Issue Configuring Blue 7w Laser with Chinese 5 Axis BOB

Hey,

I've searched high and low for an answer to this but have become completely stuck. I set up a CNC in LinuxCNC using Stepconf earlier this year. It was simple and I had very few issues, because of this I have no real experience editing HAL and INI files. I have since been running the machine absolutely fine. I now want to add a laser to the machine (I am aware that there are limitations), but am having no luck at all. I have the standard 5 axis Chinese breakout board with the blue relay. I have connected the laser to the 10v + and - outputs which are usually used for analog spindle speed control. There is no pin number given to these pinouts so I'm not sure where to tell LinuxCNC to send speed control information. On this board pin 1 is used for PWM so I have tried setting speed control to pin 1 (hoping that by magic the board would know what to do), the machine shows me a spindle speed window and the speed bar moves up and down but the output at these pins sits around 1.5V. I have 24V and USB power powering the board. Because of my lack of experience with HAL configuring every time I read something that might help I try it and then immediately delete it because when I open LinuxCNC I get an error. My main concern is getting a controlled output of 0-10V from these pins, although any laser help is welcomed.

I have attached my HAL and INI files.

Thanks!

Try this thread...:

Chinese BOB spindle out

Can you post the manual for the BOB?

The only manual I have is one of the photos (attached) and in the eBay listing description;

1, fully support of MACH3 and other computer software support for parallel port control.

2, USB power supply and peripherals powered phase separation to protect computer security.

3, peripheral wide voltage input,12-24V, and anti-reverse function.

4, all of the input signal, all the light lotus isolated, which can be accessed emergency stop on the knife, the limit to protect computer security.

5, all the way to the relay output port, control spindle switch. Output port P17 mouth.

6, all the way through the optocoupler isolated 0-10V analog voltage output can be controlled with the corresponding analog interface converter to control the spindle speed. Output port P1 port.

7, open all 17 ports, which can be accessed with the optocoupler drive, 5-axis stepper motor can be controlled.

8, P1 as PWM outputs can be controlled with optocoupler input spindle governor.

9, can be accessed by a common cathode or common anode input level to 5V drive.


Having read it I now know that P1 is the output that will make 0-10V work.

I followed the link you shared and found that I think I needed to invert my pin. Once I did that I noticed that when the spindle is set to 1.0 speed it has 0V and then anything from 101.0 to 3000.0 has 1.4V. I’m not sure if I need to edit a range or something in order to achieve a higher voltage?