Autofocus Install - Not working/connecting

Community Laser Talk
,
1

Alright, after hours both electrically and mechanically connecting the Autofocus on this OMTech 130W laser, we’re getting multiple issues still.

  1. We can get the bed to go up and down, but it is very “cranky” and will stall often. I’ve actually switched back to the original stepper motor for the time being. I believe it’s due to the tightness of the chain and sprocket connection, but I am unable to verify as it does it whether it is tight or a little loose.
  2. While I can get the U+ and U- to work both on RDworks and on the laser itself, when I hit FOCUS on the laser and ENTER to get the command to go, nothing happens. When I try the same on RDWorks it gives me a laser connection error, but am unable to find anything to help me figure out what is going wrong. My guess is this is software/firmware related?

I have reached out to OMTech support and I gotta say, they’re very quick to respond but are not helpful one bit. I gave them specifics on model and what I’m dealing with and they sent me a video for a completely different laser that I had to do some mental math around to make it work with mine.

2

The acceleration and speed are likely too high. As a starting point:

  • Speed = 10 mm/s
  • Acceleration = 100 mm/s²

You must also (re)calibrate the axis so that commanding a 1 mm move produces 1 mm of platform travel. You can set the controller or LightBurn to move in discrete 1 mm steps, which will ease the process.

After recalibrating the axis, the speed & acceleration values you originally used will need adjusting, because the physical motion depends on the step calibration for accuracy.

I wrote up what’s needed to get autofocus working on a Ruida KT332N controller:

Most likely, the Enable Homing switch is turned Off. Get the calibration / speed / acceleration settings correct before flipping that switch. :grin: