Need help. Swapped over to a smoothie on a DIY XY gantry type engraving machine.
Upgraded to 6w LD and separateLD driver board. 12vdc for power and 5vdc to open LD driver gate. Can get smoothie to fire the LD, but can’t get voltage above 3.3vdc, robbing me of full power. Flashed the f/w, set config power to full, no change. Any thing I’m missing? Sure would appreciate the help.
Mike in Japan
You need a logic level shifter that steps up to the voltage the diode driver runs at (5v?)
Here is a link to what you need… TXB0104 Breakout - Bidirectional Voltage Level Translator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FGD7ZZ4/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_5NGVxb1CF3VX9
if you need a fixed 5v (not pwm) you can set the pin to open collector with a pullup to 5v check the smoothie wiki in the CNC section for details… FWIW all arm chip based controllers are 3.3v.
@Wolfmanjm Did you get the Laser Diode we got for you working with smoothie? I ask because I have one almost the same.
It worked but was either on or off and no PWM. I had to completely tear it down to use the driver that has the PWM/TTL signal, but blew the laser diode in the process, I have a replacement laser diode coming on Saturday, so hope to have to back together soon. The driver that is embedded in the unit is not very good unless you don’t mind on or off.
What @Wolfmanjm explained is essentially identical to how the level shifter circuit works, you would wire a 10k resistor from 5v to the pin (or a MOSFET output) and connect your wire there as well. This is how we pwm the pin to replace the potentiometer on a k40.
Gentlemen, thanks for the answers. I wasn’t aware that it was logic level output. Already have the bidirectional level shifters on hand, so I will give those a shot, and report back to you. My setup is the cheapo 650x500 diy xy. Swapped to the 6w LD, plus the driver. Per instructions, removed the resistor and capacitor, soldered on gate wire, and connected to spindle dir. pin on grbl board on top of Uno. NOW WE’RE COOKIN! But, hated the loose wiring on the machine, that lead to drag chains, then to nema 17’s, and the smoothie board. I love the idea of proportional pwm, and if I slow the feed rate to,! , 5mm, it will mark paint and engrave wood (somewhat) . Reading everything here, I think I’ll try the level shifters first. I adjusted all the configuration file, but don’t even understand what “open drain pin” is. Not really that stupid, just haven’t read the full version of the book yet…
Thanks guys, I’ll let you know and attach some pictures.
Mike in Japan