LaserUser.com Forum (formerly RDWorksLab)

Hi all, when I power on my Chinese Red Black 60W 700x500 machine it is supposed to home to the top right where the sensors are but it started trying to home to top left for some reason which results in the X axis head crashing into the side of the machine if I dont hit the ESC key. The weird thing is, if I go into the vendor settings, read the values and then write them back to the 6442 controller and hit the reset key, the machine now homes to the correct corner without any problem. If I turn off the machine for a few minutes and power it back up, it homes to top right as it should, but leave it overnight and it's back to homing top left. A few times on power up the X axis sounds like the stepper is getting mixed signals about which way it should move. After the firmware upgrade (next paragraph) I haven't noticed it happen.

In an effort to fix this issue,

• I have upgraded to the latest firmware RDC644XS-V8.01.67-LIB.UPD which I downloaded from a link on this site but alas it did not fix it.

• I also tried reversing my X axis but that only resulted in the X axis arrows working in reverse so no fix. Even after power up and hitting the ESC key to stop the X axis crashing, the X and Y axis respond to the arrow keys correctly.

I can confirm that the limit switches are working but since the X axis is moving in the wrong direction on power up and not just crashing top right, it clearly is not a failure of the limit switches. When it tries to home to top right, everything is okay.

Here are my settings in case someone can spot something off. Unfortunately I never did backup my original vendor settings Thanks for any help.
Regards, Johnny

I would guess that the problem lies withing the controller memory, almost like a battery discharges overnight and it looses the latest parameter that it was told. I would try to load the proper para and then shut down the machine and start a couple times in hopes that the correct para will form the permanent [proper] memory? I don't know if there is a battery on the main board but there must be something to maintain some part of the memory overnight. Good luck

Thanks for the suggestion. As I've been able to fine tune my step lengths to improve accuracy from the factory defaults and the controller seems to have had no problem remembering that I suspect the battery (if there is one) is working. I have tried writing and restarting a couple of times in short succession but no luck there. I did manager to find someone else in the CNCzone forum who seems to have had exactly the same issue but I have yet to hear anything back.

Regards,
Johnny

If you have watched Russ's videos, you would know that your machine is built using seconds, parts that didn't pass the inspections from the original manufacturer. The problem you are having could be why that controller didn't pass the inspection. If you can't figure out what wrong with it, you might have to buy a new one and install it.

Just something to think about.

Hi Rod, I sort of got that vibe from the videos of Russ' s I've watched but at the same time, is that based on fact or anecdotal evidence and are we talking all components or some components, particularly the tube....and yes I have already replaced the tube but I'm hoping the whole machine wasn't made from junkyard seconds. Generally it is performing pretty well and to be honest, it was AUD $5000-$7500 cheaper than buying a "brand name" machine so you can buy a lot of replacement parts for that money. Granted one does need to be prepared to roll up ones sleeves though, which is not for everyone.

Just a comment upon the Second quality components showing up in new builds. I believe that to be more common in the last year or two. It has become a genuine problem tho and now it is difficult to know who to trust [with as much verification as possible] and who is in it for the short haul to make max money and then move on. I got stung with a great looking machine which was generally very well built but with two Reci tubes [R2 andR6] that the beam was not good enough to use. I think the CO2 tubes are most commonly substituted with seconds and they are fairly expensive and it is very difficult to actually pin down a badly performing tube. A power supply being slightly off would probably be much harder to detect.

Solved....turns out if the attached laptop has not completed startup and has Lightburn up and running, the RUIDA controller doesn't like it. My problem had been that I was turning on the laser at the same time I was booting the laptop. If I disconnect the USB or wait until the laptop is running Lightburn before I power up the laser, all is good.