I have a mac (latest os) and am running lightburn version 1.7.06 to a custom built co2 laser running GRbL m3 (1.1e)
The machine has ran well since it was built, which is approx 3 years apart from a very occasional issue where the laser would stop mid cut, but this was very rare.
I popped the tube, and it sat for a couple of months (I used my other machine) until I got around to fitting a new tube.
I have replaced the tube, which is now a 90w tube whereas the old tube was 60w, and I have been encountering a series of communication issues, which essentially cause the machine to stop cutting, this happens on almost every job, sometimes multiple times per job, and has no commonality in terms of place it stops etc.
The only noticeable thing is that it seems to struggle more on more detailed cuts in comparison to lesser detailed cuts with less moves.
I have tested this on a different device and have the same issues, so I have discounted the Mac/pc and am wondering if this is likely to be a USB cable issue or even a motherboard issue?
The errors don’t seem to be of any consistency, added photos of the last few encountered.
Has anyone come across anything like this before? I’m a little bit worried about removing the USB in case that finishes it off!
It’s worth also noting that on some occasions it seems to totally lose its bed location, and cut a random line, or all of a sudden it will start to move the laser head very slowly……
Since you increased the power of the tube did you upgrade the power supply as well? Wonder if you might be having an RFI interference issue? You might try some shielding around the USB board or check for any power cables that may be running in parallel with the USB cable.
I hadn’t considered that, I figured that if the tube was firing and all was well then the power supply was ok, but do you think it could be spiking causing interference?
Possible, does your power supply have an LED readout for ma draw. As the power of tube goes up it usually wants higher voltage and if it doesn’t see that it may try drawing move amperage to fire. Depending on your controller it may be sensing that the PS isn’t providing enough voltage/current to run the tube. Just a thought. I know on my CO2 if I want to go from 80 W to 100 W tube I have to replace the power supply at the same time.
Since the laser was custom built how close is the power supply to the USB circuitry? Since voltage has stay the same but likely the current draw may be higher your wiring might be radiating and EMF field that the USB cable is picking up. If the wiring is easy to get too you could try shielding the USB cable and make sure the shield is tied to GROUND.
The power supply and board/usb are very close, but very fiddly to get to to shield properly, but the Ferite beads to snap on to power and usb will be doable, and definitely worth a shot.
It is worth a shot as the HV power supply will radiate a magnetic field in proportion to the voltage/current passing through the cable. Do you notice any increase/decrease in the issue if you are running at lower or higher power?
On my CO2 at 20% power in Lightburn I draw about 8-10 ma off the supply. Don’t know how GRBL software does power so it might not be an issue, but you might see if running at lower power for a test job results in fewer glitches.
