Pin I/O settings for 2012 board?

[mikest]

i just got my 2012 controller board today and have been hooking it up. I am converting a yueming PN-1490 laser cutter.

Things I've figured out so far:
- the magnet limit switches had a CG1851R331 transitor for inverting the reed switch output. desoldering the transistor allowed me to use the switch closer for the limit and homing switch.
- Had to swap the position of the X limit switch as old controller used upper right as origin.
- Motors and homing working

Things I haven't figured out: (please help!)
- What is the input pin for the "water protect" switch?
- What is the input pin for the "open protect" switches?

This laser has a potentiometer which varies an output pin between 0-1.68V, does anyone know what this is for? its analog power control yes? This laser has a feature where it has analog control from this dial, that allows you to swing the laser power between the internal software Min/Max power settings while its running. Not sure if its needed for this controller...

in addition, there are also some control lines that go to the laser power supply. on the original power supply, there are pin labels on the board:
- G (im guessing ground)
- IN (input PWM signal?)
- 5V (?? not sure what this would be for...)
- WP ("water protect", but its an output signal, for enabling a pump? my chiller just always runs...)
- TL (TTL i'm guessing. is this a "confirmation signal" that goes high when the laser fires?)

Any help in figuring out how to setup the power control for this supply would be greatly appreciated!

--mikest

[twehr]

i just got my 2012 controller board today and have been hooking it up. I am converting a yueming PN-1490 laser cutter.

Things I've figured out so far:
- the magnet limit switches had a CG1851R331 transitor for inverting the reed switch output. desoldering the transistor allowed me to use the switch closer for the limit and homing switch.
- Had to swap the position of the X limit switch as old controller used upper right as origin.
- Motors and homing working

You can change the home zero position to any corner you wish. But if you already have it handled, then that is fine.

Things I haven't figured out: (please help!)
- What is the input pin for the "water protect" switch?
- What is the input pin for the "open protect" switches?

I can get these for you a little later this morning. But, you can do without either of them, if you wish. Just leave their options unchecked in the System Options.

If you simply want to disable the laser output when the lid/door is open, just wire your lid/door switch as normally closed between ground and the WP (water protect) of the laser power supply (see below).

This laser has a potentiometer which varies an output pin between 0-1.68V, does anyone know what this is for? its analog power control yes? This laser has a feature where it has analog control from this dial, that allows you to swing the laser power between the internal software Min/Max power settings while its running. Not sure if its needed for this controller...

Not needed.

in addition, there are also some control lines that go to the laser power supply. on the original power supply, there are pin labels on the board:
- G (im guessing ground)
- IN (input PWM signal?)
- 5V (?? not sure what this would be for...)
- WP ("water protect", but its an output signal, for enabling a pump? my chiller just always runs...)
- TL (TTL i'm guessing. is this a "confirmation signal" that goes high when the laser fires?)

G - ground - correct
IN - PWM - correct
5V - can be used as a source of 5 volts for the input signal (IN). It is a manual alternative to the PWM from the controller. If used, you would wire it up through a 5K variable resistor to control the 0 to 5 volts that is used as the power setting in the IN connector of the power supply. You SHOULD be using the PWM from the controller for most situations.
WP - Water Protect - correct - when grounded, it allows the laser output. When open, it disables the laser output. You can hook up a safety switch (Normally Open to ground) to kill the laser output when the lid/door is open.
TL - This controls the firing of the laser by a logic low signal. The laser fires only when it is low - It is the inverse of the TH control method which fires the laser when the signal goes high. I believe the usual connection for firing the laser from the DSP controller uses the TH control method. It can be configured to use the TL, but not necessary. You just need to use one or the other. The remaining one is normally left disconnected.

Let us know if you have additional questions.

[Tech_Marco]

Just posted the 2012 (AWC-608) connection layout here:
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=807

Water Protection is used to monitor water is flowing in and out of the laser tube. Witout water cooling, a laser tube can be well cook in a few minutes.

Open protection- What they mean is the safte cover of the machine. When cover lift up, it would stop the laser

It's hard to to open the cover to check the progress the work. As long as wearing a CO2 goggle, it's fine. I seem so many people doing that without goggle in China. Suprise!

There are a few Input/Output connector and you don't need to care at this time. It's desgined for future use. It's just an I/O port.

We're working on software upgrade and after that, a better user manual for software and hardware will be released.

Marco

[mikest]

Thanks for the additional info. I have a few more questions after playing around with the board for a bit. One thing I noticed: the laser won't fire during a job unless both the corner power AND normal power settings have been set. That took a while to figure out...

Is "water protect" an input signal to the controller board, or the laser? For example, does driving WP high turn off the controller or the laser?

Is there a way to get the door switch to trigger "pause"? My old controller had this feature, it was occasionally handy.

Lastly, my understanding is that I can have analog control or I can have PWM control, but not both. Is that correct?

Thanks!

[Tech_Marco]

Mike:

I can answer a few question but some I need to ask the tech. Currently I don't have any card left as all 10x card just sold out! I don't have a card to test now.

"the laser won't fire during a job unless both the corner power AND normal power settings have been set. That took a while to figure out..."
Ans: I don't know this for sure as I have no card to test. But it sounds reasonable as power level for running a straight line and turning corner should be different . During turning corner process, the laser head move slower so power from the PS must be controlled for less or it will be caused over burned. I'll get more info about this

Is "water protect" an input signal to the controller board, or the laser? For example, does driving WP high turn off the controller or the laser?
Ans: Usually the water protection is connected to the laser power supply. Once water isn't flowing, the laser power supply will be inactive. The output from a water sensor usually "level low", not level high. So, to bypass the WP on the power supply, simply connect a wire to the GND will do it(ground)

Is there a way to get the door switch to trigger "pause"? My old controller had this feature, it was occasionally handy.
Ans: Not quite understand your question. What do you mean 'pause' on the trigger? If I'm guessing right, you want to have a 'temperatory disable' the door lock, right? In the mean time, no such feature. It's either On or Off
Lastly, my understanding is that I can have analog control or I can have PWM control, but not both. Is that correct?
Ans: You can pick one of each but not both. In fact, most PWM power supply works fine with analog signal. For the cutting, it almost make no difference. Only during engraving you may find the gray scale is a bit of sginificance. I was told about it

Marco

[twehr]

"the laser won't fire during a job unless both the corner power AND normal power settings have been set. That took a while to figure out..."
Ans: I don't know this for sure as I have no card to test. But it sounds reasonable as power level for running a straight line and turning corner should be different . During turning corner process, the laser head move slower so power from the PS must be controlled for less or it will be caused over burned. I'll get more info about this

Needing values for both is right - sort of...

Anything, other than a straight line, is considered a corner, so with corner power of zero, curves will not output. As I recall, a purely horizontal or vertical line will (could be wrong - it happens).

The smart rule is to always have it set. If it is set too low, however, your curves may not output well. Remember, a curve is nothing but a bunch of very short straight lines that meet at "corners".

I always have my corners set to same as the other except when noticing real overburn in corners. I then adjust a bit for that job only.