RF Laesr Pin Setup and Focus Lens

[powerfade]

Hi all. I had two quick questions.

1. I am using an RF Universal Laser and I am running off of Pins 1 and 3 for the modulation. Everything seems to work fine although when I power everything up the laser fires off and burns the surface then goes to the home position. Is there a way to stop this? I tried with and without pre-ignition, but it acts the same both ways.

2. Is there a top and bottom to the focus lens or can it be installed either way? I have a 55mm focal length lens from here, and was just curious. Hopefully that's not to dumb of a question..

Thanks everyone..
Chris

[Tech_Marco]

What version of the board and the software are you using?
Did you set up "RF" instead of "CO2 tube" on PHCad?
Did it happen to both LP1 and LP2 output port?
Make sure that the jumpers next to the LP1 and LP2 are on 'PWM' mode, which is a cap on the right two pins

Marco

[powerfade]

Marco...
I have the blue v2.0 board, with the PHCad 4.45 or 4.47, I can't remember which one right off.
I did set up RF in PHCad, (with and without preignition).
I only tried it on LP1. I have not tried connection to LP2.
I didn't do anything with jumpers on the board. I am a bit confused when you say a cap on the right two pins to put in PWM mode. I don't have the board in front of me, but I will look on the board to see where the jumpers are.

Oh and is the Focus Lens universal or is one side up and one side down?? Hope to many people are laughing at this question.

Thank you very much Marco..

Chris

[Tech_Marco]

Nooo.. it's not a bad question. For the focus lens, the curve side is facing down (output light).

May be your board is PWM only so you won't see two little jumper next to the LP1 and LP2. That's fine.

I'll ask the tech see if they have a solution


Marco

[twehr]

Nooo.. it's not a bad question. For the focus lens, the curve side is facing down (output light).

May be your board is PWM only so you won't see two little jumper next to the LP1 and LP2. That's fine.

I'll ask the tech see if they have a solution


Marco

Marco, this is incorrect. The curved side goes up. Much tighter focus and higher
Power output.

[Tech_Marco]

OMG, I saw it from those D40K and the convex side always facing down.
I got to try it when I got my DSP arrive on next week.

Thanks
Marco

[Tech_Marco]

Chris, is your card coming with the blue case or just came without case?
If the one come with case, the output for RF is #1 and #6. They changed the setup!
By the way, even the one without case is #1 and #4, not #1,#3. Try it

Plus, please shoot me a picture of the main board and the wire connection. The tech want to look at that

Marco

[powerfade]

Hi Marco and Tim. Thank you for the clarification on the focus lens. Marco, I have the blue board WITHOUT the case. I think I tried and tested pins #1 and #4, but it was constantly at 4.6 or so volts. I don't think I was able to get any modulation off of those pins, but I will double check it tomorrow. I think it was same problem Rich had when we was using the RF laser, before he moved to the higher power glass tube. I will also take a picture of the board with wiring connections and send that over tomorrow.

Thanks.
Chris

[twehr]

OMG, I saw it from those D40K and the convex side always facing down.
I got to try it when I got my DSP arrive on next week.

Thanks
Marco

Most of the Chinese-built boxes come that way. But remember, most of those boxes come from companies that are only assemblers, not designers/builders. They just put the lens in and it "works" so that is good enough.

[powerfade]

Marco. I have attached the picture of the DSP board. I double checked the voltage between pins 1 and 4 and it is at a constant of 4.5 or so volts.

Chris

[Tech_Marco]

Chris, can you take a close up photo for that bar code. They need that to check the version of your card

Marco

[powerfade]

Sure no problem Marco.. I'll send it over tomorrow. I also noticed that I am not getting any modulation off of pins #1 and #3. It is basically just on and off with full power, from what I can tell. I tried what I thought were all of the correct settings in the software, but none of the changes seem to effect the beam power.

Thanks.
Chris

[baccus61]

Hi guys. I'm having a bit of trouble with my internet connection so I haven't been able to get here as often as I like.

Chris, Have you tried setting the laser to fire on the "LOW" or "High" setting. I think, but I'm not sure, that I might have had to set mine up to fire using the LOW setting. It's been too long and I've rebuilt it way too many times to remember.

This will also throw out your limit switch settings if you change this but it is worth a try. If it works then you will need to change them to suit after getting things right.
Remember, when you press the "Origin" key on the keypad, this is the location on the table where the laser head will return to when you do a reset so set this to the most convenient place on the table for you.

Set up a file and send it to PHCad and run it but disconnect the laser for this test. Use a file with some different colours in it so you can see the voltage drop to what you have set the laser power to be for each colour. Don't go over 40-50 percent for testing just to be on the safe side. The voltage should vary between 2 volts to 3.5 volts roughly. Even if you just use a file with about 30 lines about 2" long for the test so you can see the power starting and stopping for each line. Just copy and paste a line numerous times or just draw them freehand. It won't matter.
Get a multimeter and check the voltage on the pins you connect to.
I just kept trying each pin until I found the ones that varied the voltage and then connected them up to the laser after. I think 1 and 3 (or 4)
Let us know how you get on.
Sorry for the late posting. I know it's frustrating having to wait when you are so close. These things do get so much easier the more you play with them.
Rich.

[powerfade]

Hey Rich. I think I have the laser currently set up to fire on low, but I will double check it tomorrow. I assume that is the setting in the limit switch area you are talking about? I'll check it out with a multimeter to see if I can get any pulsing. I also posted a new thread about poor cut quality. The curves are pretty bad. If you have any ideas, that would be great...

At least I am making smoke now..

Thanks Rich..

[baccus61]

The High or Low setting is set in the laser control section where you select the 20KHz and Glass tube or RF tube. It's just that when you change it for the laser it will also change the way the limits work.
With your set up you have a very heavy gantry and only small belts so you will probably get a lot of wobble or stretch in them which will make circles and quick direction changes come out pretty crappy. Try a lower speed and see what happens, like 0.25"/s.
If I remember rightly you have the laser attached to the gantry? This will also add to the weight and make cutting fast not very viable. I think I mentioned some concern about that a while ago.
keep at it......
Rich.