Laserbot Marlin (CLOSED)

[PhilMC]

Hi there
In have a question about the Laserbot and the Marlin firmware you provide.
I am using windows 10 and BCL 3.2a and have them working OK.
Here is the intro to the firmware:

Code: [Select]

( BenCutLaser (c) 2016-2018 All Rights Reserved )
( Developed by Ralph Freshour and Paul Henty )
( support@BenCutLaser.us )
( Connected to COM6 @ 115200 baud )
start
echo:Marlin 1.1.0-RC8 FA BL
echo: Last Updated: 2016-12-06 12:00 | Author: BenCutLaser 1.8.4
Compiled: Mar 27 2017
I want to cut out some thin plywood so I am experimenting with paper first of all.
My laserbot is missing bits of lines and small objects when cutting. It looks to me like the laser is missing beginnings of lines, so I guess there is some delay in bringing the laser up to full power.

Comments on other forums show this is a common problem which was originally was blamed on Makeblock software but since it also happens with the BCL kit I guess that it is down to electronics!.

I tried put a delay (dwell) into the gcode BCL produced as in the snippet below

Code: [Select]

( Body )
G01 X0027.4732 Y0207.4615 F1000
M04 P191 ( [color:DarkGray] )
G04 P300
G01 X0101.7079 Y0207.4615 F500
G01 X0064.5906 Y0170.3442 F500
G01 X0027.4732 Y0207.4615 F500
M4 P0
( end Polyline 0039 )  ( UserComment )  ( polyline 0039 )

G01 X0155.3798 Y0170.3538 F1000
M04 P191 ( [color:DarkGray] )
G04 P300
G01 X0192.4875 Y0207.4615 F500
G01 X0118.2721 Y0207.4615 F500
G01 X0155.3798 Y0170.3538 F500
M4 P0
( end Polyline 0036 )  ( UserComment )  ( polyline 0036 )
But to no effect.
I guess that facility was not part of Marlin at that time.

Do you have any advice....
 Could I perhaps upgrade the Marlin from your version and compile a new firmware file, though if so I need a few pointers as to what was in your .h file etc and some suggestions as to the best way to go about it.

It might be that it would be better to replace the electronics!!

Regards
Philip

[Administrator]

I'm a bit confused here Phil. If you really want to cut on thin plywood then why are you burning on paper? Don't waste time burning on paper because it won't be the same (the settings that work on paper won't work on  plywood). So, I'm not sure why you would want to troubleshoot burning on paper, even re-compiling new firmware, etc. when you're real target is thin plywood?

I burned on paper myself and found that really light power settings produced an uneven burn line. This is due to the paper surface finish. Light burn lines are difficult to do on any material. At this point I don't think there is anything wrong with your system, but some photos would help me to see excatly what you are talking about.

Unless you really want to burn on paper, move on to your thin plywood and please report on your progress.

[PhilMC]

Thanks for the comments Ralph.
Sorry to confuse you....
I built this laserbot a couple of years ago because I like building things and configuring them, and only used it for minor tasks. Recently I wanted to upgrade the heatbed on my 3D Printer I built back a while and I saw a suitably modified adapter on Thingiverse. I thought my laserbot might be just the tool I needed but found the software with it a pain for precision work. So this is my first attempt at using bencutlaser!
With that is mind and not being certain of the quality of the the dfx file from thingiverse I aimed first of all for a paper template to match against the 3D Printer.
This is where my problems started with missing parts of objects.
At the moment I'm also working in a box room indoors and I'd rather not cut wood until I get the kit in my shed.
So if you could bear with me I'll first of all try to cut out a paper template.
So as to remove any chance of problems with dfx files I'll use your Main Test55.dxf as a first step and try to cut it out of paper. I'll set up a new paper cutting tool, my settings are nearly there anyway as some of the burns are going straight through!
When I have something worth a photo I'll post it together with the settings I use.

Hope this is OK with you
Philip

[Administrator]

Hi Phil,

Now I understand. Thanks for explaining.

In the mean time, if you don't mind attaching your dxf file, I'll have a look at it and see what the quality of it is. You can do this as well using BCL but since you're still new to BCL, I don't mind checking the dxf file for you.

Thanks...

[PhilMC]

OK, Thanks Ralph
Here is the dxf file I downloaded from Thingiverse converted to Autocad2000 by A9Converter. They called it 'printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.DXF'
I noticed that the reworker has missed one polyline combination on the RHS, 4 steps down the diagonal from the top. It is still a set of lines and arcs!
I shall be interested to see how the paper template matches up with the top plate of the moving heatbed dolly.

Thanks...

[Administrator]

The dxf file is 98% OK. No duplicate drawing objects. All drawing objects that are in the file are valid for BCL.

As you pointed out, there is one Polyline that wasn't created correctly. See attachment 2.png below. However, this polyline drawing object can be burned if you create a toolpath with all of the individual objects sequenced together correctly:

Polyline 60 (this object also needs it's direction to be reversed. Assign your tool and press the R key to reverse direction. See 1.png)
Arc001
Line033
Arc000
Line032
Arc003
Line034
Arc002

tp.png shows that I assigned my laser tool to each of the polyline drawing objects (as listed immediately above) and then I typed in a toolpath name and pressed Return and then clicked the TPSave link to save it. This toolpath file.

Here is a Youtube video I made to show you how to do this: https://youtu.be/c8OdkBsGKEs

[ggallant571]

Would not bother me one iota if DFX just faded away. The quicker the better.

[PhilMC]

Thanks Ralph for the explanation and video description. I'll get back to you when I have had a chance to follow it through....

Much appreciated
Philip

[PhilMC]

Hi Ralph
I completed that exercise successfully....
But I am unable to open the toolpaths I saved after creating them for each of the object types.

They show up in the source directory for my DXF :

Code: [Select]

Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name                                                                 
----                -------------         ------ ----                                                                 
-a----       16/05/2019     19:35           1660 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.Circles.004.box             
-a----       16/05/2019     19:35          44475 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.Circles.004.ray             
-a----       10/05/2019     18:56          47545 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.DXF                         
-a----       16/05/2019     19:45             87 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.mft                         
-a----       16/05/2019     19:26              0 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.Poly.002.box               
-a----       16/05/2019     19:32           1204 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.Rhombus.003.box             
-a----       16/05/2019     19:32          44343 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.Rhombus.003.ray             
-a----       16/05/2019     19:45           1356 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.RoundedRect.005.box         
-a----       16/05/2019     19:45          44691 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.RoundedRect.005.ray         
-a----       16/05/2019     19:30           1318 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.Triangle.002.box           
-a----       16/05/2019     19:30          44303 printbed_upper_base_heatedped_mk2_reworke.Triangle.002.ray           
I have opened the DFX in BCL but the Toolpaths do not appear when I LoadTPN/A.

Any suggestions?

Philip

[Administrator]

What timezone are you located in? We need to do a screen share so I can see how you saved the toolpaths, etc. We can use join.me. Let me know what times work best for you today.

[PhilMC]

Thanks Ralph...
In the meantime I have looked at the mft file, experimented, seen the structure and rebuilt the list of Toolpaths. I have now loaded the Toolpaths I was unable to find before.
I must have used some incorrect sequence of key presses.

It seems to be working OK now.
I'll give it another run through just to be sure...

By the way you mentioned shortcuts to functions. Is there a list of them somewhere?

Lets postpone the join for the moment. I'll get back to you....

Regards
Philip

[Administrator]

There are not many:

Spacebar to assign a laser tool to a drawing object.
'r' to reverse a drawing object's direction.
Mouse wheel: zoom in and out on drawing.

Check right mouse click for popup menus when working with your drawing and assigning laser tools.

[PhilMC]

Hi Ralph
Thanks for the shortcut details.
I must also say thanks again for the tutorial material you posted regarding the heatbed adapter.

I had a go with Main Test55 and cut it out of paper. A photo is attached.
As you can see there are bits missing!

I have also attached a photo of some tests I did adjusting the power setting. The rounded square is also incomplete.

I wonder if this is due to laser power-on delay? I saw this mentioned in a discussion you were having with 'svogl' on another forum about the laserbot.
I think it looks as though most if not all the missing portions are at the beginning of a cut?
Did you get this with the laserbot you built?

Regards
Philip

[Administrator]

Obviously you should not see any gaps in your burns. This is a laserbot problem. I don't normally use a laserbot and therefore I don't see this problem. Do you have another laser system available to test with?

[PhilMC]

Hi Ralph
I think I have cracked the problem...
Attached below is the result of engraving on 160 gsm card, 300 mm/min @90%.

I thought the power module supplied with it looked a little weak, so I attached a much higher spec one with plenty of spare capacity. After all, stepper motors with likely induction effects could easily disrupt the stability of sensitive electronics!

Now I can go on to explore your software and work towards cutting out the heat bed adapter.

Thanks for your help
Philip