To verify, you are still getting the laser tube to fire, but the laser beam is weak and cannot cut or engrave any materials correct?

Have you checked your tube's tungsten post terminals to make sure they are getting good contact?
The Laser tube and laser power supply both have manufacture warranty, please email customerservice@buildyourcnc.com for further assistance.

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Hello, I have a blacktooth laser cutter, the machine has 10hrs of work, suddenly in the middle of a job the laser beam lost all power, I can still se the purple plasma beam but with no power or intensity, the tube is fine, water is running through and there is no arcing to the chasis or some other part. I think it might be a faulty PS how can I test it, Do I have a warranty on it?

Headsets have been tested by the manufacturers and meet the current ANSI/IEEE standards for RF safety, the same standards that the Federal Communications Commission enforces under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. These standards place limits on the specific absorption rate (SAR) of radiofrequency (RF) energy in the body. Recent inflamatory articles in British press were not substantiated by testing in ISO-accredited testing facilities at Motorola. Manufacturers of cellular 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 may be available from the FDA or from the FCC. Ron Petersen, Lucent C.K. Chou, Motorola

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HAVE THERE BEEN ANY STUDIES OF POSSIBLE RADIATION DANGER FROM HEADSETS USED WITH HANDSETS CORDED TELEPHONES? I A TELEPHONE BATTERY-POWERED HANDSET. THIS HANDSET HAS JACK FOR HEADSET, SO YOU CAN WALK AROUND THE HOUSE AND YARD ON YOUR BELT WHILE TALK INTO HEADSET. EITHER OR HEADSET GIVING OFF RADIATION, LIKE CELLULAR PHONE? DANGEROUS AMOUNT RADIATION?

If your laser machine needs to reflect off of three mirrors before it finally passes the focal lens, then I would recommend realigning the laser.

You might also want to see if the nozzle is hot. If so, then the laser energy is hitting some of the nozzle body and not all of the laser energy is exiting the small aperture of the nozzle. To determine if this is the cause, remove the nozzle and try the operation again to see if you have better results. If the results are better with the nozzle off, then realign the mirrors. If you are still having difficulty getting the laser energy to exit the nozzle, increase the diameter of the nozzle aperture.

If you are still having poor results, take a look at the focal lens and the mirrors for any debris. An unclean lens and mirrors are a common cause of poor lasing performance.

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Is this a problem with the tube or the power supply? The tube is illuminated but I don't get clear firing to the piece. This is a rastering work and I get faint results and then it will be fine, then nothing. Tube changes from pink to solid line purple even when vectoring or manually holding the fire button. https://youtu.be/rX5xZoM6_bk

It generally does not matter if it is longer at the other end as long as the lead screw provides the desired travel for that axis. The lead screw will only need to be long enough for the travel, plus any structure and lead-nut positioning.

For example:
- The motor that will turn the lead screw will need to be mounted at some position (generally at one end of the axis). In many cases, this positioning will be mounted where some of the lead screw will not be used (the lead nut will not be able to moved close to the coupling of the lead screw to the motor shaft). Add some of the length of the lead screw to be inserted into the coupling.

- If the lead screw will contain bearings at either end of the travel, that portion of the mechanical assembly will need to be considered in the lead screw length.

- The lead-nut will need to be mounted in a position on a structural member of the part that is to move. The distance from the part of the structure that will extend closest to the motor will have some distance to the position of the lead nut. This distance will need to be added to the lead screw length.

Add these discrepancies to the length of the lead screw and the travel length and you will have the final length.

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How to determine lead screw length needed. My Thomson 1 1:4 rails are 60 inches long roughly for the router I’m building. I know I have to have it long enough to couple up with the stepper motor of course but does it matter if it’s a little long on the other end

Are you referring to the parts that make up the mount for the nozzle that slides along rail?

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Yes. Because the wood is thicker than the plastic, the holes for the screws that hold the bearings are off.

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Yes, understood. We must have used the wrong CAM file to cut the parts for those pieces. My apologies for that. I would rather send you new pieces poste haste.


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I might just go ahead and try to make them. I already had to make one piece that was missing. However, if you think you can get them here by Thursday, I can just go ahead and put the body together. If you do plan on sending them, I also need three more M 8 x 16 mm screws. Also still looking for a mini air compressor for the assist. Overall, the design is great and I'm enjoying putting it together.

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Thank you for the kind words. I will send it anyway and check with Sandra (the current shipper) if Thursday is possible. Just to confirm, the parts related to the steps 46 to 52 in the Vertical Laser XL instructions. Correct? There is a single screw that tightens the bearings onto the rails. This screw is located at the center of the assembly. I'm sure you did this already, but it deserves a mention just in case somebody else has this issue. Make sure that the screw is all the way loose to see if it still doesn't fit. Also worth mentioning, make sure not to tighten it too much as it is very easy to crack the plexiglass. The screw creates a very high force on this assembly.

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Yes. I think you should revisit your plexi cut sheets. The top two holes that hold the laser head from step 47 we're not drilled. I had to drill those. The part from step 48 was not included so I modified a different piece to make it. Also, the centerpiece from step 32, was not included. I ended up making one from plexi but I suggest machining it from aluminum.

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That is odd. I will definitely take a look. That doesn't sound right at all.

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But, once again, great design so far. I much prefer putting it together myself. Ill start working on the body.

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Hello, I was able to adjust and get the head on track.

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Hello, I was able to adjust and get the head on track.

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Excellent!


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I ended up just using a 2 nut system to secure the tensioner. The one I made cracked so that's why I suggested a machined Al.

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That makes sense.

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Hi Patrick, I also seem to have gotten some old or mis-cut parts -- holes don't line up in step 31, slot missing in step 36, and so on. I sent you an email last Friday with more details (subject "Order 41101"). Since then we realized that the y axis rails for step 37 are also cut too long and will need to be cut down by a few inches. That's as far as we've gotten so far, so no idea what else is lurking.

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I've copied my last comment to a new question to keep from cluttering up this thread; don't know yet if I'm also going to hit the issues with steps 46-52.

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Bought a vlxl from you guys. Great design however since you changed the main gantry support from plastic to wood, the guides for the head do not fit with the given plastic pieces. I do not think I have enough wiggle room in the plastic to drill new holes. I may be able to cut down the aluminum. What do you suggest?

It is not clear that mobile phones do produce brain tumors, or any serious health effects for that matter. A number of epidemiology studies have been almost completely negative on the issue.

See the article I wrote with John Moulder in IEEE Spectrum magazine and also Moulder's FAQ on mobile phones and health.

There has been a lot of discussion over the years about the possible mechanisms by which microwave energy such as emitted by cell phones might produce biological effects. The one unequivocal mechanism is the heating of tissue, but mobile phones operate at power levels that are too low to cause noticeable heating in the user. Scientists have speculated about other mechanisms, but these theories remain unproven and many of them have been challenged on biophysical grounds.

Whatever may be the risks or nonrisks of mobile phone radiation, a hands-free kit is an effective way for the user to reduce his or her exposure to radiofrequency energy while using a mobile phone.

Kenneth R. Foster, Professor
Department of Bioengineering
University of Pennsylvania

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I WOULD LIKE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE PHYSICS PRINCIPLES REGARDING USE OF MOBILE PHONES AND DEVELOPMENT BRAIN TUMORS. I'VE BEEN THROUGH MANY SITES BUT THEY CAN NEVER GIVE AN EXACT ANSWER. REALLY SOMEONE TUMORS OR DOES IT HAVE DO WITH INTENSITY RADIATION DISTANCE BETWEEN PHONE INDIVIDUAL?

If your laser machine needs to reflect off of three mirrors before it finally passes the focal lens, then I would recommend realigning the laser.

You might also want to see if the nozzle is hot. If so, then the laser energy is hitting some of the nozzle body and not all of the laser energy is exiting the small aperture of the nozzle. To determine if this is the cause, remove the nozzle and try the operation again to see if you have better results. If the results are better with the nozzle off, then realign the mirrors. If you are still having difficulty getting the laser energy to exit the nozzle, increase the diameter of the nozzle aperture.

If you are still having poor results, take a look at the focal lens and the mirrors for any debris. An unclean lens and mirrors are a common cause of poor lasing performance.

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The tube is illuminated but I don't get clear firing to the piece. This is a rastering work and I get faint results and then it will be fine, then nothing. Tube changes from pink to solid line purple even when vectoring or manually holding the fire button.

Pulsed radiation fields are encountered in the vicinity of electron Linacs (McCall and Ipe 1988). Most therapy Linacs are operated at repetition rates varying from 100 to 400 pulses per second with pulse widths of about 1 to 10 microseconds (AAPM 1986). The fraction of operating time (that is, pulse width x repetition rate) during which the beam is on is called the duty factor. For example, the duty factor for an electron Linac operating at 100 pulses per second with a pulse width of 10 µs is 0.001. These small duty factors impose severe limitations on the radiation detection instruments. The peak intensity is equal to the average intensity divided by the duty factor, which in this case will be 1,000 times higher than the average intensity. An instrument that normally responds well to the average dose rate spread out evenly in time will not be able to cope with such a high dose rate. The intense photon pulse usually overwhelms any active detector (that detects particle events electronically). Instruments which have long dead times, such as the GM and proportional counters, tend to become saturated in such fields and only count the repetition rate. Thus GM counters should not be used to perform radiation surveys outside exterior walls of the Linac room. Scintillation survey meters may become nonlinear at higher dose rates because photomultipliers cannot handle the high instantaneous currents.Ionization chambers are less influenced; however they must be operated with adequate voltage to overcome recombination losses. There are several commercially available ionization chambers that can be used for Linac radiation surveys

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THE ROOM HAS THICK CONCRETE WALLS PLUS LEAD SHEETS. LEVELS OF EXPOSURE I AM GETTING WITH LUDLUM MODEL 3 SURVEY METER (SM) A 44-9 PROBE ARE BETWEEN 0.1-3 MR/H IN WORST CASE (HIGHER ENERGY AND POINTING BEAM TO WALL). SM WAS CALIBRATED 137CS MY NOMINAL 18 MV (MEAN ~5 MV). WHAT KIND INSTRUMENT MORE ADEQUATE USE FOR THIS TYPE BETTER RESPONSE?

Please contact customerservice@buildyourcnc.com to get this issue resolved.

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Hi I have been having a problem with one particular chain sproket on the gantry, I have gone thru five they keep coming off the bearing they are pressed onto. I have checked the allignment with the drive sproket and the other sproket next to it, I also checked the allignment of the chain from each end , all is within less than a 1/16" and almost identical to the other side of the gantry.

There has been a cell phone base installed in the fire tower. The panels are vertical and located about 75 feet at the top of the tower. Unlike some towers I have seen there are no round disks and no beaming lights. At night, the tower and cell phone material are dark. Does this make any difference in any related health issues with RF exposure and is it possible the tower is a receive-only transmitter ?

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THERE HAS BEEN A CELL PHONE BASE INSTALLED IN THE FIRE TOWER. PANELS ARE VERTICAL AND LOCATED ABOUT 75 FEET AT TOP OF UNLIKE SOME TOWERS I HAVE SEEN NO ROUND DISKS BEAMING LIGHTS. NIGHT, TOWER MATERIAL DARK. DOES THIS MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE RELATED HEALTH ISSUES WITH RF EXPOSURE IT POSSIBLE RECEIVE-ONLY TRANSMITTER ?

These connectors are not necessary and they are not included in the kits anymore. I have revised the step to reflect this change. The connectors are actually an undesirable addition since that is a point at which the hoses can be disconnected during the machine operation and cause water to drop into the driver electronics.

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In the Blacktooth instruction 90 A pair of coolant hose connectors are to be installed. These didn't come with all the other parts, and aren't on the packing list. Are they really necessary? Could not the tubes just exit through these holes and go to the pump, bucket, or water container?

If some axes are not moving in two directions, the direction signal is not making good contact at either the controller or the driver.

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I have USB Interface board. All axes are working if using MDI , using program some of the axes are only moving one direction. Example using Gcode X50 Y50 Z50 and then X45 Y45 Z45 then online one of the axes is turning correctly. But also shows on Mach3 screen that all axes are moving correctly.

We currently do not have any step down adapters for the vacuum pressure sensor, and would recommend looking at local hardware stores or major online hardware suppliers (ex: McMaster, grainger) . However it is something you will be need to be very specific with, ex: Barb 1/4" Hose ID to 1/8" Hose ID Reducer Fitting. Is something I would recommend when trying to fit a larger tube.

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I am interested in using your vacuum pump controller pressure switch for one of our applications. However, I am concerned about having a proper connection from the 1/16" sensor barb to our vacuum line. Do you carry adapter of common sizes to step down to a 1/16" line? If not, do you know who might? (I have already done some prelim searching with little luck)

We do offer all of the parts; but it is best to purchase them a la carte. You will probably not want the hardware since this would not conform to a design in metal.

All of the mechanical parts are available here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/CNCMachineMechanicalParts.aspx

All of the electronics you would need is available here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/electronicscombo.aspx

All of the laser components are available here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/LaserComponents.aspx

And the spindles and VFDs are available here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/SpindlesAndAccessories.aspx

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Is it possible to order the mechanics, motors and electronics, in other words, order the kit without the wood? Reason being is I have aluminum and steel to make a machine out of.

If you are wanting to purchase all of the parts for a machine excluding the structural parts, you will need to order the parts a la carte.

Electronics packages can be found here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/category/elcombo

Mechanical components can be found here:
https://buildyourcnc.com/CNCMachineMechanicalParts.aspx

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Is it possible to order the mechanics, motors and electronics, in other words, order the kit without the wood? Reason being is I have aluminum and steel to make a machine out of.

Yes, the Mach3 USB board has two terminals that require 24V connection. Most VFDs have a 24V output that can be used to power this part of the Mach3 USB board.

The V+ and V- on the Mach3 USB is not absolutely necessary to operate the CNC machine/router. The V+ and V- of the Mach3 USB board powers the outputs, inputs, and spindle's speed and control.

Here is the Mach3 USB link for more information:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

The new YL600 VFD we have in stock may not have this 24V output. There is a 12V terminal, but I have not tested that terminal if it outputs 12V, or if it is a 12V input. If you are only conecting limit switches to the Mach3 USB and need to power that portion, 12V will be sufficient.

I will delve into these aspects in far more detail on video.

Thanks and Merry Christmas to you as well!

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Hey Guys, I have a brand new redleaf and 5x. In the final stages of wiring and wondering a few things. Can I connect the Mach3 USB board V+ V- to my frequency inverter (type YL600-2s-2k20)? If so where? Will your upcoming (part 2)video deal with this as well as final connections for limit switches and stop button? Merry Christmas!

The 8 wire motors need to be wired in bipolar parallel configuration. The wiring is as follows: Red and Blue to A+, Yellow and Black to A-, White and Brown to B+ and Orange and Green to B-. To find the wiring for the 4 wire motors, the wiring is Red to A+, Orange to A-, Blue to B+ and Green to B-.

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I have constructed the cnc router machine as shown in woodsmith magazine. I have purchased the 3 Nema stepper motors. The one larger motor has 4 wires, as do the other two. However, on the schematic, the Z, and Y axis motors indicate 8 wires each. Did I go wrong, or are there different Nema 23 motors?

What interface board are you using? Typically, this will be an issue with the computer that MAch3 is installed. The only other component that may affect this would be the interface between the computer and the machine.

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mach3 freezes in the middle of a run, I don't get any message. I have press reset and then the jog buttons work. I have to reset the zero and start from the last line when the machine stopped. It happens mostly during the finishing part of the g-code file

Identify the Control Signals: First, determine which control signals from the DB25 interface card are used for spindle speed control. Typically, these are PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signals or analog voltage signals.

VFD Configuration: Your VFD should be configured to accept the type of control signal your DB25 card provides. This involves setting parameters in the VFD that correspond to the type of input signal it will receive for speed control.

Wiring: Connect the appropriate output pins from the DB25 card to the input terminals on the VFD. This usually involves connecting the PWM or analog output to the corresponding input on the VFD. Make sure to consult the manuals for both your VFD and interface card for specific wiring details.

UCCNC Settings: Configure UCCNC to output the correct type of signal (PWM or analog) that matches your VFD's configuration. This is done through the software's spindle setup section.

Test and Adjust: Run some tests to ensure that the spindle speed is being correctly controlled by UCCNC. You might need to tweak settings in either the VFD or UCCNC for optimal performance.

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I am looking at purchasing your 2.2 kw water cooled spindle. I'm assuming it comes with the VFD. I have a rotary phase converter in my shop. Are these spindles 3 phase? And if so, can I bypass use of the VFD and control the spindle speed by the CAM software instead? Or is the VFD an absolute necessity to use on the spindle?