Help and guidance needed

[john eolbro]

Hello there , my first and hopefully not last post on here . I found you through a friends wife who recommended the site as he was a frequent visitor , Walt langhans was the fellows name
and he since passed away and i bought his business , its been a interesting road so far. I am using Corel Draw and RDWorks V8 , I have two CNC machines with industrial coolers . I am trying (in vain) to get at least one machine up and running . I converted the files to the supported format , saved them onto a new USB stick and the computer tells me there is a communication error when i use the USB cable when i insert the USB stick and search for files (on the CNC cutter) it tells me there are no files .
I hope the hive mind can help

[Jim Becker]

Welcome to SMC You really need to provide a lot more details about the specific machines...make, model, size, age if you know, controller type/brand, etc., for folks to be able to help you. Different CNC machines have different arrangements and requirements. There are complexities relative to software, too, because what you design/draw has to be converted to code that the machine can follow and how that gets smassaged (post processor) and then sent to the machine can be different across makes/models, etc.

[Bill George]

Yup he lost me to Jim. I am assuming he is using the computers that came with the machines or is he trying to copy the programs via a USB to a new one??

[Jim Becker]

Yup he lost me to Jim. I am assuming he is using the computers that came with the machines or is he trying to copy the programs via a USB to a new one??

Assumptions don't work. When John provide more details, we can try and help as best as possible.

[john eolbro]

Hello there i am using
G460 80 W RECI CNC cutter
CW500 industrial chiller
extractor system
compressor to blow away dust/particles
CorelDraw
RDWorks V8
Computer windows 10 300hz

Alrighty then managed to convert the files into the appropriate format , got it downloaded to RDWorks , now comes the problems .....
there are two USB ports on the printer one is for a USB micro hard drive (U Disk) and the other a standard USB
When i insert a new USB stick with the files on and i press the file button on the CNC-it reports no files found
When i use a USB cable and i press Laser Work start on the computer ... it thinks a bit and then tells me theres a communication problem.

[Bill George]

The files on the U disk need to be in a certain format to be recognized and needs to be plugged into the U disk port.

Why is Laserworks Involved in the CNC Machine?? So you have a Laser? The Laserworks program, needs to recognize the laser machine on a COM port, that might be an issue on some computers and OS, OR you have a bad USB cable not UN-heard of. Oh and your Windows 10 computer needs to be setup so none of the USB ports go to sleep neither does the computer power save.

Not sure where RD Works comes into the picture. Design in Corel Draw save in the Format you need and Import into Laserworks. It creates the file for the machine using your inputs on Power, Speed and Etc. From that point after Saving that file to your HD, it can then be uploaded via USB cable to your machine or Saved to the USB U stick, and transferred that way to the machine.

Yes and you will need to power your computer up and leave it on sawmill creek Forum as checking it every 24 hours is not going to get fast answers. Jim will have a more complete answer for you.

[Jim Becker]

I honestly can't help here...not at all familiar with that system.

[john eolbro]

Hello Bill , thanks for the reply
Im not using laserworks , im using RDWorksV8- however i will try laserworks .
I have a new USB cable which im trying out tonight- yes i had thought of that.
Im sorry i wasnt around i was working my p/t job -sorry to have offended you .

[Kev Williams]

John, your machine, while "technically" is a "CNC" (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine, the CNC moniker is usually used to describe motor-driven rotary tool machines, while your G460 (GWeike?) 80w RECI (the power/brand of laser tube installed) is more affectionally known simply as a "laser" (or laser cutter, C02-laser, etc)...

that out of the way ( ) -- you state you've 'converted the files to the supported format'- how did you do the conversion? I don't know much about RDworks, but I know it's similar to the LaserSoft program I use, in that there should be a plug-in installed in Corel that will allow you do directly transfer the engraving file from Corel to RDworks.

this screenshot, the red arrow points to the plug-in button,
once I click that--
PI.jpg

it opens my LaserSoft program and now the job
is there, where I set the power & speed settings, etc...
PI2.jpg
Note the red arrow, it's pointing to the "Saved is UD" button;
in my program this is the only way to convert to the files and add them to a flash-drive
to plug into the machine-- which is why I'm asking how you converted your files

Kinda late so more later, hopefully someone with some RDworks knowledge will jump in...

[john eolbro]

Hello Kev , thankyou for the reply .
Ok i have the files in a format in which RDworks understands them (apparently) , now i had the laser running this morning and it was kind of a success , it cut out really really small .
now as to CorelDraw at the moment i only have the free trial version -a bit tapped after buying the business .
Im sitting here now playing around with it and writing replies to the Forum.
Many thanks
John

[John Lifer]

Yes, you need a full version to use the RDworks plugin. A lot of folks are using Lightburn as alternative to RDworks/coreldraw. If you aren't good at coreldraw, Lightburn is only like $80 last time I checked.
Might be worth it to download and try it. That at least would eliminate the need to save/convert and import into rdworks.

[Jerome Stanek]

If it cut out really small You may be using inch instead of MM RDworks is set to use Metric.

[john eolbro]

Hi there,
sizing problem sorted , and file language taken care of . the files are now downloading to the cutter. the issue i now have is the laser not cutting through the mdf 4.5mm . I haver this little piece of wood which says focus stick , im going to assume this gauges the height of the laser and you put it beneath the laser nozzle .