Laser adaptation project

yes

Great progress David!

1 Like

Are you going inside? I’d love to see what they’ve got in there. I presume its nearly identical to the original Xcarve plus the VFD and better drivers.

I have been inside back when we were figuring out the GFI issue. Very small control board with the addition of the VFD as you mentioned. I looked for a PWM port but did not see it or it was unlabeled.

I would look at the cable going from the control board to the VFD. I would bet they used PWM to set the speed of the VFD (I had to replace the control board in mine as it stopped working right after I got it)

For the curious… this is the inside of your controller…image
image
image
image
image

3 Likes

Now as far as finding/using the current PWM port, this is what the VFD wiring looks like. Nothing clearly marked as the PWM. I will need to research the VFD to determine which wiring is the PWM! If I can sucessfully find it I will need to add a jack and a switch. The switch will be used to switch between the spindle and the laser.

Found the manual for the H100 and I am looking it over now. The AI1 terminal (yellow wire) is described in the manual as the “Analog Voltage Input”. The manual for the H100 does not mention PWM so I am still digging to see if this is the same.


2 Likes

Thanks for the tips. It does appear that terminal AI1+ and GND- are the PWM input to the VFD. I found the following documentation on the H100 that confirms it. Next steps: 1) Using a Ohm meter I am going to verify voltage and speed control. 2) If this checks out I will add a switch and jack for the PWM output for the laser. The switch will allow me to switch between the laser PWM port and the internal VFD when using the spindle.

Inked3e03c95b6681a794bffae0873aecfd1d3bc42611_2_666x500_LI

V70-1.5S1.pdf (2.7 MB)

2 Likes

So the voltage look good so I won’t burn anything out when I plug in the laser. The switch is the AI1 lead to the spindle control which switches between the speed control and the external PWM port i added. That way the spindle and the laser both don’t run at the same time. I put a small filter on my PWM port since they have filters on everything else. We will see how this goes tomorrow when I plug the laser in!




2 Likes

Thanks for the info and detailed documentation! That’s awesome work @DavidKSantistevan

Okay, big step. The laser is active and I am able to adjust the laser strength. I have a new challenge that I came across while doing my first test burns. I am using LightBurn and I had the laser set to a speed of 30 @ 20% intensity. It begins cutting and then after about a second I get a message saying the software has lost connection to the USB device. Upon examining the console after re-establishing the connection it is reporting the GRBL has been locked out because of an alarm state… Any help would be appreciated!error 1 from lightburn
console error

1 Like

A new version of Lightburn solved this issue. I was able to run the laser from Easel with no issues so I decided to try the latest version of Lightburn. I have been testing this evening and everything appears to work as expected. Project complete!

2 Likes

Awesome Job @DavidKSantistevan !

How much did the whole “conversion” cost you?

Not much, odds and ends less than$50.

Congratulations, I have been following this post since you started. Any chance of a full right up with parts list?

@DavidKSantistevan , so, I am very new to that of lasers…

In your opinion, would Spindle Mounted All-In-One Bundle - J Tech Photonics, Inc. be a decent route? Looks like it’ll fit on the spindle itself, but my concern is, do you think how far it drops below the spindle make it a viable solution? or do you think it’s best to mount it offset like you have yours?

I am going to go with this one.

Link

I think it will work.

That definitely will work! I just mounted mine using two sided servo tape.

1 Like

******* DISCLAIMER *****
I did this project on my own and this is not a supported solution from Inventibles. This project requires that you open the case of your controller and make modifications to the factory build. Doing so may VOID you warranty and there is the potential to damage the components of your unit. Please proceed at your own risk. This project is offered without warranty or guarantee of any kind.

With that said I will write this up shortly and compose a bill of materials. Alot of the work was the discovery and work through. After the fact this should be pretty simple for most.
D

2 Likes

So, what you’re saying is… If I open my machine up and post pictures, I should make a dummy forum account so they can’t trace it back to me?

Got it.

:wink: :wink: