California (Sacramento) CO2 laser machine support
http://www.lightobject.info/
Now would be a desire'd build a bigger table for the laser. Any suggestions?baccus61 wrote:Hi Urbantrix
Have you read this post?
viewtopic.php?f=47&t=344
It has a bit of info on how to check the engraving for double image.
It may help you a bit.
Rich.
I did some major reworking of my laser this weekend and ended up getting the double images just like you (and like Rich earlier). The appearance is as if there is backlash in the x axis, but there is none. Ultimately, I had to resort to using the reverse engraving offset compensation. For me, it was exactly 1 mm that had to be added to get it right. The funny thing is that I previously never had to resort to this.Urbantrix wrote:HI Baccus61,
I have checked the belt and it all seems to be ok, Also it is only when i'm engraving, on the x-swing as i say x-swing unilateralism is fine but so slow.
Also cutting is fine also i do not get double images.
Regards,
Matt
wctx1977 wrote:Hi everybody! I'm new in to this forum and guess what! I also purchased one of those chinese laser engravers with "moshidraw" which forced me to do a major surgery to it by converting to the DSP controller. Well I got the 2012 controller and the stepper drivers this week and I already started working on it. I got the stepper motors working, limit switches installed, laser power supply connected and now is time for some questions and help.
How can I find out if my laser power supply is capable for PWM mode? If it is not PWM capable, is there any module than can be in between to make it work as PWM mode? I just want to avoid to buy another LPS if possible as money is tight right now.
I will appreciate a lot some help, Thank you!
TeacDance wrote:wctx1977 wrote:Hi everybody! I'm new in to this forum and guess what! I also purchased one of those chinese laser engravers with "moshidraw" which forced me to do a major surgery to it by converting to the DSP controller. Well I got the 2012 controller and the stepper drivers this week and I already started working on it. I got the stepper motors working, limit switches installed, laser power supply connected and now is time for some questions and help.
How can I find out if my laser power supply is capable for PWM mode? If it is not PWM capable, is there any module than can be in between to make it work as PWM mode? I just want to avoid to buy another LPS if possible as money is tight right now.
I will appreciate a lot some help, Thank you!
put a picture of your power supply
The Power Supply you have IS PWM compatible.wctx1977 wrote:Hi Marco, I still a little confused and I hope you understand that. My machine came with this power supply and it has the big green coil in series and I don't know if I need to bypass it now that I'm using the DSP, Should I? also let me make sure I understood you, (you say my power supply is PWM capable or not)? if yes, how do I enable PWM for photo engraving?
Other than that I got my stepper motors running nice and smoothly after a few hours of experimentation with different parameter settings, however it may still need a better tuning but that will come with practice and experience with it.
twehr wrote:The Power Supply you have IS PWM compatible.wctx1977 wrote:Hi Marco, I still a little confused and I hope you understand that. My machine came with this power supply and it has the big green coil in series and I don't know if I need to bypass it now that I'm using the DSP, Should I? also let me make sure I understood you, (you say my power supply is PWM capable or not)? if yes, how do I enable PWM for photo engraving?
Other than that I got my stepper motors running nice and smoothly after a few hours of experimentation with different parameter settings, however it may still need a better tuning but that will come with practice and experience with it.
Where is the green coil - on the return from the laser tube or in series someplace between the lps and the controller? If it is on the tube side, I would just leave it alone.
You don't have to "enable" PWM. The LPS takes whatever is presented to it at the "IN" pin. If it is analog (0-5v) then it treats it as analog. If it is PWM (5v - 0-100% frequency) then it treats it as PWM. Just just the standard minimum connections from the documentation and the laser should fire just fine.
You mentioned "enable PWM for photo engraving". The PWM is not related specifically to engraving, or photos, or cutting. It only sets the power at which the operation will be done. For a photo, as example, the entire bitmap will be engraved at the power level set by the software. That level is communicated to the lps via PWM (or analog). If you are thinking that the PWM will make it change levels with various shades of gray, that is incorrect.
In PHCad, import a photo. Then dither it (I think it is in the edit menu - look for it). Dithering is what you need to emulate shades of gray.wctx1977 wrote:twehr wrote:The Power Supply you have IS PWM compatible.wctx1977 wrote:Hi Marco, I still a little confused and I hope you understand that. My machine came with this power supply and it has the big green coil in series and I don't know if I need to bypass it now that I'm using the DSP, Should I? also let me make sure I understood you, (you say my power supply is PWM capable or not)? if yes, how do I enable PWM for photo engraving?
Other than that I got my stepper motors running nice and smoothly after a few hours of experimentation with different parameter settings, however it may still need a better tuning but that will come with practice and experience with it.
Where is the green coil - on the return from the laser tube or in series someplace between the lps and the controller? If it is on the tube side, I would just leave it alone.
You don't have to "enable" PWM. The LPS takes whatever is presented to it at the "IN" pin. If it is analog (0-5v) then it treats it as analog. If it is PWM (5v - 0-100% frequency) then it treats it as PWM. Just just the standard minimum connections from the documentation and the laser should fire just fine.
You mentioned "enable PWM for photo engraving". The PWM is not related specifically to engraving, or photos, or cutting. It only sets the power at which the operation will be done. For a photo, as example, the entire bitmap will be engraved at the power level set by the software. That level is communicated to the lps via PWM (or analog). If you are thinking that the PWM will make it change levels with various shades of gray, that is incorrect.
Hi twehr,
I appreciate your info and your willingness to help others. Sorry I was confused and thinking that PWM was related specifically to photo engraving. My laser seems to be shooting just fine but then don't know what I need to do to make it engrave photos with various shades of gray. I'll be playing more with it today and see what else I can find.