission enforces under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and they place limits on the specific absorption rate (SAR) of RF energy in the body. Recent inflammatory articles in the British press were not substantiated by testing at ISO-accredited testing facilities at Motorola. Manufacturers of cell phones are required under FCC regulations to assure that their products meet the SAR limits on both hand-held and hands-free units. Further information can be obtained on the Internet at The Center for Devices and Radiological Health (FDA information) or Office of Engineering and Technology (FCC information).

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COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN, IF IT'S TRUE, THAT HANDS-FREE CELL PHONE CAR MICROPHONES RADIATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT USED WITH THESE PHONES?

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?

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

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WHEN MY WORK PROTECTED?