40W co2 laser and EMI trouble

[vincenttor]

@zax15uk , and the rest off-course that maybe have an idea.

Well ill start at the begin,

i have bought a 40w co2 laser from llc.
used the manual from llc and i get also help from them by email support off-course but i still did not get it working.

it is the laser system with a retina engrave card they designed + the software.

I installed everything step by step and re did it a few times to be sure what is going on is that i got EMI trouble .
when the power is off the retina card works fine, no error whatsoever
the vector cut command i give completes, the engraving completes .
but the trouble starts when i plug in the laser.

When i start the engraving it sometimes start with engraving and suddenly stops after a few minutes, when i start a vector cut it basically does the same.
sometimes it did finished the job

tested it on a windows xp machine (laptop)
and tested on a windows 7 machine (laptop)
windows 7 machine (desktop pc)

all 3 give the same problem, now llc told me that the computer has to be at-least 2 ft away from the laser, so i did.
used the usb cable that came with the laser, also tested my own cables 1 of 10ft and a few others but all the cables give the same problems.

I have put the laser in another socket / group in the garage
then the power from the laptop adapter or computer in another socket/group
sometimes it did work but 9 of the 10 times it does not.

Then i tried doing the computer and the laser in the same socket/group and suddenly it did work, but
not always, it does respond more then i had before.
there are 4 JOG buttons left right up down and unlock the steppers
those do not work good on the windows xp system but on the windows 7 they work a little bit better.
sometimes it moves but if i press a few times it stops and it looks like the usb disconnected or something

in the corner of the software it says connected.
i have turned of all equipment even the wifi router in the garage.
turning of the exhaust fan, did not do anything
turning of the compressor , also no improvements
even turned off the water pomp for a split second and gave a order but that didn't do the trick ( i know its bad to use without water cooler on but no laser fire)


So i have made screenshots and movies for llc company and waiting anxious for there answer and hope they have a solution off-course.

what my dad thought of to get the polution out of the power grid a bit is using a filter - chaffner filter ?
this did not do the trick either.
then we thought of using a UPS that computer backup battery system ,
i don't know if thats going to work going to buy a used one somewere tomorrow.

i am no electrical technician so running kinda out of options here,
also thought of making a soft of aluminum casing to keep out the "radiation" from the laser PSU
just a wild guess, made something like this also for my power supply that i use for my ham radio stuff
maybe it works but going to try it tomorrow, its 12.01 am here and yesterday i have been busy from 12 pm till 4 am with the laser.

sorry for my English i am from the Netherlands doing my best hope its not to fuzzy or understandable.

Vincent

[rs5088]

I assume that the problem is the ground connection to CNC it can be laser use. All grounding should be in one and only one point connected. Made from aluminum does not solve enough electrical disturbances sometimes, you have soft iron sheet used for housing. Greeting

[vincenttor]

ok , i have enough sheetmetal from aluminum to make a casing.
about the grounding, i have everything connected in the same extension cord on the same group.

There is an external wire for grounding from the laser , i have connected it also to the grounding connector from the extension cord.
The laptop adapter/power supply does not have a grounding connection
the Desktop pc does have a connector with a grounding connection but when i read the power supply unit on the back it has the double isolated logo on it.
i thought that meant that there is no ground wire connected.

i could have it all wrong off course.

[rs5088]

Difficult to help from afar. The problem is commonplace just do not see it because it does not deal with electronics. Get help electrical engineers!

[zax15uk]

I didn't realize this was a Full Spectrum system, and am surprised you are having issues considering the claims they make.

I don't have any knowledge of their driver board and retina card, or the modifications they make so take my advice as such.

It does sound like an electrical interference problem, but it could also be a vibration issue (loose connection somewhere).

I am not sure a UPS will help as most are offline so when powered they just feed the line voltage though via some filters (like you have already tried). When the power goes off they switch to online mode and produce power from the battery. I would not suggest trying it unless directed to do so by the manufacturer since most have a poor sine wave generation which could damage the laser electronics.

I would look for a loose connection, and also test with the laser disabled.

Zax.

[fullspeceng]

We offer full support on the machines we sell and have been working actively with the customer to resolve their problems.

Lasers from Full Spectrum Laser are in hundreds of user's hands.

Machines sent internationally are 220V which has a different wiring configuration than our normal 110V systems but we also have dozens of 220V systems in operation.

Every machine is tested for a minimum of 10hrs and a sample part is included with every laser to ensure your laser is guaranteed working when it leaves the factory floor.

We suspect a software configuration problem or EMI issues or a grounding issue in the electrical wiring but of course we will take care of our customers and replace any parts that need replacing.

Sometimes customer's have fault USB chipsets but we also sell an approved computer with our software preloaded that is guaranteed to work out of the box and will offer that option to our customers.

We offer full support and stand behind our products 100% from beginning to end. When you buy a laser from us there is no need to ask random people how to fix problems they have no experience with. Instead, you can call us or email us and work directly with the machine builders and designers.

You benefit from our volume because we only sell two main products and have hundreds of user experiences to draw upon.

[vincenttor]

the help i great no doubt about that,
i opened the topic so maybe someone else had an idea and thanks for the posts.
also recieved some emails from phil from llc and going to try those steps again and check everything.

i think i just have a faulty one as many customers use it straight out of the box except the mirror adjustments then off-course.

[vincenttor]

As far i can see now with the tests i have done its working fine
I made a shield/case for the controller prints to shield them from the power supply and everything suddenly worked.
no more errors or stops.

so i think this topic can be closed

thanks for the replies

[zax15uk]

That's good news - glad you got it working.

Zax.

[geekinesis]

there is no need to ask random people how to fix problems they have no experience with.

I dont think thats true. There are a lot of experienced people here. I for one have benefitted from the help and guidance from "random" people on boards like this.

[vincenttor]

I dont think thats true. There are a lot of experienced people here. I for one have benefitted from the help and guidance from "random" people on boards like this.

infact i did not first wanted to place the message on the forum but,
zax15uk offered me to help and give a look.

2 people always know more then 1 at least thats what they say.
in this case he didn't knew the solution

and what the most funny thing is,

i said from the start, couldn't it be a solution by shielding the controller like readable in my first topic post

did not really got a answer about that,

and now look what i tried yesterday making a shield/box for the controller board

and voila everything works without.
still without any problems today . i am really extensively testing the machine off course but for now it has not responded this well.
also do not open the topic to get your company brand down the ladder or something just wanted help and the sooner it was fixed the better.

i was already a bit scared that 3400 dollars were thrown away money , and with the thoughts in the back of my head that i wanted to try to make money with the machine because i also do not have a job anymore and nothing worked what i tried it was pretty frustrating
but all is good now and i do not blame anyone
also gave the solution

and even i am unexperienced with laser technique.

so if someone has problems that are comparable with mine.
check if the controller board is protected against the interference from the psu

good luck

and as i said before the help is good from fullspectrum no doubt about that !