Getting back in the saddle again. RDWorks/LaserWork Upgrades?

[Mike Audleman]

Ok, in hopes that the new tube will work tomorrow after the silicone has cured, I have dug out my old software that I had installed:
LaserWorkV6
RDWorksV7
RDWorksV8

Laser is connected to a StarTech USB1000IP USB to Ethernet converter. I have the USB server installed on my Windows 10 box and they do connect and I can see the port so I know the USB>Ethernet driver sees the remote and is connected.

LW6 loads and reads the USB stick. Seems to work just fine. Have to wait for a full on test to be sure.

RD7 Opens direct to a device selector. Chose USB Auto. Doesn't connect, says communication error.

RD8 Opens to the main window like LW6 does. However it will not query the laser's USB stick and reports the same communications error.

Finally got RD8 to run by re-installing it after wiping the folder. Now it recognizes the laser and will query the usb/memory. However it will not open any rld file. It will also not download and files from the laser USB/memory.

LW6 will open the rld files and will download from the laser (though they call it upload which is backwards but whatever).

So, is there a way to upgrade the files from LW6 to RD8 so they can be used or should I just deltree the source files and start over? Anyone have links to version differences/improvements?

Is there a better option than any of these three to run the laser.

And how does one upgrade the laser firmware (if need be)? The window reports "RDLC-V5.00.37" as the Mainboard version. Is there a newer version or should I even try? Also, any idea what the vendor password would be?

[John Lifer]

Paswword should be RD8888, or LD8888 be careful not to wipe your system. Some settings aren't intuitive. Others here will chime in, I haven't had to update software. There is a forum rdworkslab.com that may can help too, mainly guys with k40/eBay machines, but some decent help. Their site is updating and may not be up....

[Mike Audleman]

Paswword should be RD8888, or LD8888 be careful not to wipe your system. Some settings aren't intuitive. Others here will chime in, I haven't had to update software. There is a forum rdworkslab.com that may can help too, mainly guys with k40/eBay machines, but some decent help. Their site is updating and may not be up....

Thanks. Unfortunately you can't register there. It seems to be an invitation only forum so no possibility of posing a question there nor can you even view thread posts so that site is mostly useless. So until I can get the attention of the admin, I can't look at much there. Will keep trying as they seem to have a focus on the software I am inquiring about. Thinking it could be a useful resource.

[Doug Fisher]

From what I have read, your controller may be limiting your ability to upgrade to newer versions of the software. Older versions of Ruida controllers cannot run on newer versions of RDWorks 8. Not sure about where the cutoff in versions occur.

[Mike Audleman]

From what I have read, your controller may be limiting your ability to upgrade to newer versions of the software. Older versions of Ruida controllers cannot run on newer versions of RDWorks 8. Not sure about where the cutoff in versions occur.

Well, ok, is it worth it to look at replacing the controller? Or can it be replaced?

[Doug Fisher]

On the RDWorks Lab forum, there are people who have upgraded their controllers so conceptually it can be done. Here is some example pricing:

Very common G version:
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=100006988&initiative_id=AS_20170412065843&SearchText=ruida+rdc6442g

The newer S version:
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170412070004&SearchText=ruida+rdc6442s

[Bill George]

Mike, You can't find a used laptop with USB ports and Windows 7? I buy older Lenovo's that were top of the line for maybe $300 tops. The last one was upgraded to 12 Gb memory and works great. My slightly older one is in the garage/shop and connects just fine over my wireless in the house basement. Runs Corel 6x and other needed programs without an issue.

[Mike Audleman]

Mike, You can't find a used laptop with USB ports and Windows 7? I buy older Lenovo's that were top of the line for maybe $300 tops. The last one was upgraded to 12 Gb memory and works great. My slightly older one is in the garage/shop and connects just fine over my wireless in the house basement. Runs Corel 6x and other needed programs without an issue.

Bill,
I have plenty of computer equipment. I have a HP Spectre x360 15.6" 4K UHD TouchScreen Laptop with 2.7g i7, 16GB ram and 512GB SSD. My current desktop (an i7 with 16g ram) is being replaced by a new build based on a Asus Sabertooth X99 LGA2011-3 motherboard with a Core i7 6950X 3.0GHz 10-Core processor, an initial 32g of Corsair DDR4-3000 ram with another 32g coming later. Here is the build specs for the new system: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fKNz9W if you are curious.

So I have plenty of horsepower laying around with more coming. Not sure what bearing this has on the RDworks/LaserWorks questions though? Could you elaborate on why you think a cheap laptop would be a benefit here?

[Bill George]

Windows 7 vs Windows 10 and all the hassle to upgrade hardware and software to get it running. You don't need a lot of horsepower to run a 2 year old laser.

[Mike Audleman]

Windows 7 vs Windows 10 and all the hassle to upgrade hardware and software to get it running. You don't need a lot of horsepower to run a 2 year old laser.

Certainly not, no. However running a 3 yr old laser isn't its main task either. Rendering and processing 4k video and photo processing is. And that requires more and more horsepower running Photoshop, Premiere and Lightroom as pixel rates climb and with newer 4k video. And I use it for CAD design for meshes for the 3D printer, but a simple Raspberry Pi runs the printer after the design is done. And I am considering building a RasPi slave to mount inside the laser to video stream as well as server as a remote USB port. But thats later down the line.

Maybe I am being dense or having a bad morning. I still don't get what bearing it has on the RDworks software versions? Could you clarify why you suggested a new laptop and what problems that could solve?

[Bill Carruthers]

Quote-So, is there a way to upgrade the files from LW6 to RD8 so they can be used or should I just deltree the source files and start over? Anyone have links to version differences/improvements?

Is there a better option than any of these three to run the laser.

And how does one upgrade the laser firmware (if need be)? The window reports "RDLC-V5.00.37" as the Mainboard version. Is there a newer version or should I even try? Also, any idea what the vendor password would be?[/QUOTE]

Hi Mike
There is an easily accessible RDWorks Community Support Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/groups/900528680076062 that has downloadable versions of all the RDworks versions -They are up to about 8.1.23 or so now.
Unfortunately version 8's will not open earlier versions RLD files but one can open those in the original and then "export" them (as an .ai file) which will open in any version - with the limitation that they will not have any .jpg or .bmp images saved with them. The password for rdworks is almost universally "rd8888"
Cheers
Bill

[Mike Audleman]

Thanks Bill. You are confirming what I was seeing that V8 wouldn't open all the files I had made with V6.

Frankly thats just stupid. But it is what it is. I am still unsure if I can actually used V8 with my current controller yet. I will have to make a layout and send it to the laser to see if it does anything with the file before I throw my chips in the V8 basket.

I am still trying to determine if its worth it to replace the controller with a newer one. Still digging into that to see what the differences are and what,if any, advantage I would gain by the expense.

[John Noell]

Frankly thats just stupid.
Yes, it does seem stupid, and actually I have found it is worse. In an attempt to read the old V6 files, I downloaded and installed 6.0.41. I then discovered that files created with 6.0.39 would not open. I finally found a copy of the old x.39 version and yes, that still opens the old files. When so many of my old files have jpgs or bmps, the "export" function is not that much help.

[Bill Carruthers]

Mike you can run multiple versions of RDworks on your computer separately - I use version 6 mostly on my small laser and V8 on my larger one- both running on same computer, sometimes at the same time - when saving I usually put a 6 or 8 in the file name so I know what program created the file and will re-open it. Yes the lack of backwards compatibility is a pain but at least with V8 they seem to have made it so all the various V8 versions will open (so far anyway)!?!
I don't seem to see any great leaps forward in the way the newer controller performs over the old one but maybe that's just my lack of awareness kicking in.

[John Lifer]

V8 past .18 are not compatible with earlier version..... At least that is what I've heard on the rdworkslab.com board. Several had downloaded and installed .21 and couldn't load .18 and .18 wouldn't load .21 files.. Kind of ..... Chinese? lack of a better term.

[Mike Audleman]

Been looking at the controllers. 6442G and 6442S are very similar. Looks like S can drive two heads. I only have 1 head. Any advantage to getting an S over a G?

Found an open box S model. Is it worth $80 more than a G model, especially given I have only one head and no likelihood of ever having a second?

[Frank barry]

Hi all just wondering what is the advantage of updating the controller as is I do all my work on the computer and use the controller to drive the machine ?

[Mike Audleman]

My reasoning for replacing my old 320 is that the old 320 is USB only. RIght now I am using a USB over ethernet adaptor. PITA. Second is that a couple of my membrane keys are starting to deteriorate. The Start/Pause and Enter are cracking. So failure is going to happen at some point. And third, the newer (v8) RDWorks is not fully compatible with my 320.

When adding the 3 up, its worth a weekend project to swap out the controller to gain the ethernet connection, to replace the keypad, and to gain compatibility with the latest software release.

I am in the same boat as you sounds like. I don't run the machine from the PC.

My PC is upstairs in my computer room. The laser is in the basement. I do NOT run the machine remotely. Its not safe. The USB connection is not always 100% and I am getting too old to run up and down 2 flights of stairs every time I need to reset the adapter.

[Mike Audleman]

Mike as I recall the keypad is a serial plug in, you can just replace that. Unless you want to just spend the $400 to update.

The keypad is but one aspect. $200 to replace the head (depending on where you order). For another $150, I can fix.... Lack of ethernet. Lack of v8 support (obviously no future in v6). Along with a nice color screen that has previews and ability to change layer settings all add up to it being worth ~$300 overall.

And, who knows, maybe I will figure out something to do with the old 320 :) I am sure some project will come along that needs and x/y controller.

[Mike Audleman]

Your old one has value, when I was working on my diode laser I would have been interested. Check out LightObject dot com, he is not as cheap as ordering direct from China but he does support what he sells and has updated software that is way ahead of the normal one.

Well, the LO-R5 looks similar to the 644x. The manual is names User_Manual_RDC644XG_V1.2.pdf (http://www.lightobject.info/download/manual/User_Manual_RDC644XG_V1.2.pdf). And the software manual shows the software is basically rdworks v8. I haven't used v8 extensively but I really don't see any obvious difference in what his manual shows and what I have seen on my copy of v8 downloaded from Ruida.

So whats the "way ahead" part?

I am not pickin on you. I honestly want to know whats different. Preferably before I order one from ebay :) From the PDF manual, it looks no different than V8.

[Mike Audleman]

He has a special or did have version for his customers and at one time I had it and was much better. But I will just not give suggestions anymore as you seem to already have all the answers.

Bill, thats not what I meant. I want to know what is the difference in the stock V8 and what LO distributes so I would know whether it was better to buy the controller from LO or go with the stock one from ebay.

Thats why I said..

I am not pickin on you. I honestly want to know whats different. Preferably before I order one from ebay :) From the PDF manual, it looks no different than V8.

I was afraid you would take the question the way I guess you did. I think it was a fair question. Whats the difference. Whats the way ahead part?

[John Lifer]

I've an 6442S model Drives two heads, and has the RTlink port that can connect to adapter to allow remote control. Other than that, I have no idea. I'd probably not pay extra for controller plus the remote unless you wanted it.
and I'm kind of hesitant on 'open' box. Esp from China...

[Doug Fisher]

>>and I'm kind of hesitant on 'open' box. Esp from China<<

Hey, if it is open box there is a chance more than one person actually looked inside to confirm it was the correct part! ;)

[Mike Audleman]

>>and I'm kind of hesitant on 'open' box. Esp from China<<

Hey, if it is open box there is a chance more than one person actually looked inside to confirm it was the correct part! ;)

Its an open box in the US :)