[Noisebridge-discuss] lasercutter jam

Phil Spitler phil at bonfirelabs.com
Mon Apr 15 02:23:28 UTC 2013


Ken showed me how to get it working the other evening and I did get it to actually make a cut (thanks Ken).

The software on the Windows box did seem very flakey and I couldn't get my image to print in the size and position I needed (so I gave up and went to TechShop).

It does seem like more of a software issue than hardware.

Thanks.

Phil


Phil Spitler  |  Creative Technologist   |  Bonfire Labs  |  t : 415.394.8200  m : 415.571.3139

Website | Facebook | LinkedIn










On Apr 13, 2013, at 12:46 PM, Tony Longshanks LeTigre wrote:

> I tested using a piece of paper on the lowest setting....250dpi.
> It finished cutting & I looked at the paper afterwards: no cut.
> Also, it kept moving off the platen into the danger zone & having to be canceled.
> Also, the two options within RetinaEngrave that I see are between Raster and Vector. I know the difference between these types of file.
> Any chance you'll be around tonight?
> 
> On Sat, Apr 13, 2013 at 12:36 PM, Ken M. Haggerty <kenmhaggerty at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Tony: I showed Phil how to use the laser cutter the other night for engraving. Within RetinaEngrave there are two options: cutting and etching. (I am doing this from memory so "etching" may be "engrave.) There were two things I pointed out to Phil:
> 
> • Etching proceeds like an inkjet printer, not along vector paths: i.e., it will go back and forth across the entire region to be etched, not along particular shapes or lines. For someone used to cutting with the laser, this behavior may come across as incorrect but it is actually correct.
> 
> • Make sure you have the correct etching resolution: If the etching resolution is very high, the laser cutter will adjust the power to be lower than usual and will instead do *many* passes at lowered power, so it may seem like it is just going back and forth and not moving when it actually is making its way down your engraving, just *very* slowly. If you are not convinced then you can test on a piece of paper at low resolution etching to make sure everything is working.
> 
> • Power is controlled by the laser cutter, not the computer: I think this is because we have a janky setup but the laser's power is adjusted using the dial on the cutter itself, not the "power" setting in RetinaEngrave. Speed, however, is controlled and adjusted within RetinaEngrave.
> 
> • The laser mirror may be misaligned: Because the machine is janky, the mirror on the moving head that directs the laser downwards sometimes comes loose. *NEVER PUT YOUR HAND IN THE PATH OF THE LASER!* Instead, very carefully hold a piece of paper in the laser path, make sure laser power is not zero, and tap the "Test Laser" button on the machine (or whatever the phrasing is). The paper should light on fire. (Put it out quickly!) If so, turn the laser power back down to zero and adjust the head to the correct position. Test at the rightmost position, as the error will be greatest here if the mirrors are misaligned.
> 
> -Ken
> 
> 
> 
> On Sat, Apr 13, 2013 at 12:19 PM, Tony Longshanks LeTigre <anthonyletigre at gmail.com> wrote:
> I spent some more time last night. I have yet to successfully laser-cut a single image, which is somewhat frustrating. I worked with a friend who has a Windows machine. We installed RetinaEngrave and Inkscape on his computer. Got the laser cutter to work, as in to begin operating when we pressed 'Go,' but it didn't cut anything. It moved across the paper rapidly as if cutting, but didn't cut. Also it moved off the print bed (platen?) into the "no cut zone" making that grating noise, so I Canceled & tried again after jogging it far over to the right, only to have the same result. Additionally, we got through all the steps of converting a JPG to vector format by tracing the Bitmap, but nothing heppened after the final step, where you "print to Full Spectrum Engineering." We got all the way to the end & then nothing. These are some of the same problems Phil was having earlier this week as described below. If anyone familiar with the equipment is going to be around this eve, I'd be overjoyed to work with them on trying to successfully laser-cut an image. I don't have a Windows machine, & I haven't used a VM the way Casey described. Willing to learn, though.
> 
> +11+
> 
> 
> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:54 PM, Phil Spitler <phil at bonfirelabs.com> wrote:
> Ok, It's firing ;-) The magnet had shifted.
> 
> One more question I can't seem to find in the wiki.
> 
> How do I tell the printer where "home" is.
> 
> If I jog to a position, does it start printing from there?
> 
> Also, the head is moving left and right but isn't moving top to bottom so I am just ending up with a single thin line etched.
> 
> What does the "lock" button do in the app?
> 
> Sorry for the newbie questions.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> Phil
> 
> 
> 
> Phil Spitler  |  Creative Technologist   |  Bonfire Labs  |  t : 415.394.8200  m : 415.571.3139
> 
> Website | Facebook | LinkedIn
> 
> On Apr 9, 2013, at 9:39 PM, Martin Bogomolni wrote:
> 
>> Click red button, try firing.   Click red button, try firing again.
>> 
>> Make sure you also have dialed up the amperage so that the arrow is
>> pointing straight up towards the back of the machine.   (I make it a
>> habit to turn the knob all the way down when I'm done using the laser)
>> 
>> -M
>> 
>> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:33 PM, Phil Spitler <phil at bonfirelabs.com> wrote:
>>> Ok, back at Noisebridge and reducing the speed seems to have fixed that
>>> issue.
>>> 
>>> My next issue is that the laser doesn't seem to fire at all.
>>> 
>>> I tried pressing the 2 green buttons but nothing happens.
>>> 
>>> The instructions also say that the small red button should be in the down
>>> position but that button doesn't seem to have a down state.
>>> 
>>> arghhhh... so close yet so far.
>>> 
>>> Any ideas on this one?
>>> 
>>> Cheers.
>>> 
>>> Phil
>>> 
>>> Phil Spitler  |  Creative Technologist   |  Bonfire Labs  |  t :
>>> 415.394.8200  m : 415.571.3139
>>> 
>>> Website | Facebook | LinkedIn
>>> 
>>> On Apr 9, 2013, at 12:49 AM, Phil Spitler wrote:
>>> 
>>> Great, so you think think it's just a speed issue? That is EXCELLENT news.
>>> 
>>> I'll try tomorrow evening if I can get to NoiseBridge.
>>> 
>>> I hope tomorrow I don't have the connection issue and therefore be able to
>>> get cutting.
>>> 
>>> Much appreciated.
>>> 
>>> Phil
>>> 
>>> Phil Spitler  |  Creative Technologist   |  Bonfire Labs  |  t :
>>> 415.394.8200  m : 415.571.3139
>>> 
>>> Website | Facebook | LinkedIn
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Apr 9, 2013, at 12:44 AM, Martin Bogomolni wrote:
>>> 
>>> Slow down!   What you're experiencing is called stepper binding.
>>> 
>>> Please lower the speed down, and you'll stop seeing the head do that.
>>> It's because the whole machine is 1) very dirty and 2) I just adjusted
>>> the head to ride the rails .. the pulleys have been loose and dragging
>>> for a long time, which means they can bind.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> =M
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 12:24 AM, Phil Spitler <phil at bonfirelabs.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> "some" progress was made.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Somehow the PC is now connected to the Laser cutter and it can control it,
>>> 
>>> not sure what changed, it could have been the magnet, I also reseated all
>>> 
>>> the cords.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> However now when I try to print a document from Retina Engrave, the print
>>> 
>>> head shoots to the left side of the printer and keeps hitting the side of
>>> 
>>> the case.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> It's as if it doesn't know where zero is. I am calling it a day today but
>>> 
>>> may try again tomorrow evening.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Any idea on this issue?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Thanks again.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Phil
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Phil Spitler  |  Creative Technologist   |  Bonfire Labs  |  t :
>>> 
>>> 415.394.8200  m : 415.571.3139
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Website | Facebook | LinkedIn
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Apr 8, 2013, at 11:32 PM, Casey Callendrello wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> This often happens when two copies of RetinaEngrave are running. First try
>>> 
>>> rebooting the laser cutter computer.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> If that doesn't fix it, it means we've probably fried the USB board.
>>> 
>>> According to the intrepid hacker who has one of his own, this can happen
>>> 
>>> when the tube gets weak (which ours definitely has). Let's hope this isn't
>>> 
>>> the case.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --Casey
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 4/8/13 11:19 PM, Tony Longshanks LeTigre wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Hey, sending a quick note / desperate plea for help re: the lasercutter
>>> 
>>> 
>>> to a few people I think have been knowledgeable on the subject. I was
>>> 
>>> 
>>> supposed to give Phil (CC'd) a tutorial on how to use it tonight @
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Noisebridge & we ran into a wall. Tried everything we could think of,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> but RetinaEngrave persistently displayed an "Attempting to Connect"
>>> 
>>> 
>>> status bubble without ever succeeding or advancing past that stage.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Furthermore, we couldn't even get the laser engraver itself to jog or
>>> 
>>> 
>>> move at all. The laser test worked, but that was it. We had several
>>> 
>>> 
>>> others look at it & tried most every variable: cords, software, logging
>>> 
>>> 
>>> in as different users, &c, to no avail. Among the few things we haven't
>>> 
>>> 
>>> tried are unplugging or replacing the card that the connecting USB cord
>>> 
>>> 
>>> plugs into on the laser cutter, and....suggestions? We do know, on the
>>> 
>>> 
>>> encouraging side, that Martin B. used this lasercutter, apparently with
>>> 
>>> 
>>> success, as recently as one day ago. CCing to Martin. (Sorry if you're
>>> 
>>> 
>>> getting multiple messages.) Martin, do you think in the course of your
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "checkup" on the machine the other day there is anything you might have
>>> 
>>> 
>>> changed that could explain this impasse?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Thanks for any help you can offer!
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> +11+
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
> 
> 
> 
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