I'm new to lasers. I still cannot get it to work like it was advertised. I need help

anon87034102 · August 8, 2022, 4:15pm

Hello (again),

I think figured out how to embed pics, so , sorry if I’m too profuse, here is what I’ve got. The console_top pic looks like most Ruida6442 consoles. No surprises there. The console_underside pic shows the lacking cable plug, but otherwise looks straightforward enough although I had to hold my cellphone camera to see it (I’m 70 and my body doesn’t work very well). The right_side_cab pic is just that. I did not remove any of those grey trough covers. Finally, the Ruida_HMI_plug pic (which also only my cam could see)(although I could feel it with my fingers) is well plugged in. I even was able to ‘wiggle it a tad’. In doing so nothing changed at the console.

I suppose that IF the seller will send me anything under warranty THEN I may get into it all. I am knowledgeable enough to swap out components, it’s just that I seem to have a stubborn streak about buying a brand new machine and having so much trouble with it right off the bat (hence my interest in the warranty issue). If nothing else, this whole episode shows both my ignorance of buying these kinds of machines and/or of the seller or source. And that was AFTER I did a mountain of what I thought was due diligence in studying various forums and videos and online sellers (I live in a remote area with no nearby sellers, not even OMTech dealers).

Alas I am very frustrated, perhaps I’m ranting, or at least raving. I’m certainly aware that forum members have been trying to help me. Perhaps I overestimated having a hobby in my retirement. I haven’t even had a chance to get into some of those more technical issues that many laser users are having. I guess I wrongly though it would be more straight forward.

I’ll wait and see what the seller has to say, especially as to the warranty. I sent them a link to a video of what is happening (either arrow button sending the head SW {not straight left or down} and other buttons mismapped. Perhaps I’m supposed to wait on a slow boat from… …meanwhile… …tic,tic,tic…

If I can make this link thing work here it is:
to my video of what is happening (no dinging sounds, overdubbed)

here is a link to the original (no overdubbing but listen closely to the console dinging):
original (but larger file)

BTW I did find a PDF of a Ruida manual albeit different from the one that you attached (but fairly close)(perhaps just a revision but I don’t know for sure)(I see the “v1.3” in the filename)(but I just downloaded the other from the Ruida website last week). I noticed one has a copyright dated 2016 and the other has none that I found. But then one has 60 pages and the other has 51 pages. So then it’s another mystery to me as to what was the 9 page difference ? Oh well, one problem at a time.

Thanks for everyones help,
Bronco

ferg · August 8, 2022, 5:30pm

Bronco,
First off, I will be 89 years young in about 3 months with a lot less knowledge than you have.
My machine is an Omtech 60W that knows it is only a 50W. I bought it directly from Omtech. Nothing about buying the machine or learning to use it/modify it has been any real problem for me. My Ruida is exactly the same as yours and has worked flawlessly from day one which was November 2021. Receiving an answer form Omtech is a little slow, maybe two or three days, I can live with that most of the time. The wiring on my controller looks to be exactly as yours. My one suggestion to you would be to have a lap top or other computer at the machine. That is only coming from someone who has run a business for many years using Mac computers that to begin with were located in different areas, bummer! BTW: I upload my programs to the laser from desktop computer. Controlling what the laser does? I use the keys on the laser.
I know the frustrations the lasers can give you. I know how you feel but coming from one old man to a “still wet behind the ears” young man, these things are beyond fascination. Hang in there, sounds like you are following procedure.
ALSO: Before you put your machine in the dumpster, let me know I may have to come to Florida and take it off your hands. LOL

anon87034102 · August 8, 2022, 6:51pm

@Ferg, Congrats to you! I seriously doubt that I will make it anywhere near 89. In fact I’m not sure that on half a lung I’ll even make it to 71. That’s hanging over my head as I sit here and wait for anything positive to happen (that proverbial slow boat from…) And, as it happens I do have a laptop somewhere. I can’t say that I like Macs, I was in the PC business for many years. But I’m sure I’ll find a layer of dust on that laptop. It probably has XP on it. I’m not even sure I can find the charger (I assume anything that old will have a dead battery). But I still don’t like that when I buy something brand new that it has a major component that is failed. I’m sure you can remember, as I do, of the days when a handshake was a mans bond and if you sold something you’d stand behind it come hell or high water. I have waited for weeks, not a few days, for any kind of answer and what I get is crickets!

I have the laser machine tied to the Ethernet system in my house. That all seems to be working fine. I can use LightBurn to send files, read the machine settings, do positioning, etc. It’s just that the console is not working correctly. I wish my Ruida would work as flawlessly as your has. My machine is new and my Ruida has failed and it’s only been here for a few weeks (mostly just sitting here waiting on that slow boat…). Perhaps that’s just my luck.

Actually I think the dumpster would make me feel better. But I’ll send you it’s location after the fact

Thanks for your reply,
Bronco

jkwilborn · August 8, 2022, 8:03pm

You found a translation, unless you speak Chinese, there were translated. Some have much more information that others… when you need to use it, the English is much like Chinglish and may be more misleading than reading the Chinese version

For example ‘air assist’ sink (output) is labeled ‘Wind’ on the Ruida …

Don’t upgrade firmware unless you have a good reason or know what you are doing. I highly doubt that’s the problem with the machine console…

Don’t buy Chinese low cost machines and it won’t be an issue. Pay 10 times the price for an American made one and you can call them up and ask them…

It is totally different in a communist country…Duh… if you wish to make a purchase and be treated like an American buying an American product then you pay the money and buy American. There is ZERO liability by China, you plug it in and it kills you, TS…

That’s why there is a forum here with lots of people with lots of different problems. You could have set it all up and found your coolant all over the machine and floor because of a cracked tube, totally DOA on arrival, crossed up mains voltages where you get ‘shocked’ and on…

I’ve seen lots of ‘new machine’ issues. If you read through here, you’ll find many times the question is asked ‘has this ever worked?’

Some vendors buy parts that do not pass inspection. They don’t throw them away, they sell them to unscrupulous ‘manufacturers’ that sell them to customers outside China, like us.

Millions of these machines are out there, they are all cheap and generally work pretty well. You got a bad one, don’t know if it’s the vendor or beyond their control

When you email them, they are asleep, so the emails at best will be a 24 hour turn around time. It’s real frustrating when you realize, after 6 emails, that they are clueless as to what you even asked them or your problem. Their native language is Chinese, not English… and it usually shows.

Ran many of the early machines for home computing, like the Rat Shack trash-80 (radio shack trs-80).

Never was burned so bad as from Apple… got a nice G5, less than 3 years later I couldn’t even use the browser as they switched to the Intel processor… Went to Debian, then Ubuntu and have never looked back… ran Debian for almost 5 years on hardware that was fine, no Apple software…

I have serious doubts you’re another Joe Btfsplk

lil-abner-cloud

So hang in there and keep your patience the best you can. I have no doubt you’ll get the hang of it… It’s another machine, like a table saw. Few extra buttons… The more precise, the more difficult and technical to use and get good results.

anon87034102 · August 8, 2022, 9:43pm

I have several PDFs that I have for Ruida, none are in Chinese. They are all in (supposedly) English. I can even, sometimes by necessity, read Chinglish . They have different numbers of pages. I was glad to even find them at all but I do not recall everywhere that I found them except that the www.rd-acs.com needed to be sent thru translate before I could get it to work (in English) and here is the link to that place: https://www.ruidacontroller.com/download/ and then I looked way down that list to the 6442 manual(s). Looks like several are there but none really address my present issue. Then there is also: https://www-rd–acs-com.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=zh-CN&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc which seems to be their major selling site.

As a hobby I can’t see spending 10x for an American-made machine (even if I had it, which I don’t). Perhaps thumb twiddling would be more my speed. Cheaper too. As the world becomes more ‘homogenized’ the differences are becoming even less distinct, but I have yet to see a new church named “The Almighty Buck ”; but isn’t that what it’s all about these days ? At least my thumbs are made in America. BTW I also have failed parts from Phoenix AZ., Italy, Spain as well as China (and many other countries and cities). I was once run out of a job by those American workers. My wife is not from the USA. As you may see, buying American may be okay for people in business but it’s not so easy for a retiree on SS alone. Call this a sore spot ! I suppose a person could have any sorts of issues with any product made anywhere. BTW where is Amazon located ? I seem to always get people who I can barely understand (due to their strong non-American accents).

I have not upgraded or changed the firmware. I wouldn’t even know how. I’m still trying to figure it all out. If it ran then I could watch the water run out all over the floor. So, I must be stupid for believing that ANYONE ANYWHERE would keep their word and support their products. This kind of thing makes it more likely to NOT make it to 89 years young.

I am aware of the ‘games’ that various unscrupulous vendors play. I only wish I could get an email reply (like the ones on this forum) in a short order. I have been waiting WEEKS to get any emails from anybody (outside of this forum). 24 hours would be unheard of. So am I even more stupid for waiting ?

I stared on ‘micro computers’ well before ‘trash-80s’ (of which I had several in those days). I remember soldering 64kb DRAMs piggyback on the 16K chips and running added address wires. I started on S-100 machines. I remember taking Fortran in 1971. I stopped counting lines of code I’d written after a million. Yeah I have 2 Linux machines too and I’ve run several versions of Ubuntu and Debian (and others).

I do have a table saw; it has an ON/OFF switch (and a fence). But I also have a CNC mill which is considerably more accurate than this laser cutter. But it is easier to use and get more accurate results. I’ve run Linux CNC for years and also Mach4 now on a PC. I also have a CNC (Powermatic) wood router but it has a Chinese controller (which I hate). It came from Tennessee but was made in China. Go figure. They are ALL now collecting dust for various reasons. The popular thing now is “Assembled in America from International Parts”, so when I bought my Dodge truck it came from Mexico. Is that no better than ‘Made in America’ or would the Dodge brothers be turning over in their graves. And what about Volvo ? They are owned by a Chinese company and made in China, so should I shy away from Volvos ?

Sorry, I’m just very frustrated that I can’t just get something that works as advertised. Yeah I know, it’s a different world now; but, 50 years ago Volvos were made in Sweden and Black & Decker was “Made In America”. BTW I also have a 2020 Chevy that’s been back to the dealer 4 times and I finally gave up because every time they said it was fixed, then on my way home (from the Chevy dealership) I found that it was not fixed. It was “Made In America” and I’ve seen the factory so I know it is “Made In America” from American parts. Nevertheless my Chevy is NOT as advertised and the dealer has tried 4 times to fix it and it still does not work (part of the infotainment system). So, I gave up even trying. Should I give up on this new Zikebtuy 60w laser machine ? Should I give up on getting anything from them or the seller (Woueniut) or Amazon ? Should I not expect ANYTHING from ANYWHERE to be supported. Am I that stupid ? I have a box of awards for my engineering and prouct developement over the decades, perhaps those will go into the same dumpster. I’m just not convinced that I should even have a hobby. I guess my thumbs will get more exercise now. But I’ll still be stubborn and hope that either Ruida or Zikebtuy or Wouenuit or Amazon will do something honorable. I guess I’m fortunate to be retired and out of this new world. My dad was born in 1904 perhaps we should have traded sequences.

As always, thanks for your good words and encouragement,
Bronco

jkwilborn · August 8, 2022, 11:13pm

Usually they state the response time. In any case, twice a week wouldn’t hurt…

I’m sure in China the Squeaky Wheel gets greased…

I was driving at, most of us don’t have a nice $10k laser in their shop…

Me too. But it’s a continuous issue with Chinese parts. I’d be tickled pink if only 1/2 of the junk I get from over there works for any period of time. The good parts I get from elsewhere have a very low failure rate compared to that from China…

Doubt, assembled maybe…

We’ve had a couple LG fridge and Samsung inductive stove and a dishwasher. The stove electronics for the inductive coils literally blew up while I was trying to cook, within a month of warranty expiration. The dishwasher failed 10 months in and they fixed it. It failed again just outside the 1 year warranty. I opened it up, fixed it. There were all kinds of screw holes with no screws. Pretty clear there is no control. The dishwasher expired within two months again.

The Maytag is also built in China, but all the screws are in it, unlike all of the Chinese manufactured appliances we’ve owned. Never buy another Chinese manufactured appliance.

Guess this looks familiar

Still got this one…

Part of growing older is you really notice that things change… wish I could squat with my knee replacements, but that’s life and it’s better than cringing with pain at every move.

When people ask me how I’m doing I usually reply “vertical and ventilating”… the other options aren’t to good.

With your experience this should be duck soup. I think your controller is broken and if the controller on your cnc mill is broken you are in the same boat. You just need a different view of the what’s going on…

There is no difference between a cnc machine and a cnc machine… Less axes are less problems. The only difference between your cnc mill and the cnc laser is the laser has one less axes, and therefore more simple to operate.

Both machines are ‘negative’ machining operations. Your spindle/tool is now a light beam…

IMHO,

you are more than qualified and have the expertise to make this work, easily
relax, same machine, different ‘tool’
you know the coordinate system in 3 dimensions, most people have problems in 2d
an engineering background is an awesome benefit that will serve you here also

Calm down, you need to live through this or my efforts are wasted… I’d start hammering the vendor with emails

Yes, some things here are more than irritating, you’re retired, experience it and slow down and enjoy it…

Take care

anon87034102 · August 9, 2022, 2:39pm

Hi Jack, Yes !!! I see your Altair 8800 !, me too but mine was gone many years ago. I remember flipping switches and entering machine codes for LD, STO, ADD, etc. We both know about that stuff . I later did/built a lot of machines and then I bought Cromemco machines, TurboDos and then after the XT came out I bought what, at that time, was the biggest hard drive out here, from Priam, it was 33MB and had 2 14" platters. I also went to Cleveland and bought stuff from Marty at TecMar. Of course there are things from the past, like museum pieces that remind us of those days. Perhaps my memories of those days are too vivid.

Response time? Honor? Keeping ones word? or is everything a scam ? Here is what Amazon advertised: “WORRY-FREE SERVICE: All of our laser engravers Ship from our US warehouse to ensure [fast delivery], [7x24 customer service] [2-year general warranty (1/2 year for tube & power supply)], we only provide Amazon customers with the best quality and comprehensive pre-sales and after-sales services. please do not hesitate to contact us.” But I did not receive my laser machine until AFTER the date provided by Amazon (who later told me it was NOT returnable). And that was not an “estimated” date, it was a ‘no later than’ date. I guess I was stupid to believe Amazon. And we also have had a couple of Samsung and LG fridges (made in S. Korea from Chinese parts). I looked at Maytag until I found out where they were made. Same country as Black & Decker, Milwaukee, Skill, DeWalt, etc.

You said “The good parts I get from elsewhere have a very low failure rate compared to that from China”, so who (outside of China) makes an affordable controller other than (but similar to) Ruida ? I’m at a point now where IF (a big IF) I decide to forge ahead with this Chinese junk I may need to replace the entire control system. I’ve looked at most of the Ruidas but that seems like it would be throwing good money after bad. And if I had a problem with that new Ruida then what ? I’m up the same creek ? This would be so much better if the manufacturer would just be honorable.

I can squat but its the maneuvering while down there that gets me out of breath so quickly. As to getting back up again, …like ‘pulling teeth’. I like your ‘“vertical and ventilating”’ ; with a German-made machine I can ventilate too.

Sure, I’m very knowledgeable about CNC in general and to some specifics. I also have a box of “obsolete” controllers. Yeah, with my knowledge and background I could stick, say, a Mesa 7i76 card in there, make a new Xilinx bitfile, run Debian Linux, make an output fire the laser tube, etc. BUT those are exactly the things I was hoping to avoid. I’d done all of that before. I even once wrote all of the code to run a PMAC to run a big CNC mill. Now I just wanted to cut some acrylic or some plywood and make some trinkets for my wife and our neighbors. I guess I was stupid to wish for those things. It was supposed to be ‘fun’; it’s NOT ! Hence the dumpster idea. It would be so much easier ! Actually I have been looking for some maker-spaces to which I could donate ('er dump) all of this stuff. Alas there are none in my area, but plenty of dumpsters, and then there’s the ‘land fill’ itself.

Rest assured, your efforts are not wasted, I must admit I was extremely skeptical of these forums. I was used to getting some modicum of (direct) support from a company who takes my hard-earned money for one of their products and then relegates “support” to a public forum. Yeah, I saw the LightBurn about why they don’t do that, about their “low” prices, etc. I’ve seen LightBurn ads (albeit old ones) for $60 and now it’s $120 and I just saw an online ad for >$200. That’s largely why I have that box of CNC parts. People on those forums told me I was stupid. Perhaps now I can see the truth of them; regardless of my former engineering successes, after all I bought a product made in China!

I suspect there is a fine line between hammering the vendor, greasing a squeaky wheel and being a thorn. I dread slowing down, but it’s kinda like trying to ‘run’ in waste-deep water. I can’t seem to get anywhere and there’s a strong opposing current. Like the old saying 2 steps forward and 3 steps backwards. If vendors were honorable then… oh well I guess they are all after the almighty buck. But isn’t that the ‘giant sucking sound’ made by companies who used to make things in America ?

I see I have 5 days left on the extension to my trial of LightBurn software. I’ll stick around here until that runs out. I like to think of myself as honorable, which seems to make me ‘stupid’ in today’s world, so I will not ask for yet another extension. If I get any positive news about my ‘warrantied’ machine I’ll probably go ahead and buy it (LightBurn) whether it ends up being used or not. But if not then it looks like I can delete my account.

Thanks for your replies,
Bronco

ferg · August 9, 2022, 5:05pm

Bronco,
I need to put my .02 in here again.
I never had the opportunity to attend college although I spent considerable time in Naval Aviation Schools.
In 1986 my wife and I decided to invest in a $120,000 two head CNC run by MSDOS. We didn’t have $120,000 by the way. Made payments on it and all the machinery required to service it that would certainly bankrupt us in retirement.
Still have the machine with 32k memory and after twelve of my own modifications to original, it still runs. I had no education in computers and didn’t know the difference between software and hardware. Spent three months with telephone support from the young man who wrote the original programs for our wood business learning enough about the machine to call it ours.
To make a very long story short I wrote all the programs for our business database, configured the CNC and modified plus wrote new programs. That CNC had numerous problems but I was determined I wasn’t going to pay a GE tech thousands of dollars to come to the shop and “fix” what I was certain could be done by me. That included Changing out transistor blocks they said I couldn’t do, to dismantling the entire top of the machine to learn what the heck was making it work.

As I said before I understand your frustration. Jack gave you great advice. I had both knees replaced at the same time one year ago. I can kneel, get back up, climb a ladder, saw firewood, till the garden, plant thousands of flowers in our landscape, love my wife to the end and swear at the Politicians but I will never give up on the thousands of things that seem to always need fixing.
If you have the money to spare for LightBurn buy it. If you don’t, let me know I will pay half.
You have the knowledge to help not only yourself but hundreds of folks on this forum that can make you feel good and useful.
I NEVER GIVE UP! I hope you won’t either. These infernal Lasers will drive you mad one day and give you untold pleasure another.
It has been a real pleasure communicating with you.

Ferg

anon87034102 · August 9, 2022, 7:58pm

Hello Ferg,

I was also in the U.S.Navy (tail end of Viet Nam but I never got over there). But I know what its like to be spit on. As a vet I am specifically NOT eligible for Obamacare when I get VA medical. Yet, I have to pay for Medicare (and the feds told me I had better do it) ! Yet, I was penalized by the Feds when I did not sign up for Obamacare. I protested that decision to some federal office in KY and got a letter back saying ‘No’. I appealed that decision and the appeal was denied. I had Gabby Giffords, and McCains offices involved and a federal ACA officer in San Fran involved. I was still penalized by them, the Feds, by them directly debiting my IRS refund (before they ever even told me). That was never resolved. It was <$600 which was cheaper than hiring lawyers so I just let it go.

 ...but let's let that subject go before I start ranting about politicians too.

I too never had the support of my family to attend college. I had to pay for my education myself. I was a machinist, a welder and an electrician back in those days.

In 1986 I was a Sr. Project Engineer at a major medical equipment company. But in years prior (actually many years prior) I made payments on equipment that I had to find someone to co-sign for at a bank before I could get the loan for it. I paid it off all on my own.

By the 1990’s I ended up paying more taxes than POTUS. Gee, was that “fair” ?

And somewhere along the way I ended up working on Burgmaster’s and some CNC machines. I don’t remember all those details except for seeing a pre-1900 Brown & Sharp screw machine still running good parts and spewing oil all over the floor around it in some shop.

I’m glad that you understand my situation. Thanks for that. I have 2 bad knees too but they are the originals. I can do those things you mentioned but only for a couple of minutes before I ‘run out of wind’.

Unfortunately, I have done a lot of things in my life and now I just wanted to find a nice uneventful hobby for a while. I could (at least knowledge-wise) do what’s needed (ignoring the seller and manufacturers warranties) to get this laser machine running. What people don’t seem to understand is that I don’t want to (or can’t) expend the efforts to do so. I don’t feel that I should be required to fix it myself !

I’m on the verge of giving up and this laser machine has already driven me mad, and I’m only 2 months in.

I may be ranting here. I really do appreciate yours and Jacks replies. I’m just not sure what’s to happen next. I have a ‘cheat sheet’ way of getting around the Ruidas misbehaviors so I managed to make my wife (who is a US citizen, from Asia, but not China) a pair of 2" earrings. I guess they end up at about a grand per ear.

best regards,
Bronco

BTW, @Jack, if you read this I’m still interested in in a Ruida equivalent that’s not from China.

jkwilborn · August 10, 2022, 2:03am

I was speaking of parts… I ordered 40 of a specific chip from China for a group of us. Zero of them functioned. One of the people took a few home and dissolved the package with hot caustic soda. It was a chunk of metal in the package, the leads were window dressing.

Apparently many businesses have been ‘taken’ by these people and you have no recourse that’s a financially recovery. They shipped a bunch of dog food here that killed peoples pets. They lost in district court but on appeal, the Supreme Court ruled for them and they paid nothing to the victims.

One of our congressional representatives spoke on the Senate floor a number of years back telling congress that he could not get his blood pressure medicine as it come from China and testing showed it had rocket fuel in it…?

It is a communist country. How much stuff do we own from Russia?

I looked at a few ‘not Chinese’ controllers, one from the US, Germany and some other place. All required Microsoft, were proprietary about the codes and interface, real expensive and a yearly support cost. I used a hand sign to tell them they were number 1 and moved on.

From my experience you have the best controller available at any kind of reasonable cost. Even though it is proprietary in the terms of information about it, but Lightburn seems to have done ok getting that. You got a bad one or the lps failure caused an issue with it.

You should know in manufacturing, you can take all the proper steps and some component you purchased fails, not really the manufacture of the boards fault, it one of those ‘such is life moments’.

I think before your blood pressure goes through the roof, wait until you get some word and can make a calm, ‘rational’ decision. Maybe they’ll send you a new one and you’ll be a happy camper and can repent.

Take care…

anon87034102 · August 10, 2022, 3:21am

Perhaps my years spent in biomedical and in aerospace spoiled me. I ALWAYS had to do things right, including UL, ETA, CSA, TUV, FDA, US ECC, etc. If I didn’t then I was the one that got the heat. I would have gone through the roof back then if I ever got 40 chips that were all, or even many, were bad. Many were from ‘off shore’ (if allowed). Back then there were domestic fabs for CPUs, MCUs, DRAMs , PALs, CPLDs and FPGAs and such; not any more. I also worked for a major semiconductor company in CA for awhile and we would get our @$$ reamed if we did not PROPERLY support customers with any of our VLSI stuff. I guess I developed too high of expectations over those years. That’s on me now. It’s apparently my problem now. But that’s the way I had to do it then and it stuck with me that customer support was the right way, the ethical way, to do things no matter the consequences. But it’s my psyche now and that seems to be what weighs on my shoulders now.

My wife is a waitress (now called a “server”) and if she gets the order mixed up she has to pay for it out of her own (actually my) pocket.

Yeah, I know that we get junk from China . Apparently there are no good alternatives to Ruida. I’ve looked and it sounds like you and/or others have too. I also have not heard of any other laser controllers elsewhere (perhaps from Europe). Isn’t that what we call a monopoly ? In this country isn’t that considered unethical if not illegal (Hhmm , WG). I guess if I were rich I could just buy 41 if that’s what it took to get one that worked. Meanwhile nobody gets any @$$ reamings. If I end up doing anything more with this junk I’ll probably use a ‘hand sign’ too. Or, maybe to lower my boiling blood I’ll just abandon the idea of a retirement hobby. So what about this Made In America Chevy that I have here ? Who do I see about that ? {rhetorical}

Again, nevertheless, regards ,
Bronco

BTW which Ruida controllers will work in place of a 6442, assuming that IF I get this junk working then if I have to buy a new controller I may as well put an upgrade in there ? I.e. will any other consoles work with this main-board or is everything mated according to the model ? Like, will a 6445 console work with a 6442 main-board ? (or other combos)

jkwilborn · August 10, 2022, 3:44am

Each controller has it’s ideal uses. The 6344 is about $900, 6445 is about $550, 6442 about $400 and a 6432 about $300. Most of these have the 6442 or 6445 types. The 5 has more resolution on the console and has some other tricks it can do. That is the difference between them… some are more specific for other things.

Things that vary are item like, how the extra axes can be controlled. There was one I assisted with that would allow the Z only to move between layers… turns out this one was actually designed for a system where, after the job, it slid the material a certain distance then would repeat. You couldn’t do any changes during the operation. Some machines needs to be able to manipulate the axes in specific ‘controlled and timed’ movements or sequences.

Here’s a search on Amazon for’em…

Any of the controllers for a laser should be applicable. If you want other axes, it may be worth changing controllers.

If you want to move to gcode, maybe there are some American built controllers… IMHO, that is a step backwards.

The lps only needs two signals, the laser enable and the power level to operate. So anything that does the proper signalling and will signal the motor drivers will probably work… How much effort to configure the controller may be another matter.

anon87034102 · August 10, 2022, 3:34pm

So is there any rhyme or reason to the Ruida part numbers ? You said *

Each controller has it’s ideal uses. The 6344 is about $900, 6445 is about $550, 6442 about $400 and a 6432 about $300. Most of these have the 6442 or 6445 types. The 5 has more resolution on the console and has some other tricks it can do. That is the difference between them… some are more specific for other things.

So I’m still not certain what’s going on when I see things like:

So for 17 bucks I could get “more”? Or will it not work even if the ‘main-board’ looks similar. Would I have to completely replace BOTH the console (they call it the “panel”, from what I’ve come to understand) and the main-board. I can probably shoe-horn any of them in, one way or another. I also have a 3D printer that may help; it did for my CNC mill. So, both from my backgrounds in engineering and from my DIY building of CNC mills and, before this Chinese Powermatic (which I bought because “Powermatic” was supposed to be a good name & I didn’t want to have to mess with anything), a wood router; I should have no problem replacing a laser controller. [How was that for a run-on sentence.] I just don’t know which ones are ‘appropriate’.

I only have 2 axes now (X,Y), but I already have (from my spare parts junk) more steppers and drivers (the little junk black boxes with Dir, Pu and En pins (and I know how to wire them)(and I see the pins on the Ruida main-board connectors)(duh me). So I was thinking about adding a stepper_motorized bed lift (I assume, is that their “Z” axis ?)(and I have micro-switches to stop Z everywhere {for limits and ‘focus’}) and possibly using my little rotary (from my CNC mill) as a rotary on this machine (which, I assume, is that their “U” axis ?).

So whether it costs $900 or $300 or less, I’m interested in at least knowing that I get parts that are ‘appropriate’. This, of course, assumes that the warranty is as much junk as the rest of it and I’ll have to either ‘eat it’ (the dumpster/donation route) or DIY to make it work.

BTW, I reached out to CloudRay and here is that (both sides), 1st, what I wrote to them:

and here is their reply:

I’m now coming to the realization that this is common in the laser business.

Perhaps there is no honor anywhere.

Present company excepted, I think.

But am I THAT stupid ? Why would I spend $300 to $900 on more junk from China ? Will I have to buy 41 of these to maybe get a good one ?

That dumpster idea is looking better every day.

Again, nevertheless, thanks for your good words,
Bronco

fred_dot_u · August 10, 2022, 3:51pm

This thread appears to be aiming toward replacing the entire controller. I thought that since the controller is able to accept commands from LightBurn and that the problem is based on the laser moving in a manner contradictory to the key presses on the display unit that the focus would be on the key pad. Considering the price difference, wouldn’t it be a less expensive gamble to toss a twenty at the key pad/display just in case that solved the problem/

anon87034102 · August 10, 2022, 4:41pm

Hi Fred, well yes and no.

I’m still on the fence about what to do. Like I said before IF I decide to fix it then I’m still not sure where the problem is.

I do know that I do not want to toss a twenty at the keypad/display if that’s not the problem. So really, it could it be the membrane switch sheet, the processor in the ‘panel’ (which I’ve heard referred to also as a ‘console’), is the firmware messed up in it. It could be worse and the panel is sending ‘good’ commands to the ‘main-board’ and the main-board is messing them up. Are commands parsed from the Ethernet port (the UDP from LightBurn) differently than similar commands from the panel (I am now assuming that those are on an RS485-style cable, from the photo on Amazon showing TX1,TX2,RX1,RX2 which is some sort of differential comms (perhaps balanced or 42x-style). It kinda depends on the architecture of the firmware on those components.

But really, I just simply don’t want to be spending a bunch of time fiddling with it. Perhaps it has a susceptable E2PROM or Flash chip. I’d sooner replace the entire mess with the idea that the former issue could be anywhere (in the Ruida panel or main-board).

So, you are right, it would be less expensive. I’m just not that interested in tinkering any more. I’ve done that all my life and I just wanted a hobby machine that worked out of the box.

sorry ,
Bronco

fred_dot_u · August 10, 2022, 4:57pm

I understand. It’s a good thing you aren’t going through this with 3D printing. Possibly less expensive, but no less frustrating, especially for the bargain priced models.

berainlb · August 10, 2022, 5:27pm

Not sure if you’re limiting this to mean tinkering only to get the laser basically working but if you mean this generally, and I say this with the best intentions, you are not going to enjoy lasering. In many ways lasering=tinkering. Even for a machine that comes in well-tuned you’ll need to tinker on materials and techniques to get you the look that you’re looking for. You’ll be experimenting with lenses, fume extraction strategies, cooling improvements, mirror alignment… Once those are dialed in and let’s say you have a recipe for how to burn the limited types of things you want to burn you may be able to get several months or even years of trouble free operation but the machine will break down relatively quickly. The tubes are consumables and other components are subject to wear and tear and maintenance.

I know there are services you can get that will come and service/tune your machine on a regular basis. I haven’t heard of hobbyist doing this but I’m sure it’s available.

Want to make sure you’re coming into this eyes wide open so you can make a decision if this is what you want.

As for the panel/controller situation. I’d suggest disconnecting the panel and checking for damage at the connectors on panel and controller and along the full length of the cable. It’s possible there’s damage that’s causing a short and easy to diagnose. And besides, you’re going to have to go through this with a replacement so might as well discover what’s going on now if possible.

jkwilborn · August 10, 2022, 5:43pm

Mine did, you got a lemon…

I am clueless how the numbering system works. There’s threads on here that say the 6442 version doesn’t handle the rotary on Z/U axes and you need a 6445. Never tried to use my machine that way, so again I’m clueless.

Believe me I’ve looked for some simple explanation. It also varies from a 6442s and a 6442g, so I’m not the wizard on these.

At this point I’d advise you to pitch it into the round can. It matters not what many of us have advised you, you seem perceptually irritated about sale. Most of us have some kind of issue using these, just like any other machine. I would hope that if someone sold you a milling machine and a purchased tool broke, motor died early or whatever you wouldn’t want to toss the machine … but maybe you would?

IF the vendor doesn’t make it right, a c-note would get you a new console and probably fix it and you could move on with a happy hobby.

I you insist on a laser, Glowforge makes one that’ plug and play. That might be a better choice for your hobby.

Good luck, take care

ferg · August 10, 2022, 6:27pm

Good advice as always Jack,
Bronco,
I am really sorry for your unfortunate circumstance and believe me I know of the feelings.
I was a home builder for much of my life and a tinkerer, still am and it infuriates me as I get older that there are folks that think I remain as their go to “fixer” for anything and everything.
Do something for those of us who like and love machinery that works. Sit in an easy chair, think of the circumstances, re-buckle your belt, take an easy breath of fresh air and order the piece you need. From CloudRay. It will take awhile for it to get to you but they try to take care of you and the folks I communicated with actually understood English language. That was an advantage for me since I am clinically DEAF.
If you were to decide on a Glow Forge I have an idea you would literally throw it into the trash.
I understand completely your frustration. When you get this machine to work it will confound you at least once per week if not more and it will fascinate you to an extent you cannot believe.

I am rooting for you and the machine.
BTW: My wife says I can’t have another laser.LOL

anon87034102 · August 10, 2022, 7:14pm

I have had to go thru ‘it’ with this junk 3D printer, but I persevered and got it going, at least to some extent. Guess where it was from (besides from Amazon!) ?

I just got done, unsuccessfully, swapping out a hard drive in a surveillance system. Guess where it (the system) came from (besides from Amazon!) ?

And I’m in the middle of exchanging a rear wheel on my wife’s bike. Because the NuVinci N380 hub got itself ‘stuck in low gear’. It was from the Italians. But I replaced it with some good ole Japanese branded parts (Shimano) that were made… guess where !

It looks like I’m getting contradictory advice here, like get a Glowforge and then I am ‘not going to enjoy lasering’. {expletive deleted here}

So, … yeah… I’m sick and tired of having to fix JUNK !!! I was a mechanic, a welder, an electrician, a ditch digger, and probably some things that I’ve forgotten back in the 1960’s, I was a mechanical engineer working in the automotive field for a few years. I jumped ship to electrical engineering specializing in DSP, processing systems and data acquisition. If my stuff didn’t work I got ‘the shaft’. Along the way I got my pilots license and built 7 home-built airplanes (big ones, not RC models) from scratch and had more than that which I rebuilt. I cannot ride a bike more than a block without getting too out of breath. I cannot paddle a kayak (yeah we have several)(Made In America) because it is illegal to kayak here with a trolling motor unless it is registered as a ‘motor boat’. I cannot fly a ‘drone’ (aka quadcopter) since we live too close to an airport and besides the regs are too restrictive. Etc… So, yeah, I’m sick and tired of tinkering!

And, BTW none of this stuff is cheap when you’re living off of my social security checks each month and my wife’s income.

So if this machine gets a layer of dust am I less stupid ? If I sit in my easy chair and buckle up and get what I need (assuming I knew what to get) then am I more stupid ?

I consider myself to be honorable. I said I would stay here until the extension ran out. So, that was 30 days plus the extra 2 weeks (thanks LightBurn). like:

So either a vendor will cough up some parts or advice or I’m outa here then. Wowee, just 4 more days of this junk !

Can anyone recommend a cheaper hobby and from whom to purchase it, assuming they are even half way believable ?

sincerely,
Bronco, the curmudgeon