Lightobject.com Support Forum

Good day to all.

I have recently upgraded my Chinese Laser to a AWC608 system and added the small "Power table/ bed kit for K40 small laser machine". The build went fairly well without any major issues, but I am having a bit of trouble with the Z-Axis.

First, I'm having a tough time setting the origin of the table. I can't seem to find anywhere to tell it that it is a "0" mm, and homing everything and pressing "Origin" doesn't seem to work. (and selecting "home z axis" results in a Whirring sound, like the motor is trying to run but just can't)

Second, when I enter the Z/U (center control button on the panel), and move the table, it tends to move erratically. Example, I press the down arrow, and the table moves down for a short distance as expected, but then pressing it again may cause the table to move up. Pressing the up arrow may cause the table to move up, or continue to move down. Its got me scratching my head.

Third, Is there any way to control the z-axis (besides the manual buttons just above the current location) in LaserCAD? Can I program in a z-axis change for a job?

And laserCAD... its DEFINITELY better (and more stable) than the Corel stuff, but... I'll save that for another thread.

Thanks for any input.

Jamie

I guess yor stepperdrivers DIR signal is unstable. It can be caused by a bad or corroded connection or interference for instance..
If you use the standard stepperdriver.... think of buying a decent stepperdriver.. (a small leadshine or clone has the best price/perfomance IMHO)

Kees

Not to discount your theory, but it would seem to me that if the signal from the stepper motor controller were corrupted (bad contact, interference, etc) that the direction of the motor would change randomly while holding down the button or while the motor was still in motion. Its the direction that the motor runs when I press the button initially.

After further investigation, it seems to be related to the soft limits set in LaserCAD. When the table hits the low or high limit, it is at that point that the direction seems to be a coin flip. I've ordered some limit switches that I intend to put on the Z-axis in hopes that I can better control the table. I also need to figure out why the table (or the controller) thinks it has 660mm of movement (60mm perhaps... uStep * 10?)

Jamie

I don't have limit switches on my Z table yet, it is working fine, full motion up and down, Here are my settings it it helps at all