Using rotary on Y-axis (swap) with RDC6445G

Yep, thats what I assume the rotary setup is supposed to do, right?
Reset the number of steps so that image is scaled to the diameter of the workpiece.

I could change Y control parameters if I actually understood what needed to be changed… but its a good thought, off to watch more videos.

Would rather it just work without rewiring everything. If were going to use the U output of the controller, i’d probably rather just install another driver. But after dropping $4k on something its a tough sell to tell the wife she has to open a panel with 20,000V DC and move a wire. also a tough sell to tell her I have spend even more $$ to make it do what I said it would do… but appreciate the thought nonetheless.

Check out PiBurns setup, even though it’s a different rotary it might help.

Chapter 2 starts the configuration and goes into the drivers, which you can probably skip and move on to the Lightburn configuration and explanation. That one document was very helpful.

Lightburn uses the information you set up to tell the controller how far to move and is computed from the information.

Generally, IMHO many of the concepts I had about how this works created more problems. These are so simple, yet configuration is so complex that one item off and it fails to perform. Don’t see yourself short. Take a few and relax. We’ll help you all we can.

Sometimes it’s better to deal with a single problem and work it out and the others will follow.

:smiley_cat:

Yesterday I saw that MW Laser posted a YouTube video with the title “Rotary Stepper Driver Installation - Co2 Laser - RuiDa RDC6445GT5 TouchScreen”
Have you seen it?

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Just trying to suggest a simple work around. Not a rewire just a connector move. That’s going to be my temp fix when I install my 6445 if it doesn’t run on the Y axis. I always have the machine powered off when I open that panel to do anything.

Checked out the video. He shows how to install a dedicated axis stepper driver for a rotary.

He has a nice machine looks like a 1290.

A bit sparse on his details for my liking but it’s enough to follow.
Good info if I were going to add another stepper driver for the rotary and control it via the 6445 as a separately wired U axis. Maybe that is what it is going to take…

It’s a good thought — I appreciate it, don’t get me wrong. I guess it’s no different than what she’d have to do inside the working area. Switch cable connections.

Maybe the lesson learned here is don’t get a 6445 ( at least to run with light burn) unless you also install a dedicated U axis driver

I am going to try and get it working with RD works when I have a rotary order. Turned this work away…

Your system is hosed up somehow. Most of us run the rotary off the Y axes on Ruida and don’t add extra hardware and don’t have the issues you are having.

This is one of the most used controllers. Instead of bad mouthing the controller you need to isolate the issue. If you get a different controller and if you are lucky it may work, but in probability it won’t work either. The game with rotaries are the configuration.

I’m trying to take some time and re-read your posts to help you get it up and running, bringing a :grin: to your face along with some confidence in understanding and using the machine.

This indicates that the rotary is operating off the Y axes or it wouldn’t move at all.

It might help if we had some clue about your rotary type, a link to it is always nice.

Screenshot from 2021-10-12 09-16-43

How did you compute ‘steps per rotation’ and ‘roller diameter’? Those should be all you need.
My motor driver is set to 2000 steps/ revolution. Since the ratio of the motor to the wheels is 2.5 to 1 there are 5000 steps of the motor per rotation of the wheel on the rotary. It only needs to know the roller diameter to compute how far to move the stepper. Mine is 62mm.

These are in the controller and if changing them isn’t showing a difference that’s probably your the root issue of the problem. Anything is possible with these things, from a cable, connector, controller and a multitude of other issues.

Take it easy and we’ll get you up, it just might take some details…relax. :slight_smile:

:smiley_cat:

When my laser arrived it was wired with a the ruida 6445 and a disconnect in the Y axis wiring. After a couple weeks of trying different things I found that the 6445 sends the rotary signal to the U axis. I installed a third stepper driver and it now works great. It is not Lightburn that sends the signal to the U axis, I had the same problem with RDworks.

Do you mean where you can remove the Y motor and plug the rotary into it?

I think that’s standard on all that I’ve seen in this market.

This thread is about just from the other perspective and may be beneficial to read.

Rotary on U Axis Ruida. Quick Question

:smiley_cat:

Yes the disconnect works with the 6442 but it does not work with the 6445. The 6445 needs it’s own driver.

His question was

“Does the Rotary on U axis function only work with the 6445G or has anyone been able to get it to work with the 6442G?”

I see many places it works on both.

Good luck :slight_smile:

:smiley_cat:

I think this is what I am relegated to do. I had a stepper driver fail on me (green power light doesn’t come on, no pulses going to the motor. no movement, no magic smoke came out, no capacitors bulged or anything.

I’m going to install a 3rd steppe driver and use it for the rotary. It will double as an ‘installed spare’ in case my X-axis goes out again. BTW, any reason why my X axis stepper driver would die after just 4 months? I only run the laser maybe every other night, an hour or so.

Did you crimp your own wiring to install the 3rd driver? any tips on that would be great, where to buy stuff to do that, etc. Thanks!

When this stuff fails, it’s had to tell what caused the failure… Anything from a bad component to a mechanical issue or even configuration of the driver.

The green light, I thought to be a power light. It won’t send any signals with no power…

I haven’t ‘crimped’ any of my wire, if I get your meaning. I do ‘tin’ them with solder so I don’t have a frayed wire I’m attempting to put in a hole. And I think it adds something for it to ‘bite’ on…

:smiley_cat:

“The green light, I thought to be a power light. It won’t send any signals with no power…”
:rofl:
I did test it with a multi-meter and it had 24V at the power supply input, with continuity check back to the power supply.
I’m not a complete idiot, there are a few things about this machine I understand now.

I was asking EPD210 about a source for new wiring for the 3rd stepper. awg, type, etc.

Sorry for the delay, it is Christmas crazy round here.
Because my machine was wired for the Y disconnect half the wiring for the U axis was already there.
I got a similar driver to the other two from aliexpress and followed the wiring example from the other two.
This is light weight wiring compared to my cnc machines, the wires I used were much bigger than the factory wires.

As a temporary solution you could decrease the line interval until you don’t have the gaps?

I haven’t tried that yet, but I had thought of it too, after reading a few hours. seems promising! just use lightburn to work around the Ruida. I am kicking myself for not going ahead and having them wiring in another $30 U-axis controller with wiring…

So I’m so busy I have a controller but still haven’t researched the wiring. Anyone what AWG I should use? My laser has pre-made cables with connector types typical of all chinese lasers as far as I can tell.

You need to mention the current draw of the motors to get a reasonable answer.

:smiley_cat:

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