I enjoy making videos about my hobby equipment and projects. I have so much to share, but so little free-time. Help turn this into my full-time job and get more amazing videos about: Fiber laser cutting & engraving, CO2 lasers, CNC milling, CNC lathe, 3D printing, injection molding, machine retrofitting, prototyping, programming, design, and hobby electronics.
Hi ! Perhaps it should be good to bolt the frame to de ground ? the wooble we see during servo calibration would be smaller I guess... reducing inertia on axis. Very interesting videos, looking forward to the next !
I would like to advise you to avoid LEAD SHINE. I'm currently using a LEAD SHINE servo, but I'm regretting the purchase because of the worst A/S team. Technical support is either ignored or only receives short, frustrating voicemail replies. The technical support team's Lv was always busy, and the A/S manager who was introduced next was also the same. It is important to remember that you have to pay a stress fee for LEAD SHINE products. 👎
STO is not for limit switches. Its for safety. Put 2 normally closed contacts onto your estop button, one to connect Pin1(24v) to Pin4(SF1+) and the other to connect Pin1(24v) to Pin6(SF1+). You can then get rid of the contactors. Absolutely loving this series man! Thank you and very welldone! Amazing build!
Thanks, several people have pointed this out now. I guess I messed up my order of operations...I hooked up the contactors before I even looked into how to use the STO function, I'm now regretting that I didn't do that first. Oh well, at least I learned how contactors work.
I would like to advise you to avoid LEAD SHINE. I'm currently using a LEAD SHINE servo, but I'm regretting the purchase because of the worst A/S team. Technical support is either ignored or only receives short, frustrating voicemail replies. The technical support team's Lv was always busy, and the A/S manager who was introduced next was also the same. It is important to remember that you have to pay a stress fee for LEAD SHINE products. 👎
I've had the opposite experience. I was contacting support via email...I am about 12 hrs difference in time zones and if I emailed in the evening, I would get a prompt response, if I emailed in the day, I would get a reply as soon as their workday started.
No experience with lead shine, but from buying frequently on Ali express, it is best to match yourself with a seller who has a similar level of expertise to understand your queries. Often time most sellers are just that, sellers, they don’t understand my specifications. Sometimes you have to be patient until their technical comes on board. Sometimes they just don’t like you 😁. In our cultures, referring to others brothers or sisters helps create a closeness, or even just calling them friend. Being polite helps immensely, having a purely American, Canadian, European attitude won’t come across well.
If you are going to calibrate the Z axis, you will see in the video start 13:48, moving a cable or something in the Y axis cable holder at the beginning. I don't know if that is the case, but if it is a cable that moves, it could wear out there.
I'd also add to this that the Z-axis cables should not be within the conduit that the laser head cables use, as this causes the Z-axis cables to move every time the head moves up and down. The conduit should be fastened to the Z-axis before it enters the drag chain as you suggest - Extend that bracket and add some cable ties.
You don't actually need the separate servo contactors. As you're using fancy Leadshine EL8 drives which support Safe Torque Off, you could use that instead. In fact, STO is safer as it's a redundant system and is built to SIL3 standards - I'd advise using STO for the e-stop rather than the limit switches. (Although you could wire up the limit switches so that they act as e-stops, which will stop everything - Ideally you'd use double pole limit switches so they can break both e-stop channels.) I'd also suggest that you use the STO for both Y-axis drives even though they are paired as this is a safety system. You'd be better off using a dual-channel safety relay (E.g. Pilz PNOZ 11) to drive the STO for the drives. As the laser power source doesn't support Safe Torque Off, you should use two disconnection mechanisms in series. You could use the laser power source's interlock input as one (Connected through its own safety relay output) and a contactor to break the power supply as the second. As the contactor is separate from the safety relay, you should use an auxiliary contact on it for monitoring - See the manual of the safety relay regarding how that is wired. A dual-channel safety relay has two separate e-stop channels which go through their own e-stop button contacts providing redundancy for the inputs. Internally it has two force-guided relays in series which provides redundancy for the outputs. A separate reset button (In manual reset mode) is used which allows the safety relay to test both channels, ensuring that every time you reset it - You're protected by a redundant e-stop system. The safety relay has a lot of outputs (7) but it's not enough for the entire system, therefore I'd do the following: - Output 1 - STO #1 for Y1 and Y2 drives - Output 2 - STO #2 for Y1 and Y2 drives - Output 3 - STO #1 for X and Z drives - Output 4 - STO #2 for X and Z drives - Output 5 - Laser source interlock - Output 6 - Laser source contactor and gas solenoids - Output 7 - Control board e-stop input - Monitoring loop - Through the laser source contactor aux contacts - Control board e-stop - Break the e-stop loop so that it can trigger the safety relay This should take up about the same amount of space as the four contactors you've just added. Hope this helps.
Wow, thank you for the detailed explanation! I can see now that it's time for me to learn how to use a safety relay...let me absorb all of this and I'll see what I can do about implementing it.
You don't need separate contactors for every drive, or any contactors at all for that matter, just a main power disconnect. Safe Torque Off is *specifically designed* for estop operation without having to cut power to the drives. You can completely get rid of the contactors and use STO, which would also keep the motor positions and avoid potential drive damage. But what you DO need to do if you want it to be "proper", is wire the estop to a safety controller(also called a safety relay) that would also trigger the laser source's estop. In a "real industrial" setting, it's improper and sometimes illegal to have multiple estops that would shut down parts of the device, as that could create a dangerous situation.
Thanks, I messed up and wired the contactors before learning how to use the STO function...should have done that first I now know. The contactors are only cutting power to the motors, the drives have a separate power input for the controller that bypasses the contactor, so the drives still stay on keep position when the estop is pressed. Thanks for mentioning the safety relay, I've never used one before and that might just be the answer I've been looking for...I've been wondering about how to go about wiring the laser source to the estop.
thankyou for sharing. how to communicate between epc2000 and windows pc. can you please explain the detail? where is to download software and configure it. now i user raycus 1500w, eds3000s, epc2000.
What a great looking machine. What would you estimate the frame and motors without any other electronics or hardware installed cost? This frame setup looks like it could accomodate just about anything from a plasma cutter to a waterjet. Any reason for using servo motors rather than steppers? Great stuff!
I built a small CNC table (15 inches x 30 inches). It uses nema 17 motors and probably cost me less than $150 to put it together using off-the-shelf aluminum extrusion and parts from AliExpress. I use open builds software to run it because it's free. I hooked up a plasma cutter to it (low frequency blowback style) and was able to cut some signs. I'm not a big fan of the metal warping and crashing the machine, and I'm sure a laser cutter would produce far less heat in the metal. I'd love to hook up a fiber laser head to it but it looks a bit too costly at this point. If I was going to spend that kind of money on a laser source and head I would probably opt for a better and larger CNC platform as well. I've also explored the idea of building a water jet cutter. I think that would be much more affordable but the accuracy you were getting on that small cut was super impressive. I'm not sure a water jet cutter could even be that accurate. I'd like to see your laser cutter cut something thicker. Either way, amazing project. Subscribed.
My V2 machine can be made for significantly cheaper than this version cost. Keep watching the series…I show it cutting all the way up to 8mm steel plate I believe.
I would ask you please how the orgin function work? I have a sensor for each axis x,y and z all of them are working perfectly but the machine doesn't stop when the sensors are on. Btw all the sensors are Normally Open.
I'm really looking forward to what you think about the xc3000 controller. Do you know if it supports obstacle avoidance, where if a part pops up it will avoid it? Im debating between the fscut2000 and the xc3000. I had a rep from raytools send me the comparison between the two and it almost looks like the xc3000 may be more robust.
I would assume all fiber cutter controllers do that, it’s how the capacitive sensor in the head works to achieve consistent height, even my Ruida controller on my other machine does it, and it doesn’t have near the feature set. If it does touch, it just pauses and throws an alarm. I have yet to test it out on the xc3000, but I’m liking everything I see about the controller so far
@@diyfiberlaser I think I may be leaning toward that same controller. Here's a couple of examples of the obstacle avoidance. It's what they call automatic intelligence obstacle avoidance. One of them is on the xc1000, so I would hope the xc3000 could do the same? Looks like a really nice feature! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i-Sm_ooMUho.htmlsi=cvYFvCP5PkxD0goy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hAWxjrbMjzw.htmlsi=wEyWWdtcq2EcXXr5
@@nerdulator5000 Thanks for sharing the videos. After watching them, I get the feeling that "automatic intelligence obstacle avoidance" is probably just marketing lingo. They both appear to just be setting the lift height above the part stickup height on their demo pieces and then when the nozzle moves over them you see it move a little higher due to the capacity sensor. I was watching the videos on half speed so I could see what it was doing better. I think you would be fine with either controller. I will try to do a demo like this for you to see once I get up and running.
Travis i just imported this raytools controller..after installation its asking for some product registration through WeChat applet..you went through this process of registration or what?
Why are you using the reducers and such large servo drives if you don't even require all that torque, you're building a laser machine, or it it just intentionally overbuilt? To also demonstrate your sponsor products?
The reducers are not sponsored. I bought them to have on hand just in case I needed them. I messed up and got ahead of myself and forgot to test the motors without them first, they may not be necessary. Im going to leave them on at this point, it would be a lot of work to back track, and I still have plenty of speed and ample torque
@@diyfiberlaser Ok I see, you also don't really need servo motors with dedicated drives for this build as you don't need to plunge a bit into anything so the amp requirements are low per motor, you can go integrated servo or stepper and still benefit from fast rapids, your jog lengths are also short . also the reducers are more for amplifying torque in subtractive operation where you need to get deeper and faster feed and speed from smaller motor and or electronics, if I'm understanding them correctly as I myself know nothing. Just my observations and current understanding so far.
Did you see my speed test short: DIY Fiber Laser Cutter V2: Speed Test ru-vid.comD6zqVzTR6aU?feature=share I’m going to see how far I can push the acceleration when I get to tuning the motors
You don't want to loop your motor wires like that. You're creating a coil == an air-core inductor. Instead of circular windings, make long back-and-forth loops.
I started to do that, but I’m concerned the plastic could break under the force. That cable is the most expensive part of the machine, so I don’t want to risk it
A tip regarding the watercooling, have the input be at the bottom and exit at the top. this makes bleeding the air much easier. Especially with lower preassure and tighter tubes. This will be a non-issue with enough pressure ofc.
I'm sure you'll get around to trimming and re-terminating all of those super long cables eventually, as they'll not only look neater but be less prone to emitting or picking up disruptive EMI/RFI. Until then, stacking coils of current-carrying cable against delicate signal cable could cause trouble.
Of course...I'm at about $10,500 right now, I'm almost done...just have a couple hinges and some sheet metal for enclosing the machine left to buy, so it will probably be around $11k all in. Also, that number is with using a cheaper brand (same specs) servo motors...the ones I was going to use before the sponsorship.
@@diyfiberlaser That's a pretty reasonable price, thanks for the reply. It's looking great so far and I think I might take inspiration for my next build from it. Keep it up 👍
Hello Travis, I am currently setting up the same system only with CO2 tube and fiber laser. I also bought the Raycus1500 and the new RDC6563FG-LITE controller (has the same connections) You wrote that the wiring instructions from the Ruida controller to the Raycus were not correct. Do you have a wiring list that you can give me so that I don't have to test everything first. I would be very grateful. Kind regards from Switzerland Guido
Great video series. You have me seriously thinking about building something similar. Just an FYI, I tried to purchase the same tapping arm from Aliexpress, the seller contacted me asking for an extra $150 for shipping. So, I the free shipping is misleading.
@@10101amit It is not just a matter of controller...it is the software/controller combination. I don't know. Do you have software to set up cut the cut files with multi-stage piercing? Do you have a hobby controller that can do capacitive sensing height control?
@@diyfiberlaser oh, thanks for the information. I plan to diy a metal laser cutter. Also I am working on a software to control routers and basic CO2 laser. Also have some experience in marking fibre laser hardware. These points you've made make opens up interesting challenges to look at :) Thanks for the information and replying ..
@@10101amit Sure...if you are trying to come up with your own software/controller solution, those are probably the two major hurdles, additionally you will need to control the laser source power, frequency, duty cycle, assist gas on/off control, and pressure if using an electro pneumatic regulator.
Not sure I can link to my design here, but I've borrowed many of your ideas and tweaked them for my plasma build - My biggest change was to suspend the gantry under the Y axis, rather than between the Y axis - This has a slight downside of rigidity but makes alignment and building much easier as the length of the gantry no longer matters.
I just discovered your channel, not sure how I missed it. Pretty nice setup. I find it a bit weird that these power cables from drivers to servos, are not shielded. Hopefully it will work all fine tho. Still big thanks to Leadsine for sponsoring. Also I also do not understand how in 2024, we still are getting these crappy LEDs displays on drivers and inverters. Navigating menus is still nightmare.
