LaserCAD and AWC708C Lite Controller issues.
Hi Everyone!
I have recently taken over my late father's (most of you will know him as Rodne Gold on the forum) business after he sadly passed on in 2018.
I have found many of his threads and comments and this forum has been so helpful in teaching me all about the business and machinery!
We recently bought a new Ketai-1390 CO2 laser with a 150W Tube 2nd hand, which works on an AWC708C Lite Controller.
The AWC708C Lite only works with LaserCAD (I do know of Lightburn as well that is also compatible but of course you need Windows 7 operating system or newer, and we still use an old XP, so that option is out), we are used to working with RDWorks and LaserWorks, but the LaserCAD software is proving to be a bit difficult.
The problem is that when we try to cut a perfect circle, or any other shape that has continuous arcs, the laser head seems to be missing some steps as it comes around. Circles are skewed in the position of 2 and 8 on the clock, and when started at a different point, will invert and the missing steps show on 10 and 4 on the clock (If that makes sense?). We have tried all the mechanical steps to make sure all belts, and couplings are tight enough, nothing seems to be slipping and all other screws have been checked. I tried changing the stepper drivers as well, but still no difference. We have tried messing around with LaserCAD settings and parameters as well as on the laser itself, I have tried adjusting the Speed Acc, Cut Acc, Speed Jerk, Cut Jerk, Cutting speeds, UM/Pulses for each axis, changing the pulse edge from falling edge to raising edge, and still no luck. I even spiked the numbers to see if I could get a defined change but nothing! Squares cut perfectly fine, X and Y axis have no problems there, but as soon as they have to work in tandem, there are always the same two points that miss steps, I assume it is the Y axis, but because of the position of the missed steps not being directly at 12 and 6 o'clock and not at 3 and 9 o'clock, I can't see how it could be only one of the axis.
We also tried cutting the circle in quarters, this is the only way we can get smooth curves throughout, but we need to be able to cut curves without having to re-do artwork. I am not sure whether this could be a software issue, or maybe even a controller issue? But I am starting to run out of options. When we import artwork from Corel, we save it as DXF , which seems to work better than AI files, but PLT files don't even show up on LaserCAD. I also noticed on the software itsel;f as well as on the controller monitor, the files look strange, they look jagged and not nearly as clear as in corel or on LaserWorks. I can't even figure out how to do a hairline engrave on LaserCAD, and I have heard that if you just want an outline engrave, you need to basically create a contour and set that as the engraving path, which seems quite time consuming and makes for more work in design.
We are now thinking of trying to rewire/replace the AWC708C Lite controller with a spare Rudia Controller and panel. (luckily my dad bought spares!) Our only concern with doing this is that it won't fix the problem, and that we might cause even more issues. I am at a loss as to where to go from here, so if anybody has experienced this kind of problem before, and can give me some advice, I would be so grateful!
Thanks Everyone!
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