Mid-run z-move throws other settings off

[Mike Sundquist]

Not sure if this is more appropriate in the Lightburn forum or here. I think it's a hardware issue, so I'll put it here but feel free to move.

Controller RDLC 320 - v 5.00.38
LightBurn 1.0.02

I run some text, then I run images with a z offset of -0.0394 to defocus.
There are multiple images in the layer.
I zero the machine to the top of the material (autofocus)
Text runs, then it gets to the images, z offset is adjusted and the first image is fine.
When it goes to the next image, the bed then seems to reset and offests again (LB forum says this is because the Ruida controllers won't take absolute z positions in a job, only relative)
The issue is the second image runs much slower and power output seems affected in a weird way. Though the display still shows expected speeds and power which is why I think this is some weird hardware issue.



If I set the z offset to zero on the image layer, no other changes, all 10 images run just fine.

Not sure if it's hardware, or just LB doing something that wasn't intended?

There is one other post on the LB forum with someone with a 6442 and the same exact issue, but never got any replies on it. The fact that it s a different controller says maybe it is a LB-specific issue and not hardware.

Does anyone ever run jobs that require mid-run z changes? If so, is it with LB? and which controller?

To answer the standard questions,
Yes I'm fairly new to this machine. It's my first Ruida and first C02. I've been using it for about 4 months.
This was the first time I tried using a mid-run z- offset
The machine is a Morn MT3050D and looks similar to other 300x500mm brands

Thanks.

[Gene Uselman]

I made a LB file to test focus at different offsets, each on a different layer and got it to run nicely but I always have 4-5 different LB pages open and I has having issues with the offset following the layers to other files and forgetting to check each layer each time. My multitasking has gone away- I can barely single-task nowdays and I ended up turning off the Z offset function unless I am running that focus file to preserve what is left of my mind. I have done the ramp tests for so many years that I can do the without much thought. I also set my lenses up to the same focus [7mm] from the nozzle so that I and my co-workers do not have to change that- only for material thickness, which we adjust with the handheld controller.

[Mike Sundquist]

Well here's a LB test file. it's just two texts and two (crappy) images of circles.
The text runs fine
The first circle runs fine.
The second circle, you can hear it is running at a slower speed and the engraving is definitely a lot less power.
Maybe I'll take a video of my machine running it later today.