Just got a near new Laser using a AWC708C control board. Anything i need to know?
Hi Found this site when googling about laser cutting and thought I should drop in see if I need some help or not.........
Im fairly new to lasering but been using various 3d printing hardware for a good few years, even building my own corexy machine last year.
So i found what I can only describe as a major bargain on ebay and I had to get it, however the seller said hes still had some calibration issues to deal with but i think he got tired of it.
And the tubes only had about 30 minutes use out of it so its still near new...
Given my background I feel im more than up to the task of fixing it....
So the real question, ive yet to actually collect the machine, hopefully doing it this week. But the control board this is using is a AWC708C is there anything I need to know about this?
Im aware RuiDa is what most people go for so is mine being different an issue... Is there a reason why people go for RuiDa over the one i have?
And are there any guides to calibrating it? even at the steps per mm and motor current settings?
When googling ive not really seen any bad things said about it, but do i need to have a cold shower and reality check and come to terms buying a duff bit of kit?
I have taken some assumptions, such as this controller being compatible with the common cutting/engraving software out there... Is that true?
Also i read that this controller uses PWM duting to change power level of the laser... Now this could be an issue... PWM is great for lighting control because of image persistence. But as a laser in cutting or engraving mode does this still work? or am i going to get - - - - type lines?
Is there some kind of PWM smoothing going on that takes the PWM signal and converts it into a smooth power level? Or do i still need install a manual power dial into this kit? The tube is a pretty powerful tube and i very much doubt ill ever run it full power. But I dont want to end up getting inconsistent lines because of the gaps in the duty cycle.
What control software should I use with this? And what graphics software? I was thinking inkscape for vetor art. But is there software thats more suitable? And what sortware is best to control with, and i assume software that I can select group what vectors are engrave and what are cut?
If anyone can give me any tips it would be most helpful...
Thanks
Re: Just got a near new Laser using a AWC708C control board. Anything i need to know?
Lightburn does a great job sending the vector or raster image to awc708 but it doesn’t allow you to change settings on the controller. Like stepper pulse per distance. That’s as of a couple months ago unless the upgraded it
Basically you can load an image on a usb stick and can load it directly into the controller. Or upload it via Wi-Fi using the lightburn program. You need a Ethernet receiver hooked up to the controller. Not any receiver will work in my experience.
Reply with Quote
Just got a near new Laser using a AWC708C control board. Anything i need to know?
