co2 laser limit setup

[arthurvenet]

hi my name is arthur i am new to the co2 laser cutter, i have just build a 80 watt co2 laser cutter its 1200 x1200. i have bought a dsp controller from light object, all seems to be fine except the limits,when they home the motors do not stop . i have tryed active low and active high in the phcad software but it dose not change anything. it is wired according to lightobjects wiring diagram the drivers i am using are psd6056-2p. am i doing something wrong in the setup, can some one please let me no thanks.

[Tech_Marco]

What kind of limit switches are you using? Proximity or optical type? FYI, the DSP works fine with a proximity limit switch. You should connect the switch to the board for testing before running the motor. Simply toggling the limit switch and you should see a LED corresponding to that axis lit up. Do both X and Y. Not, the homing (0,0) is controlled by the Limit switch but the limit of the farthest it can go is controlled by software setting. Just in case you didn't know

[arthurvenet]

thanks for the reply, the limits i am using are a dry set off contacs n/open n/close i am using n/open i have tesed the limits for each axis the leds lite up when they close but it dose not
stop. my limits are set to the far left conner of the laser machine zero, i no the software controls the soft limits which is set by the table size. i have also notice the limit leds have a slite glow when they are not in the home position could ther be a broblem with the card, i am using shilded cable and one end off the drian wire is hooked up to earth so there is no induced voltage. there must be someone out there who had the same sort of ploblem. i have spent days trying to nut it out but no luck thanks

[Tech_Marco]

You can simulate the Homing by ticking the switch when hit the Reset button on the LCD panel. Also, the homing location can be allocated in four different location: TL, TR, BL, BR four corner.

[arthurvenet]

hi thanks for the reply, when i hit the reset button on the keypad the x/y moves to the top left cornner where my limits are installed but they do not stop, look i have build many cnc machine in the pased so i do have some idea on limits table size and so on. i would have thought that when the limit gets hit the axis shoud stop simple as that but i gess not. i have also notice the soft ware controls to the panel controls do not work the same way, if i hit the y/ axis on the software it moves the right way, when i hit the y/axis on panel it moves the opposet way can not understan why. i can live with the y/ axis moving the wrong way i will use the software only and not the panle control. my main concern is the limits thanks

[Tech_Marco]

It's setting issue. You got to read the manual step buy step, no escaping even though you're good at CNC. Most issue could be solved if you read through the manual.

[twehr]

Maybe I can help.

When I first installed my v2 card, I also had some issues with limits and directions, etc. If you tell me your basic machine specs (limits location, active high/low, table size, max power desired, steps per inch), I will be happy to make a couple of "standard" parameter files that you could load up and try. They may get you close enough to be able to move on to finer adjustments.

[arthurvenet]

Thank you so much for responding. I had lost all hope of someone giving me any kind of assistance. . Looking at the machine the
- limit location - is in the back left hand corner which I think they call, left up machine 0.
- table size the X axis is 950mm Y axis is 850mm which is the cutting area of my table.
- active high/low - I have changed active high to active low the leds lite up when you hit the limit but this does not make a difference.
- max power desired - The max power I currently have is 80 watt co2 laser water cooled, if that's what you are referring to.
- steps per inch - I have caliberated the steps and if I enter 40mm it actually moves 40mm but the only issue I have is when i power up or reset the motors, they move to the home potison which is correct but they do not stop when it hits the limit switches.

Marco, the tech support has told me to read the manual. I have read the manual numerous times but I must be missing something because it does not make sense to me.

Once again thank you for responding and I will wait for your response.
Arthur

[twehr]

Thank you so much for responding. I had lost all hope of someone giving me any kind of assistance. . Looking at the machine the
- limit location - is in the back left hand corner which I think they call, left up machine 0.
- table size the X axis is 950mm Y axis is 850mm which is the cutting area of my table.
- active high/low - I have changed active high to active low the leds lite up when you hit the limit but this does not make a difference.
- max power desired - The max power I currently have is 80 watt co2 laser water cooled, if that's what you are referring to.
- steps per inch - I have caliberated the steps and if I enter 40mm it actually moves 40mm but the only issue I have is when i power up or reset the motors, they move to the home potison which is correct but they do not stop when it hits the limit switches.

Marco, the tech support has told me to read the manual. I have read the manual numerous times but I must be missing something because it does not make sense to me.

Marco is a great guy. The manual news lots of work. In fact, I am in the process of rewriting it, but not ready for use yet.

I may not get to my laser before tomorrow, but wil do what I can for you then.

In the mean time... If you unplug the leads going to the motors and manually move the headset the middle of your cut arrea, and then apply power, are the limit lights on or off? Witth the power still on, you should be able to move the laser heat to the back left corner of the machine. Do the lights change (from off to on or on tonoff)? Finally, are you running 5v or ground through your limit switches? Give me this info today or tonight so I can experiment a bit on my system, where I know everything works.

When we get this fixed, I can include the solution in the manual.

Hang in there. I know you are frustrated, but I also know you are going to love this controller when we getbit right.


Your issue is likely either wiring or settings. I'll do what I can to help.

Once again thank you for responding and I will wait for your response.
Arthur

[arthurvenet]

thanks for repling tim, the head is in the middle of the table leads unpluged power is on the leds are off. i move the head to the limit the contacts close led comes on. my limit switch is wired up in throu the switch to ground i do not have 5volts connected to it. i have also notice when i power up the motors there is a slit glow on the limit leds , when not in the home position.
will wait for your reply thank you so much
arthur

[Tech_Marco]

Arthur:

Can you shoot us some pictures about your machine. Got to see what kind of power supply, setup, cables... It look like that the board has jammed some inteference from something. Otherwise, the LED shouldn't be having minor glow. Also, do NOT apply your own votage to the limit input as the board built-in "Level Low" and "Level High" for the limit input. Just want to let you know there was a guy who convert his CNC router and used an optical sensor swith instead of a proximity switch, and inject DC9~12V to the controller. The result is: Limit circuitry damaged.

Check the cable of those limit switches and make sure that the cables are not cross over on any power line or or across a motor. Noise that coming from a switching power supply, CO2 power supply or stepper driver can affect the board and shouldn't be under estimated.

Regarding the wrong X or Y direction, it's just a matter of setup on the software. You can define the direction you want and you can pick your HOME. When you brough that up 1st time and I have impression that you didn't (may be you did) go through the manual. That's why I asked you to check the manual again. I hope you don't take it peronal. I know that manual is far from perfect and need to rewrite in sometime. But for right now, it's just too less time to write a new manual till my project completed. FYI, we're in the process designing a new DSP card and a new product. Beside that, I'm working everyday and night to 'hunt' for good parts for CNC and laser. I have to read about 100 emails and answer phone calls for both sales and tech support. Some people may hold me up for over 30min for asking question rather than posting here. I really got not much time to go through so much thing in detail in each product. I can only give a general idea how to solve a problem if a customer didn't provide more detail information about the problem he has. I hope you understand my situation here that time is very limited. I wish I can tell you an answer quick and precise but I'm not that super. Plus, I don't have your machine that I can try things on.

If you can't get it work out, you can send it back for me to check it. If it's defective, I can exchange it for you. But if it's not, then you need to pay for both shipping cost. I won't charge you labor fee though. I stand behind products I sell and 'm willing to help, to an extend that I'm capable to do so.


Marco

[twehr]

I have not been to the shop yet but have been thinking about your problem. I suspect that it it's a wiring issue.

Going from open (no connection of any kind) to growing does not really produce a signal transition. I think what you need is to have 5v that is either turned on with contact (normally open -active high) or 5v that is turned off with contact (normally closed - active low). Either way you get a signal transition - 0 to 5 or 5 to 0. The way you have it, there is no "signal". That would also explain why you are getting a dim light, it is in an indeterminate state - not high, not low.

I can't remember which pin gives you 5v you can use, but it is there. May be on the connector beside the limits connector.

Try what I have suggested and let me know. The more I think about this, the more I believe it is the answer.

Tim

[Tech_Marco]

Arthur:

Pay some attention to the 'level' setting. Per manual saying, there is a selection of Level High and Level Low for the limit sensor. You may need to check the setting from the configuration menual and reversed the level type see if it fix your problem. I'll do more research about this.

Marco

[arthurvenet]

hi tim its good news, when you told me about the 5vots to the limit it just came to mind i got in contact with an old frend that had some idea about electrnics, i emaild a pdf file on the limit hookup he new strait away what was missing he told me to put 1k pullup resistros 1 to +5vots and teminal 4 and the other +5volts to teminal 2 and it works fine, all this time i have spent on the limits is incredable when all you need is one simple drawing showing the limits and resistos on the manual i no that marco has a lot on his plate and works had to finde thease products but just a little bit more infomation makes a diffrence for every one and less headacts for marco thanks a lot tim for your help

[twehr]

hi tim its good news, when you told me about the 5vots to the limit it just came to mind i got in contact with an old frend that had some idea about electrnics, i emaild a pdf file on the limit hookup he new strait away what was missing he told me to put 1k pullup resistros 1 to +5vots and teminal 4 and the other +5volts to teminal 2 and it works fine, all this time i have spent on the limits is incredable when all you need is one simple drawing showing the limits and resistos on the manual i no that marco has a lot on his plate and works had to finde thease products but just a little bit more infomation makes a diffrence for every one and less headacts for marco thanks a lot tim for your help

It also helps when people like you post drawings with their answers so others can find help easily. We are all here trying to help each other.

Glad you got it going.

Tim