LaserUser.com Forum (formerly RDWorksLab)

Hi all,
had a Chinese 900x600 90w laser which I dismantled and used RDC6445G and glass tube to build a new machine.
The old setup had a E-Stop button and "quarter turn" type switch which use to isolate the laser. For the life of me can't remember how that switch was connected to the controller
What would be the best practice / advice for a laser tube isolation switch??

Most E-stops are line voltage. The usual id incoming line, master power switch, then a split of everything but the exhaust through the E-stop. Bypassing the E-stop for the exhaust lets you evacuate any smoke / fumes while still shutting everything else down.

Watch the current rating on the switches. Most of the factory ones that are initially set for 220 aren't swapped when the 110 conversion is done. The 220 switches will be rated for around 7A. The 110 will be at least 10A or higher.

Ah sorry Dave,
I didn't explain properly..
E-Stop is fine, and wired on line voltage; The machine is actually working correctly
The switch in question was wired to rdc6445g (Somewhere) and it use to turn on and off the laser power. Pretty sure it wasn't wired to the laser power supply line ... Can't remember where it went to, that's the issue I'm having
And was hoping someone may have a suggestion for me

Wondering if they used this switch in line with either pins "PWM1" or L-on1" ??? Would that isolate the laser?

OK, I have a rocker switch marked LASER POWER that is the line voltage feed to the laser PSU that picks up after the E-Stop. That could be your rotary switch. I would put it on the high line voltage feed to the laser PSU rather than the low voltage. If it ever has a problem, you want to kill all voltage. If it starts to cook itself you've eliminated any electrical means to 'help the problem along'.

I have a love hate relationship with that type of switch.

I love it because the back half literally pops loose from the front. You don't have to remove the whole switch to work on it. For me there are two flavors of it. The internal switch mech for mine were color coded between NO and NC. One red, one green, but don't ask me to remember what was what. I found out the hard way when I replaced my melted E-Stop with the wrong one, and had to do a couple of jobs with it pushed in until I had time to swap the back out for the correct one.

My hate of them is twofold. First because mine was a 200 - 110 conversion so I had the 7A switches instead of the correct 10A, so as mentioned above, they melted. Second is the rotary action of the cheap switches. My main switch didn't melt, but it constantly hung up. A few twists back and forth would eventually let it activate. Near the end of it's miserable life, I took to just rapping on it with the handle of a screwdriver.

The ONLY switch of that type I have left is the E-Stop. Everything else high or low voltage is now rocker switches. I prefer them to toggles as they are much harder to accidentally trip while moving around the machine while it's in the middle of a job.

Hey Dave
Thanks for sharing, I might just leave it out ... too many potential dramas that I don't need
The E-Stop is working and I guess that's the best for now.
With the input of this forum and the LB forum it makes sense to leave this switch out completely I think