Diode Laser & K40 Laser control from single board
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Hi all,
I have an old Duet2 WiFi(v1.01) as well as a 6HC(v1.0) lying around that I had decided to re-use for 2 laser builds. However, after evaluating frame footprints and such what not, I have decided I'd rather shoehorn both builds into a single frame with manually swappable toolheads.
Please note I already have the laser hardware pre-existing in my shop-
Diode Laser: This is a PLH3D-6W-XF. It also has the OptLasers Magnetic Docking station as well as the OptLasers PLH3D-CNC Adapter. This setup was previously on my gantry mill (run by a Blackbox X32 unfortunately), however, its become a nuisance on that machine and would be better suited in a machine designed around Laserwork. This tool, thanks to the dock, has a magnetic kinematic mount + pogo pins
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K40: Standard usual cheap china K40. Mine is from OMTech similar to this one. I've been wanting to move this K40 to a bigger build volume since its just slightly too small for products I commonly work on in the woodshop part of the workshop.
Issue I am having is trying to figure out "how" to configure and wire both lasers to a single board (either Duet2 or the 6HC)
For the Diode laser: Per the OptLasers CNC adapter manual under downloads tab here they only showcase wiring the adapter to a Duet2 using the heater/3.3v/ground from expansion header (page 16). Per their pinout on the CNC adapter:
Expansion Header Duet2 Wifi -> PLH3D CNC Adapter:- heater3 is going to Pin7 Inverted PWM/TTL Input
- Ground(2) is going to Pin4 Ground
- 3.3v is going to Pin2 PWM/TTL Input
Are there alternative pinouts that can safely be used for control in this scenario on the 6HC? Or are some of the pinouts showcased for other boards compatible with updated hardware on Duet3? Example: the Blackbox seems to only utilize Ground (Pin4 ground on Adapter) and 0/3.3v signal pin (Pin2 PWM/TTL input on adapter).
For the K40 laser: I have no idea what is needed here but I assume the dedicated servo/laser output should suffice? And just assign those pins to the Tool. Do we have any good guide posts on wiring this? I did a cursory search through the forums and read a few posts but it started jumping around a lot and was mostly related to older Duet2 hardware with custom PCB adapters.
I assume the 6HC overall will be the better board choice for flexibility here; although I admittedly would rather utilize the Duet2 if its viable without crazy add-ons. I'd like to keep the electronics as simple and off the shelf as possible since its not my forte.
Just wanting to check in and cover base before I start putting effort into laying out the components and frame in CAD.
Thanks for taking the time to review. -
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@aetherialdesign You can use any PWM capable IO pins of the Duet2 for such purpose.
Our member @paulg4h has made a K40-conversion with documentation. It's not a Duet-board, but RRF compatible.To switch between two laser ports, you only have to define two tools.
I hope RRF in laser mode allows that?I had the idea of building my own K40 frame and add a second gantry for a diode laser. So they could work at the same time.
One does the cutting, while the other engraves the surface (part numbers, company Logo, etc) -
@o_lampe @aetherialdesign The way laser control works is different from CNC spindle control. Output pins for spindles are defined by M950 (up to 4), which are then assigned to tools. I guess you could assign more than on spindle to a tool. The laser output pin is set in M452 (though there is a feature request to change the pin definition to M950). M452 is the only way to use G1 S# commands to trigger the laser. However, you can just send another M452 command to switch to a different pin.
Ian
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Awesome, thanks!
The short answer I glean here is that options exist for the setup I wanted to do and it isn't exactly reinventing the wheel. But there are some minor potential issues with setup that may/may not be addressed in coming releases.Guess that's enough to start working towards laying out the CAD. And choose which board gets dedicated to the application down the road.
