The parallel (printer cable) port is uses the computer as its main source of pulse trains to operate the motor driver directly. Parallel ports are a direct connection from the processor commonly referred to as GPIO pins (General Purpose I/O pins) and provides a convenient and powerful way to interface with the computer. The parallel breakout board is included in those kits only to condition those signals for use with the drivers.

The USB serves at the actual controller, sending the pulse trains, but the computer sends simple human readable instructions to the USB controller to tell the controller how to send pulses.

The non-technical differences that may serve as the most important information to you is that the parallel configurations allow for a wider variety of industry standard software that can be used to control the cnc machine. The USB that we offer requires the operator to use a software called Planet-CNC software which is a very well made and feature full cnc control software.

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Additional Information:
USB Motion controller breakout board work with planet cnc software?

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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PRINTER CABLE PORT AND USB MOTOR KITS

You can find a diagram that describes the pin-out for the 2.5 am Driver that is intended for the 3D Printer Main Board, but can be used as a standalone driver as well.

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Where is the diagram located?

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Is there a diagram or schematic showing which pin on the 3D printer driver is ABCD?

What 3d printer do you have?

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whiteant

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HAVE 3D PRINTER THAT WANT TO MAKE CNC ROUTER ,IS THERE ANY GUIDES SHOW ME THE WAY

To convert the whiteAnt to a CNC machine, you will want to lower the upper structure to the lowest position to create the most rigidity overall. You will see that there are many holes below the sides of the upper structure that are evenly spaced. This is so you can adjust this lower. You will also want to fasten the lower sides to a substrate (piece of wood, or something) with l-brackets or something that has a bit of adjustment capability. This will keep the sides more rigid as well. Use a Dremel for the spindle. If you want to use a another spindle, let me know and we can product a mount for that spindle since the Dremel has poor runout (TIR). This is important if you are wanting really precise milling.

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how can I convert the whiteAnt from the 3D printer mode to the CNC milling mode?

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.

Hi. The HIWIN spec rail will fit standard M5 screws. If you are using non standard screws with wide heads, or pan heads that are a bit larger than a standard round heads, then it may not fit. Make sure to source screws that have standard round heads, or socket heads for fastening the 20mm HIWIN spec rails.

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I purchased some of your 20mm Hiwin Linear Rails. M5 bolts do not fit flush. The head stands out. Is the spec sheet out of date? What bolts will fit this rail AND T Nuts compatible with 8020's 15 series extrusions? Thanks.

The whiteAnt will work with a 6 amp 12 volt power supply. If you add more peripherals to the machine, like heating bed, you will want higher current. Each motor draws 3.0 amps at full torque. Most of the time, only the x and y axes are moving at the same time, and the drivers are only allowing a max of 2.5 amps and they should be set for about 2.0 amps so they don't overheat (they have overheat protection and the LED will light up, so you will be fine if it does overheat, but your model may suffer). The remaining current will be enough to keep the hot end heated.

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What power supply would be adequate for the whiteAnt 3D printer?

BYCNC Response:
The book build was intended to be 20 inches x 40 inches. Larger machines were designed after the book build was introduced so customers would have the option to go bigger than what the book offered. Check out our larger machines on the website as the machines sizes range from 1 foot x 3 feet all the way up to 6 feet x 12+ feet.

User Response:
I'm not wanting to spend $3,000+ on a machine, I want to build one that will do a 4x8 sheet of wood. Will the plans in the book scale up?

BYCNC Response:
It is possible to scale the book build up, but the rigidity of the gantry would be questionable at that span, even if the height of the gantry structure were to be increased. The gantry design would need to be modified to become a box shape rather than a flat configuration. The kits on the site were design for those wanting a larger machine.

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I BOUGHT YOUR BOOK AND WAS HOPEING IT HAD PLANS OR DIMENTIONS ON HOW TO BUILD A CNC HOLD 4X8 SHEET OF PLY. WILL THE IN SCALE UP?

If you are located near Houston, Texas area you can stop by our shop. If you are not near us, you can check in our forums, and see if you can find someone in your area that has one of our machines, and would be willing to let you come see it in action.

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I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE IS A STORE OR SHOP WHERE CAN SEE THE PRODUCT AND BUY IT?

Yes Mach3 is a great program. Our 3 axis is 6'X12'X3'using all BYCNC components (incl. redsprout)

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I JUST BOUGHT THE 3 AXIS W/HEAVY GANTRY, WILL MACH 4 RUN WELL WITH THIS, AND HOW LARGE CAN GO CUT AREA

When you power up your VFD, you can go into the programming mode by pressing the program button. You can press the up and down arrows to move through the parameters. Press the set button to go into the parameter to see the value of that parameter. If you want to make changes to that parameter, change the value with the up and down arrows until the desired value is shown, and press the set button to accept the changes.

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I AM HAVING TROUBLES FINDING THE PD PROGRAM, HAVE BUT IT DOESN'T SHOW EVERYTHING NEED TO PROGRAM MY VFD. ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED...

The blackTooth Laser cutter and Engraver can be built in a weekend. Take a look at the build instructions and try to determine if you feel you have sufficient capability to put together the laser system.

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HOW COMPLEX IS YOUR KIT TO ASSEMBLE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - HARD IT SETUP CONTROL THE LASER WITH MACH3?

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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THE CNC MACHINE IS UNSAFE WITH EXPOSED SPROCKETS THAT CAN DAMAGE FINGERS AND HAVE CLOTHING CAUGHT IN IT.

If the pins from the terminal block on the side of the board are outputs, or at least 2 of them are outputs, then you can connect our modular driver to the board (example: cw230). If they are all inputs, then you would not be able to connect an external driver.

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I AM USING A XYLOTEX 3 AXIS BOARD AND WANT TO ADD ANOTHER MOTOR SLAVED THE X-AXIS. WILL DRIVE CW230 WORK?

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the primary federal agency responsible for safety aspects of modern-day wireless telecommunications systems. The FCC's Internet address is shown below. Recently FCC published an excellent report, cited below, to assist citizens and local governments dealing with siting of telecommuncations towers. This report contains charts and figures describing the characteristics and performance of telecommunications antennas. The report also contains practical guidance on application of provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which is the governing legislation regarding safety and siting of wireless telelcommunications facilities. Web page: RF Safety Program Page. Report title: "A Local Government Official's Guide to Transmitting Antenna RF Emission Safety: Rules, Procedures, and Practical Guidance." The Local and State Government Advisory Committee (LSGAC) and the FCC have developed this guide to aid local governmental officials and citizens in understanding safety issues related to radiofrequency emissions from telecommunications towers. Gary Zeman, Sc.D., CHP Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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I AM TAKING THE FINAL YEAR PROJECT IN BASE STATIONS AND AIR INTERFACE. WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME INFORMATION.

The files and hardware option for our machines has been removed from the site due to the following reasons:
Difficulty for the end use of the files and the challenges (and time/money) on our side to assist in using these files.
The abuse of these files over the internet.
Ultimately may reduce the sales of machines keeping us in business.
Sadly, this is what has come out of our company attempting to be open; however, the machines sold on this site is still far lower in price than the competition for the quality that we provide as we have a great desire to engender the cottage industry to fulfill their need for low end manufacturing. My sincere apologies if this causes any inconvenience.

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NO, is not possible, I can help with the shipping cost

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IT POSSIBLE TO BUY THE CAD FILES FOR BLACK FOOT MACHINE, MECHANICAL PARTS AND ELECTRONICS BUT NOT WOODEN PARTS, SAVE SHIPPING COSTS? IN THAT CASE I WOULD INSTRUCT SOMEONE MILL ME.

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

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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.

The electronics can be tricky sometimes, especially if more than one change is made for a test. You can move the x-dir wire to another pin and set it in the software configuration. If it works, then only that pin is bad.

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ON THE BOB...EVERYTHING TESTS OK BOB EXCEPT X-DIRECTION OUT. IT'S VOLTAGE IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN Y AND Z (5.00 INSTEAD OF 5.03. TESTED X DIRECTION ALL THREE DRIVERS. IN EACH CASE THERE GOING INTO DRIVER BUT NOT OUT IT.

Yes, the 651 oz/in motor requires a driver that is compatible to the motors (the motor will draw 6 amps max and the driver paired with this motor will be able to allow for a 6 amp draw). I would also recommend a 36 volt power supply for better high velocity performance.

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I HAVE ONE OF YOUR SMALLER STEPPER MOTORS RUNNING MY X AXIS BRIDGE CRANE AND IF IT IS MOVED TO FAST THE MOTOR SOUNDS LIKE SKIPPING STEPS WILL 651OZ REQUIRE A DIFFERENT POWER SUPPLY CONTROLER?