I am wondering if anyone has had any luck or attempted to adjust the location of the Limit switches on their machine. Rough measurements of the bed would make the total area 23.5"x18.5", slightly larger than the 600x400mm advertised for the machine.
The "home" position on my laser seems to be adjusted ~0.5" right of the bed, and ~2" from top of the bed. I would like to reduce the "waste" material when cutting by adjusting the limit switch positions. I know another option would be to cut an origin template to go in the corner for placing square materials.
The other issue I am seeing is my laser, when traveling to the 600mm position, actually overshoots the edge of the bed by ~0.25". So it looks like that extra 0.5" offset reduces the overall "cut" dimensions.
Right now, I plan to just cut an alignment square for the adjusted bed origin (and never cut anything past the 592mm), but I was hoping someone here may have had similar issues and made adjustments accordingly.
For reference, my machine is a 60W Preenex laser running RDC-V8.00.65, HMI-V4.50.03. The limit switches are inductive proximity sensors PL-05N. Thanks in advance for the help!
Adjusting Limit Switches
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Zach Wright
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2020
- Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
- Country: United States
- Nickname: Zach
- Laser Machine Make or Type: Preenex
- Laser Power: 60w
- Laser Bed Size: 16x24
- Home Position: TL
- Control Software: RDWORKS
- RDWorks Version: v8.01.49
- Ruida Controller: RDC6442
- Windows Version: Windows 10
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Dave Vigness
- Posts: 526
- Joined: Sun Dec 15, 2019
- Location: Kansas City - Rural
- Country: USA
- Nickname: Dave
- Laser Machine Make or Type: Chine Red and Black
- Laser Power: EF RF2 80W
- Laser Bed Size: 20 x 26
- Home Position: TR
- Control Software: RDWORKS
- RDWorks Version: 8.01.54
- Ruida Controller: RDC6445
- Windows Version: 7
- Accessories: Power Switch for air assist / exhaust blower, Ma meter with switch for external digital, dual digital temp gauge, LED lights under gantry and and and.
Pics and a list here. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
Be careful trying to take that back edge. In mine the X stepper stops just short of the laser tube. You could crash the motor into your tube and have a very expensive mistake.
I was also into the bed size tunnel vision when I got my machine. But after a while I realized that very rarely did I come up against it very close. I either had plenty of room to spare, or was so far over it wasn't even possible.
I did gain 10mm in my X by shifting the limit switch closer to the motor on the right, and by making sure my air fitting on the nozzle was under the gantry I gained a little over 20mm in the front. The front gain also required taking the screws that held my honeycomb bed loose and shifting it forward. I eventually pulled the support frame from the Z shafts and putting a pair of fender washers screwed to the side as a registration edge. With those in place, it doesn't matter if I set the honeycomb that also has washers on the side for registration, the steel plate and magnets, or the larger aluminum angle. Everything bases off those washers on the frame to stay square.
In checking your bed calibration, do as large a square as you can. I used some old wrapping paper. Do it up with a dashed line down the middle. Once you have your X and Y calibrated, fold it in half on the dashed line to check skew. If your corners match, you're good. If thy don't, you need to adjust one end or the other of your Y drive shaft.
What controller do you have that's running RDC-V8.00.65?
I was also into the bed size tunnel vision when I got my machine. But after a while I realized that very rarely did I come up against it very close. I either had plenty of room to spare, or was so far over it wasn't even possible.
I did gain 10mm in my X by shifting the limit switch closer to the motor on the right, and by making sure my air fitting on the nozzle was under the gantry I gained a little over 20mm in the front. The front gain also required taking the screws that held my honeycomb bed loose and shifting it forward. I eventually pulled the support frame from the Z shafts and putting a pair of fender washers screwed to the side as a registration edge. With those in place, it doesn't matter if I set the honeycomb that also has washers on the side for registration, the steel plate and magnets, or the larger aluminum angle. Everything bases off those washers on the frame to stay square.
In checking your bed calibration, do as large a square as you can. I used some old wrapping paper. Do it up with a dashed line down the middle. Once you have your X and Y calibrated, fold it in half on the dashed line to check skew. If your corners match, you're good. If thy don't, you need to adjust one end or the other of your Y drive shaft.
What controller do you have that's running RDC-V8.00.65?