The drivers have quite a bit of protection, so you probably won't ruin anything. You motors are jumping and that is just the motors engaging from getting power from the power supply.

There could be many reasons your motors don't turn. Consider these troubleshooting tips:

- If you are using our parallel breakout board, make sure that the step pins are set for active low (config -> Ports and Pins -> Motor Outputs -> the steps pins should be enabled and set active low)

- The parallel breakout board is powered (connect the USB to the computer using a USB cable)

- In Mach3, make sure you have jog enabled (a little green button at thelower middle of the page in the program run screen).

Additional Information:


Additional Information:
DS26

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My stepper motors stopped working all of a sudden. Mach 3 is running fine, just no signals getting to the motors. The lights on the motor drivers began blinking erratically when this started. Any advice where a problem like this can come from would be greatly appreciated.

The whiteAnt is no longer sold; the information on the website is to support legacy customers. We have spoken with you and are sending the materials that you need.

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I am having difficulty with the wiring on the White Ant. The latest electronics that I received don't seem to be anything like the book or even the tutorials. For instance, the three stepper drivers need 6 pin connectors and ribbon cable. How are they wired? There was no thermocouple wire included. Thanks,

We recommend our electronics combo for the scratch build kit, which you can find on our site here: https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-3axis-425-elcombo. This is our standard general purpose 3 axis electronics system, and includes (3) NEMA 24 425 oz-in stepping motors, (3) Drivers (3.0Amp 24-40 Volts, with 1-1/64 microstepping), (1) 36v 8.8a Power Supply, (1) Interface Board either USB or Parallel. (The USB version requires PlanetCNC software; the parallel interface board gives you a variety of options, Mach3 being one popular choice.)

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I got the plans and hardware from you guys and im almost ready for the stepper motor part of this build. what size motors are good to use for this build? the size of cnc will be 2x4 when finish or what size will not work? thanks

I can provide a paypal invoice for the difference in price. Just give me an email at customerservice@buildyourcnc.com and then I can send you the invoice.

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I can provide a paypal invoice for the difference in price. Just give me an email at customerservice@buildyourcnc.com and then I can send you the invoice.

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thats great thank you. please send it to james_moya@hotmail.com and i will be paying with my cc.

Additional Information:
thats great thank you. please send it to james_moya@hotmail.com and i will be paying with my cc.

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i placed an order with you on 5.27.20 for 3 stepper motors. i realize now i need the rest of the electronics (drivers, breakout board power supply etc...) i see you offer a bundle and would like to know how i can get the rest of the bundle. im looking at the $390 bundle without the motors obviously. please advise. thank you

It's generally acceptable to use one pin for all of your limit switches wired Normally Closed (NC), and another separate pin for a Z probe that is Normally Open (NO). LinuxCNC is quite flexible and allows for mixed configurations of NC and NO switches.

Just ensure you configure LinuxCNC correctly to recognize each pin's logic (Active low or active high). And perhaps run a few tests before running the machine.

Additional Information:
It's generally acceptable to use one pin for all of your limit switches wired Normally Closed (NC), and another separate pin for a Z probe that is Normally Open (NO). LinuxCNC is quite flexible and allows for mixed configurations of NC and NO switches.

Just ensure you configure LinuxCNC correctly to recognize each pin's logic (Active low or active high). And perhaps run a few tests before running the machine.

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[59] is it ok to use one pin for all of the limit switches wired NC and another pin for a z probe that is NO, or do all input pins need to be the same (NC or NO)? I would like to use LinuxCNC but will use Mach3 if necessary. a thanks!

Did you install the Mach3 USB plug-in?

Make sure that you followed all of the steps and diagrams on the following page:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

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ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WORKS. I HAVE ALL STRUCTURE AND MECHICAL PARTS OF THE BLACKTOOTH CUTTER DONE. HOWEVER WHEN WIRE UP STEPPER MOTOR TO DRIVER. THAT MACH 3 USB CONTROLLER BOARD, TRY JOG MOTOR, WORKS! PREVIOSULY HAD PLANET CNC BREAKOUT HOWRVER, ONLY MOVED MOTORS IN ONE DIRECTION COULDNT CHANGE IT. ANY HELP WOULD BE APRECIATED

The blackToe 2'x4' cnc machine is sold as a kit only. We offer plans for the scratch (book) build machine that can be found here for purchase and also comes with a DVD showing the build process: http://www.buildyourcnc.com/cnckitintro.aspx and the plans for build in the book is on the CNC book page: http://www.buildyourcnc.com/Book.aspx.

You can use the same size stepping motors referenced in the book: http://www.buildyourcnc.com/category/elcombo

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I would like to build the 2’x 4’ blackToe2x4v40 CNC router. I have your book. I want to build the latest model blackToe2x4 v40. Are those the correct plans on your web book page ? Is there a bill of materials? If I use a Porter Cable 3-3/4 router motor what size stepper motors do I need?

The motor with that model number is here: https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-nema24-425ozin

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In looking for a stepper motor amongst old parts in my lab, I found one with a sticker that says buildyourowncnc.com and PN SM60HT86-2008BF U2 on it. I found a Q&A on your website that says it's a NEMA 24 motor with 425 oz/in holding torque. I was wondering if you were able to confirm this? Any specs sheets and details of the motor would be much appreciated

We just received our new inventory of motors and that specific stepper motor ski came back with only one shaft. I’m not at the office to look at this inventory, so if that is true, they will all be single shaft. We may have other stepper motors with included rear shafts, but I will have to see on Monday.

If I don’t have the double shaft, we will provide a refund upon receipt of the motors. My apologies for this error.

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Hi, I'm sending these motors back today. As I understand you, you might have some motors from the previous lot still in stock, and these would be double shaft but otherwise you don't have any and won't be getting any. If you do have two double shaft versions of this motor please send them; if you don't have two of them please let me know--today if possible--so I can start looking elsewhere. Thanks, Ted Armen

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we just received two nema 11 stepper motors per our order--USR2-2, however they are single shaft, we need double shaft, I thought that's what we ordered. We're sending them back, let me know if you do have the double shaft version and I'll try again to order them. I notice the model number on the motor ends in "A", where the packing slip shows "B".

You will need PlanetCNC software for the USB breakout board and when plugging in the USB the computer should automatically recognize the board, however you can go into device manager to see if the USB terminal is working correctly.
The parallel breakout board; the USB is not a connection terminal rather than a power source, and the parallel port will be the communication terminal.
The items you will need for a water cooled spindle would be: water pump, silicon tubing(length desired by customer), a extension cord(from a hardware store(orange))(1 same gauge wire/length as extension cord).

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I am making my own CNC setup using all the electronics from your website and I have many questions. Please advise how to have my computer recognize the USB connection from my breakout board also I would like to use a water cooled spindle but I need to know the parts required for a 4x10 bed area used for woods and plastics

Attaching two motors in parallel is possible, but you will need another motor and driver for the opposite side. Each motor must have its own driver to work accordingly and fluently. The two can be wired together, to the same pins on your breakout board and set the dip switches on the driver to match the ones on your x-axis(ex). But remember to view the orientation of the motor and which way it spins, since it is on the opposite side it will have to be orientated correctly to move in sync with the other motor.

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I just finished building my first CNC with the electronics I purchased from you and I am already thinking about improving it. I would like to build a 2 motor X axis solution. Is it possible to attach 2 parallel motors and drivers to the BlueBrew Breakout Board? If so, how?

The lasing area for the blackTooth v2 is 20" x 24" or 580 x 600 mm.

The dimensions for the machine in general will be on the main product page when the videos are completed.

Thank you for the kind words.

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The lasing area for the blackTooth v2 is 20" x 24" or 580 x 600 mm.

The dimensions for the machine in general will be on the main product page when the videos are completed.

Thank you for the kind words.

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Hi, question about blacktoothv2 laser engraver, what is the cutting area of the laser machine as I don't have clue how big it is, and are you’ll just use it like that ore it’ll have a moving Z axis, waiting for video 5, interested how it will progress. It’ll be very useful if you’d mention some dimensions during the installation. Thanks and keep up good work

The lasing area for the blackTooth v2 is 20" x 24" or 580 x 600 mm.

The dimensions for the machine in general will be on the main product page when the videos are completed.

Thank you for the kind words.

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Hi, question about blacktoothv2 laser engraver, what is the cutting area of the laser machine as I don't have clue how big it is, and are you’ll just use it like that ore it’ll have a moving Z axis, waiting for video 5, interested how it will progress. It’ll be very useful if you’d mention some dimensions during the installation. Thanks and keep up good work

What electronics do you have at the moment? Depending on your machine, you will need a minimum of 3 stepper motors and 3 drivers (unless your heavy axis requires two stepper motors and two drivers). You will also need an interface board that is capable of providing three inputs for the THC (Torch Height Controller), THC on, THC up and THC down, and outputs for firing the torch. I would recommend the Pokeys57CNC interface for the primary interface. This interface will connect to the stepper motor drivers and the THC. The Pokeys57CNC can also communicate via USB or Ethernet.

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Looking for electronics for a plasmacam table. It's going to to be a 5'x10' table with x,y,z axis. Will be running on windows ten with a hypertherm powermax45 xp plasma cutter. Any information or links would be greatly appreciated!

Did you install the Mach3 USB plug-in?

Make sure that you followed all of the steps and diagrams on the following page:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

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Absolutely nothing works. I have all structure and mechical parts of the blacktooth cutter done. However when i wire up the stepper motor to the motor driver. and that to the mach 3 usb controller board, and try to jog the motor, nothing works! I previosuly had the planet cnc breakout board, howrver, that only moved the motors in one direction and i couldnt change it. any help would be apreciated

You can find the datasheets to our motors be going to the the stepping motor category page https://www.buildyourcnc.com/category/nema and selecting the motor. This will bring you to the product page for the motor and all of the motor information will be found there.

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I would like to design my own CNC router around one of your electronics bundles, either the 3 Axis - Heavy Gantry or 3 Axis - All Large Motors. Do you have the data sheets for the motors so that I can use the dimensions in my model?

You have motors and drivers that already work with your machine (unless the drivers are an all-in-one setup and not modular. I would advise you to keep your current electronics and replace the parallel port breakout board with a controller that uses the USB to operate.

Here are two controllers that work under Mach3, or Mach3 or Mach4:
Mach3 USB controller (works under Mach3 only)
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board
Pokeys57CNC full-featured controller works under Mach3 or Mach4:
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach4-mach3-USB-ethernet-Board

Alternatively, you can purchase a complete plug-and-play system or have your control system sent over to Buildyourcnc to modify the control system to use one of the above controllers.

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[422] I have a probotix cnc router purchased in 2014, used to run on linyx, now Mach3, WindowsXP, printer port, i would like to be able to use a modern computer usb, do you have something like a plug & play or control box i can wire this into, 2 Y axis, i lost my auto tool length when i switched to XP also, any help appreciated

This sounds like a problem with the step (pulse) signal. The driver motors receive two signals from the computer via the board -- one is high or low and tells the motors which direction to turn, one is a square wave pulsed signal(quick that tells the motor to turn or a constant high signal that tells the motor to maintain its position. With an oscilliscope you can check for proper signal at the board. If you bought the board from us, please contact us to arrange a return authorization.

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Have checked stepper motor wires dozens of times and they are wired like diagram says. Stepper motors will not turn under power. I am using laser control option. What should I do?

If your axis shutters and will not move unless moved by another force, that sounds like your acceleration is set too high. Lower the acceleration until it works well, then lower it a bit more to have a margin of safety.

IF that didn't work, try swapping the X and Y drivers. That way you will pinpoint if the issue is the driver. If the proplem persists, then there may be an issue with the motor itself.

The X and Y drivers can be easily swapped by swapping only the motor wires.

- Remove the x-axis motor wires from the X driver.
- Remove the Y motor wires from the Y driver.
- Insert the X motor wires into the Y driver.
- Insert the Y motor wires into the X driver.

Now the Y-axis will move the gantry. Test the Gantry movement by moving the Y axis using the up and down arrow keys (mach3).

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X AXIS STEPPER MOTOR STALLS AND SHUTTERS WHEN COMING FROM A STAND STILL WON'T MOVE WITHOUT PUSH BY HAND. I TOOK THE CHAINS OFF SPUN FINE WITH OUT LOAD. HAVE CHAIN HOOKED UP CAN MACHINE BACK FORTH HAND, NO HANG UPS OR ANYTHING, BUT TRY TO IT DOESN'T JUST SPINS OUT. ANY SUGGESTIONS?