Here’s the laser and motor sizes. Battery died on the calipers but it looks like 42mm on the physical measurement.
Thought I might use DM542 stepper drivers. Will those work?
If so, then which motors should I get that will work with the 6445G?
Thanks so much guys.
Oh, and that’s the cheapie rotary we got for like way too much money. Looking for something that will adjust front and rear for different shaped bottles as the struggle has been this unit is flat.
Thanks again.
Last update I have for the 6445G is .22.
Oh, that sounds cool being able to use it on the U axis. Thanks for that.
So I just need one more stepper? For a total of 3?
My machine also has a z motor underneath. I wonder if I had 4 steppers if I could also control that via software? That would be nice.
Right now I’m building a PrintNC CNC and it comes with 4 DM542 steppers in the kit I’m getting from aliexpress. But I thought I might upgrade the CNC to DM556 steppers and use these 542s for the laser. Would that plan work?
That is just a reversible electric motor, not a stepper motor controlled via the controller. If you are going to upgrade, get a stepper and controller for that when you get the controller for the U axis. That wold give you a total of four stepper controllers, but well worth it if you are digging into the machine.
Next fix, get that damn exhaust fan out to the wall penetration point. You have you exhaust under pressure instead of vacuum. ANY little leak or pin hole puts the exhaust back into the room.
Thanks. Yeah. So you’re saying the fan is blowing in? I was going to remove it once my big fan arrives. I’m building a BOFA AD 350 clone to use. Unless you have a better recommendation? I almost clicked buy on the two filters for it right when your post came in so I’m open to other options for fume filters.
Here’s the plan. Already ordered the fan.
Here’s the fan I ordered. Seems highly rated over others I’d found. A little low on the CFM but I didn’t want to go too loud yet because of the neighbors. Might upgrade it to a 10" or 12" later if it’s not enough. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CAHM75W?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
Alright, well I ordered the filters just now so that’s done. Can’t stand the fumes since I started cutting acrylic last week. Health matters.
So if I can get a confirmation on which nema motor size I need I appreciate it. Thanks guys.
Oh, “out to the wall penetration point”. I see what you mean. Yes, thanks. Will do.
Okay. It looks like Nema 17 is 42mm. So I’m on the right page here I think: Nema 17 - 42 x 42mm Stepper Motor - STEPPERONLINE
Now I need to figure out which motor model/power to get… Or can I use my current motors I wonder?
Do I need to pull my Y motor and look at the label in case it is different? And can I use this info to determine a replacement that will work with the Ruida 6445?
Yes i think you can use ethernet or usb see link [02] RuiDa Controller - Establishing Connections - PC-USB - Ethernet - USB Disk - YouTube
My solution was about conecting laserburn via arduino
To mk2 board also.
But i see your using this solution also.
The 6445 is not really going to care what stepper you use. What you have to identify is what stepper drivers you have. Generally you will find 2 phase and 3 phase drivers and then you need the corresponding stepper motor. The 6445 just sends a step and direction pulse to the driver. Somewhere in that chassis, probably near the power supplies you should find driver modules. Once you know what drivers you have, you can replace steppers,
Now, is there a reason you are replacing steppers? Do they not work?
The NEMA number is the physical size of the motor, and every size has a range of power depending on the model you purchase. You can get the same power draw motor in several sizes. For your Z conversion, measure the base mounting and see what you can find with a similar size mount pattern. You might get lucky and be able to bolt it right in. Double check your shaft size and type. I wasn’t paying attention, and ordered the wrong size shaft, and only a single flat. Luckily I could grind the second flat and add a bushing to make it work, but it was a lot of wasted time because I wasn’t paying attention.
Okay. Thanks for that. I’d asked the owner of light burn awhile ago about which controller to replace my m2 nano with and he suggested the 6445x and said I’d need to replace my motors as well too. So that’s why I’m trying to figure out exactly what will work. I would like to use DM542 steppers x4.
I’ll look and see what steppers I already have in there. But I’m guessing they’re possibly not compatible with the 6445g or at least cheap junk. So wanted to get something more mainstream, compatible, reliable, and quality to improve output quality.
So how do I determine if I need to order 2 or 3 phase motors for the DM542 drivers? Or How do I determine what my current drivers and motors are for 2 or 3 and can perhaps continue using them?
Thanks Dave. I didn’t realize shaft size and type differed. Thank you for pointing it out. I’ll check and match them when I order.
I didn’t either the first time. Luckily I had the bits and pieces to make my wrong motor work, not everyone will be so lucky. Some motors have one flat, some have a second at ninety degrees from the first. A few of the cheap ones have no flat at all. If my gear / pulley has two set screws, guess how many flats I want?
If you are getting a new motor and gear, technicaly it only matters that they match, but I want to be able to swap things around in the future if I need to trouble shoot or need to get something operational on a Saturday evening. I can live without a Z motor to get my X operational while I wait on the new one to arrive.
Why are you here?
I’m not sure what your question is.
Are you planning to upgrade a K40 to a Ruida controller?
If that is your plan, you will spend about the amount of the K40 for the upgrade, especially if you wish to include an upgraded motors. I’ve seen K40s for under $400. The controller is around $230 by itself. Add two motor drivers, two motors, it adds up pretty fast. Maybe prices are lower elsewhere.
My little machine has NEMA 17s in it, these measure 1.7" a side.
A larger motor would probably not fit in the mount without some modifications.
Sounds like a great learning project, good luck 
I had Corel for something else, but it wouldn’t interface with my new laser.
I played with Lighttburn for a while when I first got my laser, it came with a Top Wisdom POS controller. Lightburn was my only option for a decent design software. CorelDraw won’t interface with it. When I upgraded my controller, I had something Corel could work with, but I had interacted with a lot of uses here and just continued to do so. Your problem like many aren’t specific to Lightburn, and I can point somebody in the right direction.
Hi,
Thanks for taking a moment to reply jkwilborn.
My question is in the first post above. With pictures of our very large Chinese 80w laser thereafter that came with an m2 nano board. So not a K40.
But to reiterate the question:
“I don’t like the m2 nano board because it won’t work with lightburn. I’m told by the owner of lightburnsoftware.com that I will need to upgrade both the controller and the stepper motors. He recommends the Ruida 6445G controller. I’m trying to confirm if I can use DM542 stepper drivers and then if so, figure out if I can still use my current stepper motors, which he originally said I couldn’t, and if not, which driver motors will work so I know which motors to purchase.”
You may have a great point that I can get a K40 with everything for $400 though. So thank you for that. I’ll look at that now. That may be the best bargain actually now that you mention it. Smart actually.
Our current one has a very large bed on it though so I’ll be transferring all the parts if I go this route then leaving the k40 with the old parts perhaps. But that could be a good deal actually.
I’m not actually trying to fit a larger motor in the 80w laser. Just looking for nema17s that will match the Ruida 6445G, the DM542s and the current laser’s belts and gearing, etc. Sadly I’m not in possession of all the knowledge I need yet. But thankfully I’ve got a few leads thanks to all of you.
Just need to determine if I need a 2 or 3 phase motor and how much power it seems. I guess I need to figure out how much power my current motors have somehow?
Thanks for your and everyone’s input so far. It’s inching me closer to figuring this out.
So I found the panel on the right side of the machine that contains the power supply and PCB.
Doesn’t look like this has discrete stepper drivers at all. Looks like we got the bargain basement setup.
Not sure how to proceed now as it looks like this will need to have it’s electronics completely redesigned, right?
Edit: I just reread the original email from the owner of lightburn and I see I misunderstood I think. I think he only said I’d need to buy stepper drivers. Not necessarily replace my stepper motors. So that simplifies things perhaps. I wonder if I just need to buy the controller and the new drivers and wire them up to my current motors? Then somehow figure out the correct settings? Pulses/steps? Is that all there is to this?
Personally, I would try and work with the bigger machine. I have a 60W/80W hybrid. That’s an 80W tube in a 60W cabinet with the extension box, and I miss the larger bed every single time I use it.
I’d say yes. That’s what I was pointing out that it’s a ‘generic’ and they can cut corners to same lots of money. I think my motors are NEMA42 for my 50 watt China Blue.
Good luck… We are here to help, no question is too dumb, so ask away…
