I am beta testing the Sienci Super Long Board. It runs grblHal.
My laser is an Endurance 10w diode, installed on a Sienci Long Mill CNC router.
On the previous controller, I used the grbl machine in LB successfully.
On this board, through testing, I found that the M4 command sent using the grbl machine does not turn the laser on. I need to use an M3 command. I proved this by exporting the gcode from LB, changing all the M4 commands to M3 and successfully running projects that did not run if I left the M4 commands in place.
If I change the machine to the grbl-M3 (1.1 e or earlier) option, will this use M3 to turn the laser on? I realize that this may seem obvious to more experienced LB users, but I thought that it was worth asking.
I’m not certain what you mean by mode. The laser is connected to the + and - of th pwm port on the board. It is the same connection on the previous board.
I am not the only tester that had an issue with the M4 command. I am the only one with an Endurance laser module though. All of us resolved the problem by changing M4 to M3.
Go to Edit → device settings
Change your Smax to 255
That should do it… but is a bit odd though your controller SHOULD be able to M4
This means you wont have modulation between movements
Your laser will be either ON or OFF and will not be able to modulate along the lines
GIve it a try though and see if that works for you
I am completely confused now. The LB docs say to set Smax to 1000, which is what I have always done. It also says that Smax and $30 must be the same. Again, that’s what I have always done. And, I have had no issues until i started testing the new grbl HAL controller. I thank you for your help and advice, but I am not going to take it. Setting $32=0 is completely against all the LB advice. If I do that, the laser will continue to burn on fast moves. If I change Smax to 255 but don’t change $30, the power settings will all be off. Further the value 255 was arrived at because that is the max number of steps that an 8 bit board can produce. I am not using an 8 bit board. I am running grbl HAL on a 32 bit processor.
exactly why i said your controler should support M4 perfectly
When you say though you resolve the problem by changing M4 to M3,
Changing the controller on Lightburn will only be half of it you have to also change the firmware settings
Or you are in neither
I agree on principle you should need to change nothing fimrware wise
So either contact the manufacturer of controller or Endurance for clarification
I do KNOW endurance boxes have 2 modes of input and you need to be in the right one to get M4 to work propper.
I apologize for the long delay in replying. I have the Endurance Mo1 laser box. I now understand what you are were asking about “mode of input”. I am using the PWM mode.
Since I last wrote, I have done more testing and have confirmed two things: 1. The pwm frequency in the controller eeprom must be set to 500hz. (The default is 1000hz.) 2. M4 will not start the laser. I need to change any M4 commands to M3. I am confident that this is not inherent only to Endurance lasers as users of other lasers, using the same grblHAL controller are finding the same thing.
So, all this takes me back to my original question, which is: can is set the machine to the grbl-M3 (1.1e or earlier) option, or would this cause problems with a controller that is running grbl HAL?
