Newbie needs some help before head explodes

[Louie Elbro]

Hi there first and hopefully not last post here
I am running a L4060 laser/CNC with industrial chiller, extraction system , compressor , windows 10 , Coreldraw ( free test version) and RDworks
and its driving me insane ,

1/ All the files i have work , im having issues getting the files from the computer to the laser/cnc

2/ is there a special driver for the usb stick (sandisk) new ? , the files were dxl but saved as rdl in RDWorks , i saved them to the usb stick but the laser isnt reading them .

3 / i had the laser working this morning , but the cut/print was about the size of my thumb... bizarrely i found this amusing

4/ i opened all the usb ports on my laptop to stop them "sleeping"

5/ what the hell am i doing wrong

i truly hope the hive mind can help ... before i completely lose my mind

[Pete Cyr]

When saving files to a USB Stick/Thumb Drive for use on the machine, you need to use the "SavetoUFile" button, so it is saved as an ".rd” type file and not as a .rld file. When a USB or Ethernet cable is attached from a computer to the Laser, then simply click on "Download” and enter an 8- character or less filename. If you try using a Stick/Thumb Drive with RLD files and NOT using RD files you will fail as only RD files can be seen using the Stick/Thumb Drive.

viewtopic.php?f=107&t=3507
You may want to read the corrected user manual at the link above

[sebastien laforet]

1/ All the files i have work , im having issues getting the files from the computer to the laser/cnc

2/ is there a special driver for the usb stick (sandisk) new ? , the files were dxl but saved as rdl in RDWorks , i saved them to the usb stick but the laser isnt reading them .

RDworks files must NOT be saved on the USB stick as .rd if you expect to use them on the machine. as said by pete, you have to save to U-file. this is a binary format that the machine understands.

also, the machine may have 2 usb ports : 1 for communicating with the computer, and one for the usb stick. if you interchange them, nothing will work!

the use cases are :
- machine connected by the correct usb port to the computer, and you SEND the file on the machine (this will copy the binary code to the machine, and you launche the job from the machine), or START the job (this will send the commands to the machine, rdworks must be open/online for the whole duration of the job)
or
- machine disconnected, you "save to U-file" your work on the USB stick, then plug the stick into the correct usb port of the machine, then use the controller to select the job from the ones in the USB, and start the job from the machine control panel.

[Jeffrey Aley]

3 / i had the laser working this morning , but the cut/print was about the size of my thumb... bizarrely i found this amusing

I don't understand your comment #3. How big did you expect it to be? In one of your screenshots, it shows that the selected items (I assume you'd selected the whole image) as only 23.5mm x 12mm (about 1" x 0.5"). You can re-size it by typing new values into the dimension boxes that I circled. If you click the "lock" icon first, it'll maintain the aspect ratio between the X and Y sizes so that you only have to change one of them.

Screenshot 2021-06-28 085129.jpg

Personally, I ALWAYS include a box in my drawings that is larger than the work area (in my case, I draw a 500mm x 300mm rectangle because that's the size of my bed). Then I resize the image to be exactly 500x300mm, ensuring that RDWorks will cut at the same size as I drew in my CAD program.

Pro-tip: If you're doing extremely precise work (I'm making HO Scale (1:87) models for my model railroad) do your CAD at 10X (or some other large multiplier) so that you have to REDUCE the size in RDWorks. Otherwise you'll lose some precision due to rounding error when you upsize.

[Louie Elbro]

Thankyou so very much ! sorry i didnt get back immediately i was at work.
John

[Louie Elbro]

Hello there , many thanks to you fellows who gave me such great advice - you have no idea how grateful i am . If i could buy you a beer i would !
I apologise now , that im going to ask more questions .
so here goes ......
The laser has been working , sadly not cutting through why is that ?
Now i see about the scaling , in Coreldraw when i export to the DXL file it actually asks me if i want to work in MM or inches -so theres the sizing problem , i think i was so stressed and tired i missed this .

john

[Gene Uselman]

Louie- you need to ask more detailed questions... it will be easier to get help. What are you trying to cut through? Could you do that in the past or has it never cut through? Are you using Air assist and if so how much pressure? Do you have a mA gauge and if so what is your current when trying to cut? Has the machine ever worked well and who set it up [aligned the mirrors and the tube]. The more we know the better the advice you will get. Gene

[Louie Elbro]

Hello Gene , thanks for the reply
my apologies . Ok im cutting MDF right now 4.5 mm thick , if by air assist you mean a little compressor which blows away residue - i have one of those.
yes there is a MA and it seems to fluctuate between 10-15 whilst cutting . Yes the machine was set up properly by the former owner who produced gaming terrain pieces ( quite nice ones and detailed) he passed away and i've taken over the business .
Im sorry my expertise/knowledge base is in 3d resin printing and design , learning this has been tough.

[Pete Cyr]

4.5 mm mdf will take quite a bit of pwr - I would try 65-70%pwr 10mm/s - be sure to air assist flowing.
If you do not have air on you risk getting soot on your lens - which will heat up and crack.

Pay attention and do not exceed 21Ma - never operate at max amps - It is like driveing you car at the fastest speed on speedometer "M" it wont last long if operated that way

pwr table.jpg

there is 160, then "H" speed...then "P" speed and Finally "M" speed - no quite warp 10, but the engine has or will explode shortly

5189_41.jpg

[Louie Elbro]

Hi Pete, Many thanks to you !
I think im just about to nail this !!!
john