Your question caused me to make a quick video to understand how the pokeys57CNC controller works with a THC.

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[596] Would you help with the Hook up and the Configuration and whether it is in the Plugin or mach 4 control configuration that needs to be set. I decided to use the ultra fast encoders connector pin #8, 12 and 13 for Arc ok, UP and Down. Please advise what setting to set to make it all work. Thank you very much for your help!

I also place the controller very close to the drivers (on the back of the gantry). All of the cables are shielded. The only long cables are the mains power cables and the USB cable. The USB cable is shielded and contains active repeaters.

There is no problem putting all of the electronics in a box and using long cables to the motors. This is the way I did it for a very long time.

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Great site. I saw your videos of wiring the Mach3 USB controller. You place the drivers next to the Steppers. This means that you have very long leads to the USB Board? What about the placement of the controlling PC? Is it a problem to have the USB board, PSUs and Drivers in a control box and long leads to the steppers? Thank you.

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?

Please contact us at sales@buildyourcnc.com so we can provide you with assistance on your order

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I am trying to purchase a kit for our school in Singapore, and your site keeps refusing our corporate AMEX card. Can you help us figure out what is up with that? Are you not ship to Singapore or something? Our AMEX rep says that the account is authorised for this purchase from our end, so the problem may be with your site? Please advise.

Yes, you can connect a THC, Torch Height Controller, with the Mach3 USB controller. The THC uses the inputs to determine if the z axis needs to move up or down according to the arc of the plasma torch. The THC connects its outputs to the inputs of the controller so the controller will be informed of the states of the plasma torch.

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I am interested in using the Mach3 USB interface board. I was wondering if there was a way to run a torch height controller with this board for use with a plasma cutter, and if so do you know of any THCs that will work. Thank you.

if you purchased the USB interface, you will need planet-cnc software rather than Mach3, and you will need a usb cable to connect the usb interface to the computer.

The blackToe 2x4 CNC Machine Kit with optional table will need wire to connect the electronics. Don't forget to get some end mills to use for cutting the intended material.


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If I purchase the [blackToe 2x4 v4.1 CNC Machine Kit - USB Electronics - Table Included] all I would need for this CNC to be fully operational is a laptop with mach 3 software and a router. Is this correct?

You can only use the planet-cnc interfaces with the PlanetCNC software. If you like the software and want to remain with that software, the hardware interfaces will need to be purchased from the planet-cnc folks.

I would recommend using the Pokeys57CNC interface which is compatible with Mach3 and Mach4. You can also consider the Mach3 USB interface if the Pokeys57CNc interface is out of your price range.

Pokeys57CNC product page:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach4-mach3-USB-ethernet-Board

Mach3 USB product page:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

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I have registered version of planetcnc software that I purchased with a Chinese controller I want to use 3 better drivers with a separate USB controller can you recommend a controller and how to link my existing software. Regards Lloyd from Australia

Hi, you can call me at the 281-815-7701 number. Please leave a message when you call as most of the calls are screened to avoid scam calls. You can also email me at customerservice@buildyourcnc.com or phooddaniel@berkeley.edu.

The newer kits that are featured on the home page include everything you need except a computer and software. The legacy CNC routers that are located in the CNC machines menu selection include all of the parts for the gantry, but you will need to build the table yourself. All of the information on the measurements to be followed for the table construction are on the machine pages.

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I am looking at getting a 4x8 cnc router kit. I am having a hard time figuring out what is included in the kit and what else i will need to buy with it to get off the ground and running. Is there someone i could talk to to walk me through it? If not, can you break down what all I need to go from scratch to a running set up? thanks

You should have no problem connecting the Pokeys57CNC controller to the drivers of your machine as long as the drivers have step (Pulse or PUL) and direction (DIR) terminals. You will need the cable pack that is sold separately so you can connect the headers/connectors of the pokeys57cnc controller to the drivers using ribbon cables.

I show this process in great detail on this page:
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach4-mach3-USB-ethernet-Board

Is you scroll down on the page, you will see a set of videos that show the process step-by-step.

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I have a ShopBot CNC that was converted to Mach 3. The controller has gone out. I pourchased your Pokeys57 board, but I'm not sure I have everything I need. I think my motor drivers are OK, but am not sure how to wire them to what I purchased from you. Need Help. How can we make this work, or do I need a different board to distribute the movement signals to my drivers?

The Mach3 USB interface board requires 24V relays externally. There are no relays on the mach3 usb board. If you use an external relay on the mach3 usb board, the relay connects to the V+ which is 24V and the output pin is the return.

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I understand what you are saying. Does your relay board work with the Mach3 USB board? If not, what relay board do you suggest to work with this usb controller?

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Our relay board works with our parallel breakout board. An off the shelf SSR (Solid State Relay) made for 24V should work fine.

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I bought a 'BuildyourCNC V1' relay board to go with my mach3 usb controller. I have been sent a 'Songle' relay. It's not the one in your picture and it's got different connections, for which there isn't a wiring diagram. The one I ordered says it is 5v, this one seems to be saying it's a 24v unit. Can you please explain what has happened? Thanks

The Mach3 USB interface board requires 24V relays externally. There are no relays on the mach3 usb board. If you use an external relay on the mach3 usb board, the relay connects to the V+ which is 24V and the output pin is the return.

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I understand what you are saying. Does your relay board work with the Mach3 USB board? If not, what relay board do you suggest to work with this usb controller?

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Our relay board works with our parallel breakout board. An off the shelf SSR (Solid State Relay) made for 24V should work fine.

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I bought a 'BuildyourCNC V1' relay board to go with my mach3 usb controller. I have been sent a 'Songle' relay. It's not the one in your picture and it's got different connections, for which there isn't a wiring diagram. The one I ordered says it is 5v, this one seems to be saying it's a 24v unit. Can you please explain what has happened? Thanks

Yes, we can ship to the UK. We ship there often. The shipping time will be based on the selection you make in the shopping cart when you press the calculate shipping button. We work with many universities and we can process the order according to your administration's needs.

Here is our canned response for general shipping questions:
You can determine if the country 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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I am running a research project at Bath University in the UK based on desktop CNC machines and their potential use in the department of engineering. Will you guys ship to the UK & what is the estimated time? Thank you.

Currently our USB breakout board is only compatible with Planet-CNC software as it has to be registered with Planet-CNC.

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Hi, I have watched your vids on YouTube and I am interested in purchasing one of your USB Break-Out Boards. I currently own and use FlashCut CNC software, which is USB based, on all of my machines. I'm wondering if you could tell if the Flashcut software will talk with the USB Break-Out Board? Thank You

We could not guarantee, nor say, whether or not your current software would be able to utilize the USB breakout board. Our USB breakout board is designed for use with Planet CNC software found here, http://www.planet-cnc.com/index.php?page=software

As far as we know, this is the only CNC Controller software that operates on a USB breakout controller.

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I want to change my old DSP controller and break out board with new one in your site that support usb it is possible ? if yes can we contact us to talking about details ?

The greenBull uses roller chain for the X and Y axes. The drive sprockets have 14 teeth and the pitch (from crown to crown, or pin to pin measurement) is 1/4" (0.25 inches). You will need the pitch circumference which is: 14 * .25 = 3.5 inches. We need to find the steps per inch (steps/inch). We now have the inches for one full revolution. Now we need to find the number of steps for one full rotation of the motor. For these sprockets, I find that 16 microsteps is best. Make sure that the drivers for the X and Y axes are set to 1/16 microstepping. The motor have 200 steps per rotation, so the total steps with 1/16 microsteps is 200 * 16 = 3200. So the steps/inch is 3200 step / 3.5 inches = 914.286.

The velocity should be around 400-1000. Test various values for velocity and make sure that no stalling happens. Start with a very low acceleration and determine it's top velocity. When the top velocity is found, reduce the velocity to give you a good factor of safety. Then increase the acceleration until it stall at a low velocity and then reduce the acceleration to give you a good factor of safety for acceleration.

Do the same thing for the z-axis. The lead screw pitch circumference is 0.5 inches (2 turns per inch or 5starts/10tpi).

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Hello, I have a Greenbull almost ready to work and I am trying to calibrate the machine, what are the specifics values as steps per units (SPU), ….. to load in planet cnc software to do the best accuracy as possible. My currents values are standar: Steps/unit 200.000, int speed 0.00, Maximun speed 0.00 and Acceleration 15.000 for each axes. Thank for your help.

Unfortunately, end mills will dull over time and need to be sharpened or repurchased. We do not currently offer any sharpening service, but we have a large selection of end mills you can find here http://www.buildyourcnc.com/ProductsEndMills.aspx

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Hi, I got two different bits I use alot. The 1/16th and 1/32 end mills. I use them alot for making signs. They seem to be getting dull. They are very expensive so I was wondering can you sharpen these bits? Do you have a service to do this? Thank you

You will need to build the table unit for your machine. There are instructions on how to do this at the bottom of the product page here, https://www.buildyourcnc.com/Item/cnc-machine-blackFoot-v4
There is no estimate on how much this will cost though, since there are too many variables involved to do this.

- PC with parallel port and USB port
- 20awg stranded wires for the motors - http://www.buildyourcnc.com/electronicscombo.aspx
- 18awg stranded wires for power supply to drivers
- 24awg stranded wires for breakout board to drivers
(location and spacing of components varies from one person to another, so we do not provide cables/wires)
- General purpose extension cord (cut the female end off) to provide power to power supply
- USB cable to power breakout board
- Parallel cable to communicate to breakout board
- Router
- (optional - instead of router) Spindle with power inverter http://www.buildyourcnc.com/SpindlesAndAccessories.aspx
- (if purchasing spindle with inverter) General purpose extension cord (240v) (cut the female end off) to provide power to power inverter
- End Mill(s) http://www.buildyourcnc.com/ProductsEndMills.aspx
- CAD, and/or CAD-CAM software (to produce geometry, machine operations, and g-code) http://www.buildyourcnc.com/CNCsoftware.aspx
- CNC control software (to read g-code and control machine) http://www.buildyourcnc.com/CNCsoftware.aspx

This answer is applicable to most of our machines with the exception of the greenLean and the blueChick since those machines are equipped with a table structure.

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I just wanted to know what I can expect to pay to build the blackFoot 4'x8' CNC machine, excluding computer, software and router? Is the kit complete or do I have to purchase additional items to finish?

I would not recommend slaving an axis using the method of taking an additional axis from the USB interface. Instead, wire both drivers to a single axis on the USB interface. This will insure perfect signal output to both drivers. If you requre the motors to spin in opposite directions, simply wire one of the motors to the driver reversing the coil A and B connections, or use a hex inverter (https://www.buildyourcnc.com/tutorials/Tutorial-Two-Motors-Spinning-Oppositely-On-Single-Axis).

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I purchased a USB Breakout board, motors and drivers, paid for CNC USB Controller Software and I CAN NOT "Slave" an axis, but there is an option to do that. The moment I connect USB Breakout Board "Slave" option becomes shaded and I can no longer select it (becomes not functional). What is going on? Need help asap. Thanks

Can you send me a link to the digitizer you are using?

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Hi my names is Minh Truong I would like to said thank you very much for your video I got the system mach3 working fine but one thing I can NOT set and config the digitizer on the board IN4 I am not sure how to setup because in the Mach3 pin 14 for digitizer Please shoe me hoe to set it up for the digitizer.