Laser indicator light

[Gary Hair]

OK all of you electronic geniuses, I have what I think is a simple task but it's beyond my pay grade and I need a bit of help.

I want to have a signal light and/or beeper to indicate when my fiber completes a job. I know where to connect onto the controller card for the fiber to get a signal and I know how to configure the software to send the appropriate signal to the card. What I don't know is how to make the light/beeper part. It doesn't have to be anything fancy looking, it will be hidden in the fiber cabinet. I have available 5vdc, 12vdc, 110vac - so power isn't an issue.

I'm sure if we come up with something that there are plenty of people here who could use it and I'd be willing to put together a group buy for any parts so we could save a bit of $.

Any ideas and help would be appreciated!

[Steve Morris]

Should be pretty straight forward, couple of questions -

What voltage is the signal from the controller card ?
and is it high or low when it is triggering the beeper ?

[Tony Lenkic]

Gary,

If you know signals voltage you can pick up a relay with correct voltage rating and the isolating contact of the relay will energize any light you install.

Do you need a simple schematics to do this?

[Gary Hair]

Should be pretty straight forward, couple of questions -

What voltage is the signal from the controller card ?
and is it high or low when it is triggering the beeper ?

The voltage from the card is 5vdc and can be either high or low, selected in the software.

[Gary Hair]

Gary,

If you know signals voltage you can pick up a relay with correct voltage rating and the isolating contact of the relay will energize any light you install.

Do you need a simple schematics to do this?

Is it really that simple? Just a relay? Would that just light up the light? Any way to make it flash?

[Kev Williams]

Probably a stretch, but I wonder if the software could trigger a .wav sound on the computer? For a long time I had train horns tell me when I got email :)

[Tony Lenkic]

Sure,

There are little devices to make Christmas lights flash that you screw in light fixture and they have a 2 prongs to plug in light bulb. This is cheap way around.

[Bill George]

Does your carriage always go back to Home when its done? A 5 volt Proximity switch to pick up the carriage at Home and an indicator light LED on top of case.. Sure it will be on all the time the carriage is at home, but you start the job and when the LED is on the job is done. My ULS machine beeps when its done.

[Gary Hair]

Does your carriage always go back to Home when its done? A 5 volt Proximity switch to pick up the carriage at Home and an indicator light LED on top of case.. Sure it will be on all the time the carriage is at home, but you start the job and when the LED is on the job is done. My ULS machine beeps when its done.

It's for my galvo fiber so there's no way to do that, good idea though!

[Jim Coffee]

Explore the world of Arduino for a bit...multiple inexpensive solutions to this problem can be found. I'm not familiar enough to recommend a specific solution...but know that there are least several there. And if you are not familiar with Arduino or Rasberry it would be good to introduce yourselves to that world. Difficult things can be very easy.

[Doug Griffith]

Explore the world of Arduino for a bit...multiple inexpensive solutions to this problem can be found. I'm not familiar enough to recommend a specific solution...but know that there are least several there. And if you are not familiar with Arduino or Rasberry it would be good to introduce yourselves to that world. Difficult things can be very easy.

It is actually very easy to do with an Arduino. Once sent the 5v "trigger", you can set it up to do practically anything you want. Learning the Arduino (amongt a world of other open-source platforms) is highly recommended.

[Gary Hair]

It is actually very easy to do with an Arduino. Once sent the 5v "trigger", you can set it up to do practically anything you want. Learning the Arduino (amongt a world of other open-source platforms) is highly recommended.

Do you have any desire to make something up? Given the time it would take me to research Arduino, buy the parts, program the software and get it setup, I could spend many hours - just to get a blinky light and a buzzer... For someone who already knows this stuff it might be a lot less time and effort, and I'd be willing to pay someone so I don't have to learn it all myself. If you want to email me to discuss further I'd appreciate it! ghair at nwlaserimage dot com

[Kev Williams]

Funny, thought I found an easy solution- In the one set of parameters (button on top), there's an option to have a program start when EZcad starts, and another to have a program start when EZcad ends... It would be easy to have it execute a sound file.... Problem is, it's when the PROGRAM ends, not when the ENGRAVING ends.

I'm surprised there isn't some sort of sound option... Oh well

[Tony Lenkic]

Gary,

Just remembered another wat to get this done is using a strobe light. Something like in this site

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/strobe-beacons/4in-amber-led-strobe-light-beacon-with-5-leds/1861/

[Gary Hair]

Thanks for the help everyone! Looks like I talked Doug into implementing something using Arduino. It wasn't too hard to twist his arm so I think he actually likes a little challenge like this!

[Scott Anders]

I posted this exact same question the other day piggybacking on someone else's thread, following keenly

[Trey Tull]

Gary, I'm looking for something just like this to work with an automated process. Do you happen to remember where to connect into the board?

Thanks!

[Matt Schrum]

I forget if you can change the duration of the 5v output. If so, there are some simple 5v beepers out there that take next to nothing for current that you could likely wire up directly.

Else, you can also look up "flip-flop" relays or circuits. A pulse will turn the relay on, a second pulse will turn it off. You can hook up a strobe, light, whatever to the relay. Then you can either have a pushbutton to flip it back off or configure another pulse from the program when you start the next job.

Regardless, Arduino will totally work (heck, they're overkill for this as they are really quite capable), but there are also some inexpensive, almost turn key options out there that will work.

[Kev Williams]

I have a $25 Casio watch with a 'stepped' one-button countdown timer, works in 1, 3, 5, 10, 20 and 30 minute increments, if I want 1 minute, press once, 5 minutes press 3 times, etc. I have one repeat job that takes 5:54 to run- before I change the part out I press 3 times, change, load, start--- when the timer goes off, by the time I get to the machine it's usually just getting done :)

Speaking of timers, I have a couple of these small digital timers I got at the dollar store, you can set them to the second, and they retain the setting until you specifically reset it.
417859

Not perfect solutions but they help! ;)

[Gary Hair]

I don't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure it was just one of the outputs, I'll look when I get in the office today and let you know.


Gary, I'm looking for something just like this to work with an automated process. Do you happen to remember where to connect into the board?

Thanks!

[Gary Hair]

I just saw Kev's post - on Con4 it was either out4 or out5 - but that depends on the exact card you have. Either one will work, you just need to set it up in the software to send the signal to the one you connect to and set whether it sends a high or low signal.


Gary, I'm looking for something just like this to work with an automated process. Do you happen to remember where to connect into the board?

Thanks!

[Trey Tull]

Thanks Gary! Did you end up with the Arduino stuff or some other solution?

[John Lifer]

Business opportunity! Make up something that works and I'll buy one for a Dolla! or maybe I'd go Two dolla!

:D

[Gary Hair]

I ended up having an Arduino solution made for me. I didn't know anything about Arduino at the time and didn't want to learn another programming language so I found someone with the expertise and experience to do it for me. He designed a board, wrote the code and ended up with a really nice product. Unfortunately I got too busy to install it and get it working so it is actually sitting in my home office somewhere among the rest of the Arduino stuff I started on after that. The person is a member here, Doug Griffith, and maybe he could help you to modify what he has done already to meet your needs. I can search for the parts I have at home but it may take me a while as I'm in the middle of finishing a 1,900 sq ft basement and my Arduino stuff is boxed up *somewhere*... If you want to message Doug his post to me is earlier on this thread, and maybe he can help.


Thanks Gary! Did you end up with the Arduino stuff or some other solution?

[Trey Tull]

Thanks Gary for the reply.