Anyone have experience upgrading the control board on a chinese laser?

[Zach Browning]

The work I do involves large complex files that can take up to 8-10 minutes to upload to the laser, and I sometimes even have to run the job as two separate jobs because the file size is too large. I would like to see if anyone had any experience with other control boards that might have larger memory and faster uploads? Right now It's got the 6515, and the LightObject X7 looks promising as it's got network capabilities for (claimed) faster uploads. Any info on LaserCut vs LaserCAD experience with large files, and in general, would be appreciated, as importing into Lasercut 5.3 can take it's sweet time as well. (Also it's not my computer specs affecting with processing times, it's garbage software.)

Thanks!

[Gene Uselman]

I switched from a Leetro (LaserCut 6.1) to the LO R5 which is a Ruida 4662 DSP. Went pretty well and RDworks V8 (which you can download the full version from Ruida) is a great program which I am getting figured out. I have all the function I need, but I like to use programs to their full potential and I suspect the minor details will take a while. Russ on youtube has a fine series of vids (60 or so) which is a pretty simplistic intro but I have learned a lot about lasers from him. Gene

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqC...nElPTUnxX0mD5A

[Dave Stevens-Vegas]

There is a controller called Smoothie that's been used quite a bit in 3D printing and some other CNC operations, primarily routers (and a few plasma tables) that is starting to be used for laser cutting/engraving. There is a relatively new software package called LaserWeb3 that is in the final stages of development. LW3 can be used locally on a computer, on a RaspberryPi at the machine or across a network. The Smoothie/LW3 combo is what the new FabCreator line of machines designed and built in Holland are using. You can also use Visicut and the GCode plug in for Inkscape with a Smoothie.

While the board is solid (it's been around for a few years) the latest version of LW3 still needs some work (it's being updated every couple of days and is a funded, full time project). If you aren't in the mood to tinker it may not be the thing for you right now but it's a good alternative to Chinese proprietary controllers and software. Cohesion 3D is just finishing the last beta round of testing for a kit to convert a K40 to the controller and software. That same kit can also be used on larger machines. It will be sometime in the next few months until LW3 is ready for use by rank and file consumers. If you are into tinkering it's usable right now.

Smoothie on a laser
http://smoothieware.org/laser-cutter-guide

LaserWeb demo (demo is stable, previous version)
http://openhardwarecoza.github.io/LaserWeb2/

LaserWeb3 source and dev info and screen shots of LW3)
https://github.com/openhardwarecoza/LaserWeb3

[Scott Marquez]

Zach,
I use Laser cut 5.3 and it works for what I'm doing.
One thought, have you explored the possibilities that it could be how your product was drawn up that is making your file so large (splines, beziers)? Without seeing how complex your product it is, it's just a thought.
Scott

[Zach Browning]

Zach,
I use Laser cut 5.3 and it works for what I'm doing.
One thought, have you explored the possibilities that it could be how your product was drawn up that is making your file so large (splines, beziers)? Without seeing how complex your product it is, it's just a thought.
Scott

The work I'm doing is designed in Rhino 5 and is mainly spline curves and lines. This is an example of the complexity. It probably looks like a mess, but it's one section of a larger art piece.


I took a look at the Smoothie controller, and I think I need something more "plug and play" than that. While I'm quite okay with the technical and mechanical aspect, I would prefer to not have too much down time while setting things up.

[Scott Marquez]

Wow, it looks like every feature is made up of a huge amount of lines.
Once it is imported into Laser cut do you use the "unite lines" command, which is in one of the menus?
You might have better luck starting a new thread asking for help cleaning up your artwork, there are some real talented people here.
Scott

[Dave Sheldrake]

AutoCAD 2000 format using lines / polylines and curves

Splines cause more problems than they are worth, what I can see in the picture above is about a 20 minute re-draw, Rhino and LaserCUT don't like each other much as Rhino add's embedded grips causing the upload problems you are having

[Zach Browning]

Wow, it looks like every feature is made up of a huge amount of lines.
Once it is imported into Laser cut do you use the "unite lines" command, which is in one of the menus?
You might have better luck starting a new thread asking for help cleaning up your artwork, there are some real talented people here.
Scott

It just looks like a ton of tiny lines because it's zoomed out. It's all single lines and curves. I do use unite lines to make it cut the full outlines and not each side of a shape individually. What do you mean by cleaning up the artwork?

AutoCAD 2000 format using lines / polylines and curves

Splines cause more problems than they are worth, what I can see in the picture above is about a 20 minute re-draw, Rhino and LaserCUT don't like each other much as Rhino add's embedded grips causing the upload problems you are having

I've tried every DXF format option in Rhino, with varying results (sometimes circles end up more square-ish with certain settings for example). What option is there other than splines, and what do you mean a 20 minute re-draw. Unfortunately Rhino is the best option for me in terms of designing and workflow. Illustrator and Corel just don't have the capabilities I need.

For reference this is what the above image is a segment of:

[Keith Winter]

Zach that's beautiful! If that's what you are making I think you would honestly be better served by upgrading to a more precise and faster engraving machine like a trotec or epilog.

[Zach Browning]

Unfortunately that's a tad over my budget right now. Accuracy and speed of the actual machine are fine for now, but the download speed and software bugginess are the real issues (more like annoyances) I'm having. I would need a laser with a bed size close to my 600x900 which would be something like a Speedy 400?.

[Bill George]

On my Chinese laser software there was an option to Save your file in a certain format to a USB flash drive, would that be an option and more important would it speed things up?

[Kev Williams]

Just my

First, that artwork needs no cleaning up. All I see are smooth lines...But I have no idea if you're rastering this or laser cutting this, or what...?

Second, and just my opinion, but I think you're simply stuck with the long download time. Just seems to be the nature of the beast.
One job I do is make wood veneer biz cards for one of my customers, just simple raster engraving of the logo, name, address, phone, fax, etc. I run a sheet of 60 cards at a time, which I would think isn't near as complicated as several sections of your graphic- the 60 cards is about a 2 minute download....

To be fair, those same 60 cards to draw and move around in Corel doesn't happen anywhere near "instantly" either.

[Rich Harman]

It might be worth trying to import the dxf into Corel Draw then exporting to AI. Perhaps use the Smart Fill tool to create new shapes, delete the original and then export that.

[Ray Scott]

The LaserCut 5.3 does a pretty good job of importing AutoCAD ANSI 2004 files.

I really like the interface of the Ruida controller RDWorks V8.. It does have some issues with tiny curves in DXF files. I have saved my files as "huge" .. Import.. Scale the design back down. The final result is better and faster than the Leetro options.

Ruida software/firmware also has a quirk in the backlash compensation calibration. ... And I don't like that open issue.. It isn't much of an issue if your design doesn't have super-tiny engrave details.

Note: The backlash issue is a result of bearing wear, loose belts, assorted wiggle in the axis, triggering/excitation speed of the glass laser tube... And time latency of the laser power supply.

If you can, go talk to people with both software.. Take a look at the different controllers. Then go purchase the Ruida. I am sure that's the direction you would go.