Hello,
I’m trying to get a friends machine to work properly. My machine and his are identical–Lightburn DSP, Ruida 6445 controller. The Z-table goes up and down, but the limit switches at the top and bottom will not work. When the limit switches are tripped manually, the correct lights on the controller cpu flash correctly, but they will not stop the travel of the Z-table.
Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks, Mark
Is this a Z addition? Did it ever work before?
Are you sure they are wired correctly?
Which Z limit is wired to which input, + or - ?
I would assume if you increase Z you lower the table… This would mean the upper Z switch would be wired to the - input, the lower switch to the + input. This is only an assumption as I don’t have a Z axes.
I’m guessing that if you have them switched, it will fail. Just MHO.
You are not really clear, is this a boot issue or an operational issue?
If it has completed a boot, then it ignores the actual home switches. I don’t know what it does with Z +/-
Hello Jack W.,
This is a new homemade machine. The Z’s work fine on my machine, but my friends won’t work even with my Machine Setting copied to his computer. The Z- is the upper and Z+ the lower. The proper red lamps on the controller light up when the switches are tripped manually.
The machine boots up correctly for the X and the Y, but not the Z’s. On my machine I have homing for the Z axis turned off and use (rarely) the limit switches for overtravel. Thank you, again
Edit: Removed leading spaces that caused Preformatted text layout. @ednisley
RDC6445 controllers have a U axis in addition the the Z axis and apparently requires internal configuration to select which functions apply to which axis.
Not having a 6445, I think that configuration isn’t visible to LightBurn, so you must use RDWorks:
Neither the 6445 nor the RDWorks V8 manual provide any details or much explanation. For example, the 6445 manual mentions a D-Axis used for what seems like either the Z or U axis, so it’s an Easter Egg hunt.
When we try to figure out what’s going on with a Ruida, keep in mind that it doesn’t work like a grbl machine. When it boots, it has separate inputs for homing. This means if it’s already booted, these are ignored. They are not and will never be evaluated as a limit, they are specifically for a home operation.
A Ruida requires 4 more switches for just the X and Y to enable limit detection. We don’t see it much because you loose work area adding limits. They have to exists outside of the work area, but still be accessible. The only way to do this is to use a smaller work area and have separate limit switches at each end of each axes.
Introducing the Z operation, complicates how it boots. Unfortunately most of us don’t have the area and install limits, not a lot of us have a motorized Z.
There are some videos that might help with this on You tube. I remember Russ Sadler complaining on how the Z operation works with a Ruida. He’s also made a couple of videos, which may be helpful to you.
Might give one of his a watch and search his Youtube site for others he might have created.
As a start have you tried, manually triggering both of the axes during a boot to see if the Ruida detects them? Or swap the +/- wiring, it is Chinese after all.
Good luck
