Hi everyone, I’m new to laser engraving, bought the Sculpfun S30 Pro Max right before the new year. Got it set up and was up and away printing with no issues on an older Macbook Pro running Mojave.
Then one day I decided to use my new Macbook Pro which is running Monterey 12.1. Immediately the machine started having issues homing, it would go to the correct corner but the motors would keep trying to move it making a horrible sound, and I noticed it said the positioning was like -430 and -430. I assume it has something to do with me using a new computer but I havent been able to use my old computer again and make it work. I’m also not very knowledgeable on much of this because I’m new to it all, but I took screenshots of all my settings and hope this can get me some help on what the hell is going on. Like I said, I had absolutely no issues for about two weeks, but it was the moment I connected to a new computer that everything seemed to stop working. I can’t believe that would mess everything up so bad but who knows. Much appreciated to anyone who can shed some light on this for me, I was having so much fun!
Homing is managed exclusively by the laser controller so this issue is unlikely to be related to the computer used.
For some reason your controller is not recognizing the homing switches as being activated. A few things to look for:
With the machine off, manually move the laser head toward the homing corner. Can you hear/feel both X and Y limit switches getting activated when brought sufficiently close? If not, look for any obstruction that would prevent the switches from getting activated.
If you can see that the switches are getting activated, check that there is no damage at the switch or with any of the cables connecting the switches to the controller.
With the machine off, move the laser head to the middle of the frame. Then turn the machine on. I assume the machine homes at power-on. Check the movement of the laser. As it hits each switch on X and Y, it should stop moving in that direction and continue to the other switch. Is it failing on one or both switches? Which?
I agree to PY, this is not related to the new computer. The USB port could be different and causing problems, but it doesn’t seem so according to your screenshot. LB is working fine and the connection as well. So, it’s a firmware or hardware thing. Since your firmware settings look correct for the S30 series, I suggest checking the wiring and hardware, as PY suggested.
Thank you both for helping me verify that the software wasn’t the issue! I don’t know how I hadn’t actually verified that the laser head was triggering the limit switch or not, but I had raised it(the laser head) up high to put some material underneath and that position for the head actually would not set off the y axis switch. Just had to lower it to normal and it was fine, feel stupid for losing a week and a half because of that!
This sounds like you mounted the switches incorrectly. The position of the laser head does not affect the triggering, usually. The frame/slider is hitting the switches, not the module…
On one axis the slider wheel will set off the switch, on the other axis it is the side of the laser head that will set it off. I had raised it up to the highest it could go for some reason, I think to put a board underneath the frame, and just assumed it wouldn’t affect the switch, but somehow at that height and at that position, the side edge of the laser head was recessed just the slightest bit and wouldn’t trigger the switch. Just lowering it back down to the proper position was all it needed.
This part (white arrow) should touch the switch. And this is the slider, which can’t be adjusted in height. So no matter how the laser module is mounted, the slider will hit the switch…
Gotcha, I was mistaken thinking it was the actual laser head module that set off the switch, it is the part you indicated in the photo. However, when my laser head module was raised up to the very top, somehow it blocked that part from triggering the switch and that was my problem. I don’t think it’s ever intended to be raised up that high, I had just done that to clear the way to put a board underneath, and never lowered it down again to a normal working position. Thanks for your help!
