Ultimate air assist wiring mistake

LightBurn Hardware Compatibility Ruida controllers
1

Hi there,
I made a mistake when wiring the ultimate air assist system. The switch and the air solinoid valve were wired correctly, but the the wires going to the base of the relay (A1 and A2 as on the cloud ray wiring sheet) were reversed.

Now that they are in the correct position the following is happening:

When in auto mode the air solinoid will click on and off as per layer requirements, however the relay will not click on and activate the air pump.

When I switch over to full manual on the switch, the relay activates powering on the air pump and opening the air solinoid valve as expected - to be always on. However, when I switch back to auto mode on the toggle switch, the relay / air pump stay on and the air solinoid valve closes.

I am wondering if by incorrectlying wiring initally, have I damaged the relay or other parts of the system?
I am currently testing this with the laser tube off (just incase this makes a difference as I wish to get it working correctly, so I dont cause damage to the laser components).

I am new to Co2 having upgraded from a ortur master 2. The ruida controller is 6445G and is running firmware version 15.01.19.

2

If they are functioning at all, then I would look at a reversed polarity or a missing / reversed diode. My first thought would be to remove the manual switch and get them operating that way. Then you know the automatic side is fully functional. The manual switch simply provides the proper input when the controller doesn’t. You may be ‘back feeding’ the relay from the solenoid with the switch.

3

Hi
Don’t know if you’ve seen this but Matt has a good tutorial on his channel you could use to check your installation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNEYCQQ8PZU&t=220s

Take note as well that if this was purchased from Cloudray they have supplied the wrong flow control valve so the amount of air when air assist is off is still full flow, The head of the adjuster is marked with a B when the correct part is marked with an A. One meters the air in one direction and full flow in the other, while the other is the opposite so the one supplied is the wrong part. I have been on to Cloudray about it and they say the cannot supply the one marked A. I just swapped it out for one that meters in both directions. Works great.

4

Hi Dave 01,
First, thanks for replying. I removed the switch and the result is the same. The air solenoid is coming on but not the relay to power the air pump. The relay has a little green status led which is on. Any other recommendations? Again, thanks for the help and suggestions it is appreciated.

Also, the air solenoid valve comes on and off repeatedly when running the file. I am currently using lightburn, but I see some people using RDWorks and its processing modes to turn on at the start of the job and turn off at the end of the job. Is there a way for this to be achieved through lightburn?

[06] RuiDa Controller - Setting the Air Assist Blowing Modes -RDC644X - RDWorks - YouTube - RuiDa Controller - Setting the Air Assist Blowing Modes -RDC644X - RDWorks

5

Hi David,
thanks for the reply. Yes I have come across Mat and his channel. A great resource for all things laser. Thanks for the info on the wrong flow control valve. I will have a look and order the correct one.
Cheers.

6

Okay, I’m going to start from scratch as I don’t know what you do or don’t know.

First off, you need to make sure you have the latest version firmware in your controller. I see your info says you have .19, That should do what needs to be done, but I have .22 in the folder at the top of my Google Mod Page if you want it. With that said, in the user tab, other option radio button, in RDWorks, is an air assist ( blow type ) option. Laser on is literally that, only when the tube firers. Process keeps it on for the job.

Second, the Ruida controllers switch the ground, not the positive, and the opto isolators are only rated to 500mA. It’s a bit weird at first with them switching the ground, but it has the advantage of letting you pull either 5V or 24V positive for what you need.

The STATUS terminal will come on as soon as the job starts, you should be able to put a meter between the STATUS and any positive and get a reading to verify that. If air assist is being called for, then the WIND will come on for that layer. Keep that straight, STATUS is job controlled, WIND is layer controlled. If you are engraving and have the air assist off, then only the STATUS will be energized.

Bypass valve. I used an ice maker shut off valve. If you look at my two air assist set ups, you will see it there. The first three pics are the single solenoid version, the compressor was switch controlled. When I switched to a feed from my big compressor in the next building, I replaced the compressor control with a solenoid, still fed from the STATUS terminal. And since I’m an over kill is under rated kind of guy, I picked up a pair of regulators with gauges from Harbor Freight and added a switched high / low pressure option instead of having to adjust between acrylic and MDF. With the exception of the solenoids, everything in my air assist set up is off the shelf parts.

One other thing to remember, 6mm air line shipped with your machine is not quite the same as the 1/4" you will get in the store, same for the fittings. 1/4" = 6.4mm. I had to pick up a few of the little brass tubes you put inside the poly 1/4" to expand the factory 6mm silicone tube to get the US 1/4" fitting to grab and seal properly.

7

Thanks a million Dave, fantastic explanation.

So, when the machine is on but not running a job I am getting 23.4v between STATUS (PIN 4) and the 24v pin (PIN 6) when measured with a multi meter. From your explanation, the manual and my understanding this should read 0v until the job actually starts. Then when the job starts it will read 24v between STATUS and the 24v pin.

Could you or someone confirm if my understanding is correct.

Again to clarify, when the machine is on and not running a job I am getting a reading of 23.4v on a multimeter between STATUS (PIN 4) and the 24V (PIN 6)

Also, I updated to firmware version .22 and it is the same issue.

Thanks.

8

You are correct, you should not be getting anything between the STATUS and +24, or even +5, unless there is a job running… I think.

Just in case you have something set somewhere else that I’m not aware that affects the STATUS output, back up your vendor settings and load my backup to see if that changes anything. It shouldn’t as far as I know, but it can’t hurt to try.

If you are still getting +24, then the opto isolator is cooked. What you do from there is on you and your soldering skills or the lack there of. The simplest would be to pull that opto isolator, and move one of the unused ones to it’s place. The foot switch is an obvious choice. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, then the local electronics shop or capable friend is the next choice. An electronics shop may even have access to a replacement instead of moving one.

9

Ok, thanks Dave. Ill try your vendor settings and keep the fingers crossed that the issue is in the settings somewhere. Otherwise as you say, she may be cooked.

10

Just don’t forget to back yours up before you start. I back mine up every time I make a significant change. Helps me when my fat fingers have done something I didn’t see and can’t find. Reload the back up and go again.

11

Will do, thanks again!!!

12

Tried your settings and still the same issue. Looks like I cooked my goose. Thanks again for the help, I appreciate when someone gives their time to help.

13

If you okay with soldering, swapping an opto isolator isn’t that big of a deal, but it does take a bit of patience and resisting the urge to get a bigger soldering iron.

14

Some good advice there Dave. Nice one.
Just a not one my Cloudray air assist, I purchased another 24v solid valve which is hooked up with Status to supply air from my small compressor and used the relay to switch my 240V extractor on/off instead of the crappy air pump.

Hope you get sorted soon Aiden.

15

I have a series of solenoids, my feed is from my big compressor in the next building. The ‘master’ solenoid is hooked to the STATUS. The I have the little mechanical bypass valve, and a pair of switch selectable solenoids for low and high pressure for acrylic and MDF on the WIND terminal. There’s pics of my original one solenoid arrangement and of my new multi solenoid configuration on my Google Mod Page.

16

As for the air solenoid clicking on and off rapidly. Can you achieve the same result using Lightburn as you can with RDWorks Blow type - Processing blow? I have only used Lightburn until 2 days ago so very unfamiliar with it

17

Not sure where it’s at in LightBurn, I had it set via RDWorks. In RDWorks you have to read the settings before you change and write, I believe LightBurn automatically reads them. In RDWorks it’s in the user tab under the other option.

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