The parallel breakout board has a relay that can turn the router on and off according to the control software in the computer. The router will turn on automatically prior to the machine moving (a time frame can be set so the router is up to speed). When the machine is finished and is not moving, the router automatically turns off. This is with the m3, m4, and m5 codes in the g-code.

If you are interested in the USB breakout board, you will need to get an independent relay board.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
HOW CAN THE ROUTER BE CONTROLLED BY COMPUTER?

If you take the standard parallel cable BoB (Break Out Board), then you will need control software (Mach 3 or EMC2) and CAM software to make your G-Code (such as CamBam). Personally I use CamBam and Mach 3, they work beautifully but don't expect to turn them on and know how they work out of the box. Give yourself a few weeks to get familiar with the basics. CamBam is VERY powerful software for it's price. I'm surprised how much I keep learning on what I can do with it...I highly recommend it if you want as much control as possible.

Mach 3 + CamBam as a bundle costs $310. EMC2 will give you a free replacement for Mach 3 and is exclusively for Linux.

If you use the USB BoB, it will cost an extra $75 + $75 for the software. This is an all-in-one package so no need for Mach 3 or CamBam.

For etching rasters (jpeg, bmp, tiff, non-vectors, photos), I highly recommend PicEngrave. It has been a labor of love for the past 9 years and John has done a wonderful job with it. It easily compares in quality compared to software that is in the $200-$300 range. John's software runs $40 and can be found here: http://picengrave.com/ (don't let the modest website fool you, this stuff can do amazing things). DotG and the Mach3 engrave plugin are two other options and instructions can be found on Dustans page in the gallery on buildyourcnc.com website.

Additional Information:



Additional Information:



Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WHAT SOFTWARE CAN BE USED WITH THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUTTER?

Most of our products have a warranty that extends for 1 year; however, there are parts like end mills and laser tubes which are considered consumables. These parts, when used, become worn, or the usable life is decreased. Laser tubes are parts that, when used, shorten its life, and especially when proper methods are not used (i.e. running the tube with water), can drastically reduce the life of the tube. Therefore, the warranty for laser tubes are 30 days if the laser tube was not used.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
What warranty is there on the 40W laser and power supply?

The gantry sides, gantry bridge parts, two 1/2" rods, two 1/2" ID bearings, two 1/2" ID 12 tooth sprockets, and extra roller chain.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE BLACK TOE TO FOOT UPGRADE?

Yes, from our test with clear and opaque acrylic, the CO2 laser can cut fully through.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
Will the 40W CO2 laser cut through clear and color acrylic?

The Greenbull machine can cut a very wide variety of materials ranging from foam to aluminum. We recommend the use of our 2.2kW spindle to allow the greatest flexibility. Aside from that, the most important thing is to use an appropriate end mill for the material you are cutting and to use appropriate speeds and feed rates.



BYCNC Response:
Our 40W laser can cut up to about 1/4" materials ranging from wood and acrylic down through lighter materials such as leather, fabric, foam, etc. Speed and final cut are greatly enhanced by an air assist upgrade. We also offer an 80W laser which has approximately twice the capabilities of the 40W.

Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WHAT MATERIALS CAN THE GREENBULL MACHINE CUT? LASER ETCH?

A standard 40W CO2 laser will cut up to 1/4" thick of material, be it wood, acrylic, card stock, leather, fabric, foam, cork, etc. (Decent speed and final cut are heavily dependent on a strong air assist upgrade)

Metals cannot be cut due to the power level and wavelength of the CO2 laser. But it can be marked with special solutions like Cermark or Thermark.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WHAT THICKNESS OF MATERIAL CAN THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUT?

Hour meter. This will tell you exactly how long your system has been 'on' giving you a more accurate bead on the length of your tubes life.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WHAT CAN ADD TO MY BLACKTOOTH LASER CUTTER MEASURE THE TIME OF USE?

Temperature probe monitor. Very valuable. This keeps you up to date on your coolant temperature levels.

Voltage meter. This will tell you the exact level of voltage/power you are running telling the laser to run at instead of an arbitrary mark on a drawn wheel around your POT.

Ammeter sensitive to 1mA. This will be sure your not over driving your tube and reducing it's life significantly.

Hour meter. This will tell you exactly how long your system has been 'on' giving you a more accurate bead on the length of your tubes life.

Exhaust fan upgrade. The current fan included is 100CFM. You can buy 120mm fans that push 250CFM and I have included a guide on how to go about doing this here. http://buildyourtools.com/phpBB3/viewto ... 8cdd1802bf

To push the exhaust fan even further, if you have the room/power, I would highly recommend investing in a 600+ CFM "Dust Collector" system. 250CFM is still not suffice to draw all the smoke that can come off of 3mm or 1/8 MDF cutting job.

A cutting surface. I bought myself a aluminum 'egg crate' mesh from my local HVAC company. They are used a cover for fluorescent lights and work great for low impact cutting surface. They come in 4'x8' sheets and are easily cut to fit. The other side is if you can find a steel honeycomb cutting bed to fit. These can be quite costly or fairly affordable depending where you are looking. The benefit of a steel honeycomb is you can use high power magnets to hold material down.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
HOW CAN YOU ENHANCE THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUTTER?

Temperature probe monitor. Very valuable. This keeps you up to date on your coolant temperature levels.

Voltage meter. This will tell you the exact level of voltage/power you are running telling the laser to run at instead of an arbitrary mark on a drawn wheel around your POT.

Ammeter sensitive to 1mA. This will be sure your not over driving your tube and reducing it's life significantly.

Hour meter. This will tell you exactly how long your system has been 'on' giving you a more accurate bead on the length of your tubes life.

Exhaust fan upgrade. The current fan included is 100CFM. You can buy 120mm fans that push 250CFM and I have included a guide on how to go about doing this here. http://buildyourtools.com/phpBB3/viewto ... 8cdd1802bf

To push the exhaust fan even further, if you have the room/power, I would highly recommend investing in a 600+ CFM "Dust Collector" system. 250CFM is still not suffice to draw all the smoke that can come off of 3mm or 1/8 MDF cutting job.

A cutting surface. I bought myself a aluminum 'egg crate' mesh from my local HVAC company. They are used a cover for fluorescent lights and work great for low impact cutting surface. They come in 4'x8' sheets and are easily cut to fit. The other side is if you can find a steel honeycomb cutting bed to fit. These can be quite costly or fairly affordable depending where you are looking. The benefit of a steel honeycomb is you can use high power magnets to hold material down.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WHAT ARE SOME USEFUL MODIFICATIONS CAN APPLY TO THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUTTER?

The blackTooth machine, as it is designed cannot be modified easily as the box within which it is contained also serve as its structure. We are currently designing a special mount for the greenBull (for the 40 watt tube) which will provide 5'x10' or 6'x12' work area and the machine is far less expensive than comparable 4'x8' laser systems. We are also developing a 4'x8' 80 watt system where the tube is in the horizontal orientation. More information can be found in the R&D section.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
I am interested in getting your 40W laser system. How difficult will it be to increase the size to 48" x 48"?

Upgrade your mirrors to SI coated mirrors, using a HQ ZnSe lens and even pushing up to a beam expander will all boost power. The ideal order of experimenation for lowest cost would be changing out for a higher quality lens labeled HQ ZnSE lens. Next would be SI mirrors, which will absorb less heat and reflect better, the last would be to use a beam expander which expands the beam, reducing the heat signature on the mirrors and makes a tighter focal width.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
CAN BOOST THE POWER OF MY BLACKTOOTH LASER?

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.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
HOW TO COOL THE BLACKTOOTH 40W LASER TUBE

no, it will only work on anodized aluminum

Click the link to add information to this solution:
WILL THE LASER ENGRAVER WORK ON NON-ANODIZED ALUMINUM

CO2 lasers can (40w included) can mark glass, but it is not actually etching the glass. When a CO2 laser's focal lasing energy is at the surface, or just past the surface of glass, the air inside that portion of the glass will expand and cause a tiny crack. This gives the appearance of etched glass, but not with the same fineness of etching from, say, sand blasting or acid etching (with hexafluorosilicic acid). If the laser "etching" of the glass is not to the fineness that you desire, you can laser cut the adhesive material used in the acid etching process as an alternative.

You also need to consider the glass you are using. I have learned that not all glass is created equal. Some glass will work well for this (dollar store glass we have tested and works well), and some will not. I believe that lasing tempered glass will probably give some interesting results.


Additional Information:

Click the link to add information to this solution:
Will the 40W CO2 laser etch glass?

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.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
HOW CAN COOL THE LASER TUBE?

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

Click the link to add information to this solution:
DOES ZY PLATE COME WITH LASER HEAD COMBO.

Same issue here -- TTL output from the AWC708C never seems to be pulled low. Still troubleshooting.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
MY LASER MACHINE VERTICAL DOES NOT ACTIVATE THE LASER TUBE, VERIFY THE POWER SUPPLIES AND THEY ARE WORKING WHICH THE PROBLEM CAN BE

If you remove the dust shoe, you should be able to reach the collet to remove the end mill.

Click the link to add information to this solution:
DO HAVE TO REMOVE THE PORTER CABLE 892 ROUTER EVERY TIME CHANGE BIT?