AWC708S Not Connecting

Hi there! I recently bought a laser advertised as having a Ruida 6442S controller, and working with Lightburn. It actually has a Trocen AWC708S controller, which so far has not worked with Lightburn.

The laser did not connect to Lightburn with the FTDI drivers installed with Lightburn nor the Trocen “AWC” drivers bundled with LaserCAD. However, with the AWC drivers, Lightburn does detect the controller using “find my laser”, and the device discovery wizard outputs this:

Device info: Trocen-AWC (_AWC_1802401C) (700mm x 500mm)
Type: (DSP)
Connection: USB

When I add the device and select it in the bottom-right “Devices” dropdown, it lists: “Laser: Disconnected” and only the “pause, stop, home, go to origin” buttons are not greyed out. Pressing “home” does show some signs of life… it reboots the laser controller, and the machine auto-homes.

Some previous posts here have said they got it working - are there any debugging steps I can follow? I’ve tried shift-clicking devices to get Lightburn to reconnect, but so far no dice.

What version of LightBurn are you running? Is this only reported in the LightBurn UI, or are you unable to send and process files on the controller? We have made some modifications to the way we connect and communicate with devices, and we may not be reporting this back to the UI correctly for this motion control system. Please confirm, any issue with controlling the laser or sending files?

Hi Rick - I’m running 1.0.04 (newest version, downloaded ~yesterday).

Can you clarify what you mean by controlling the laser or sending files? The option to “send” in Lightburn is greyed out. I don’t have any other control software to test with - I can install LaserCAD if need be. I am able to jog the machine, pulse the laser, etc. using the physical controls.

I’ve attached a debug log which records my opening the “devices” menu, and it seems to think it’s connecting:

15:58:49.969  D: Found supported device
15:58:49.969  D: Port open succeeded
15:58:49.970  D: Init (GetPositions) success

LightBurnLog.txt (2.2 KB)

Can you connect and then use the LightBurn controls in the Move tab to jog the laser head around the bed? Can you select the ‘Click to Move’ tool (Alt + L), and click around the bed to reposition the laser head?

The only condition I am aware of that would result in these being grayed-out is if you do not have a shape / image defined, meaning no Layer definition has been assigned and thus, nothing to ‘Send’. Share a full-screen screenshot with an object placed in the workspace showing these grayed buttons. Here I show both conditions.

Good catch - I added a graphic to the workspace, and now I am able to start a job. The laser appears to execute the job (a single rectangle) correctly. The Click to Move tool is also functional.

So, it looks like only the “Laser: Disconnected” is being incorrectly reported.

I know that this controller isn’t in the supported controller list, unlike the seemingly-similar AWC708C, so that might be related. Thanks!

Edit: It looks like this is probably just the same issue someone else was having in this thread: Conection issues AWC708S - #9 by Rick

Ah, this is good news.

This reporting issue has been resolved and is currently in Beta testing for our next release. :slight_smile:

[Oz] Show proper ‘Ready’ state on Trocen & TopWisdom devices when detected

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Thanks for all the help!

I’ll definitely be buying Lightburn as this trial is ending, if I keep the laser. Still negotiating with the seller about the fraudulent listing. Do you know of any problems with the AWC708S?

Problems? Every motion control system will have its oddities when compared to another, and they are all driven by some form of firmware that may have a rare issue once in a while, if that is what you are asking. Ruida, Trocen and TopWisdom all make good, reliable hardware. Many times, it is a specific feature or personal preference that will determine the best fit for your needs. A bit squishy, I know, but difficult to answer this definitively.

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