check door alarm?
Hi
I have been cutting fine on my laser for months and today I was working on a project and the laser stops at random intervals.
here is my console output
G1X110.3Y54.8
G1X109.57Y53.09
G1X108.79Y51.41
G1X107.97Y49.74
G1X107.11Y48.1
G1X106.21Y46.47
[MSG:Check Door
[MSG:Check Door
Door:2|MPos:134.682,26.554,0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000
Stream completed in 3:13
Port opened, waiting for response.
no idea where the Check door has come from.
mini GRBL controller
Hope someone can help
thanks
Hi,
Some power supplies are noisy and can cause intermittent behaviour. You can install a 1 microFarad non-electrolytic/non-polarised capacitor between the 5V and ground terminals at the power supply or set JP1 from 5vExt to 5vUSB. This usually helps with reducing and filtering excessive electrical noise.
Also move the Mini Gerbil away from the power mains wires to minimise any pickup of spikes on the mains.
Please let me know if this helps
Thanks Paul
Quote from Paul DeGroot on June 8, 2020, 9:35 amHi,
Some power supplies are noisy and can cause intermittent behaviour. You can install a 1 microFarad non-electrolytic/non-polarised capacitor between the 5V and ground terminals at the power supply or set JP1 from 5vExt to 5vUSB. This usually helps with reducing and filtering excessive electrical noise.
Also move the Mini Gerbil away from the power mains wires to minimise any pickup of spikes on the mains.
Please let me know if this helps
Thanks Paul
do you have anymore details on how to do the cap fix? Im not great at electronics but I can certainly use a soldering iron
Hi Rommel, the mini Gerbil does have noise suppressors on the board. The additional filtering can be done via adding a 1 uF cap between the +5V Dc and Gnd terminals at the Laser Power supply. So no soldering required when you have a power supply with screw terminals.
Non-polarised cap means that it does not matter which side goes to what terminal.
For more tech savvy people here is a great write up on low pass filters https://ecstudiosystems.com/discover/textbooks/lessons/AC/chapter8-2-low-pass-filters/
You could make one yourself with a coil and cap (cheap components) to filter out noise. Ideally you need a scope to see what frequency the noise is. It could be even feedback from the High Voltage generation part of the power supply (250-500Hz)!
Enjoy
has anyone done this?
the distuption to my laser is when i either turn on my lights or if i switch the compressor on
It would be better if someone could show me or send me some instructions. I know where the 5v lines on based on a wiring diagram but would have no idea how to install the Cap
Hi, the noise filter or cap (non-polarised 100 nF) can be connected between the screw terminals 5V and GND on the power supply. since it is non polarised, the leads can be swapped around.
Since the issue is triggered external (mains), it might be smart to add a net filter. Net filters have an input (two leads mains in) and an output (two leads out). The mains cord goes into the mains in on the filter and the mains out of the filter goes into the mains screw terminals on the power supply. You can cut the mains cord and add the filter in line (of course unplugged when you cut it, I'm sure anyone will undertand). Next thing to check is the earth (yellow green wire) on the mains supply input. If not earthed well e.g. older houses, then you get similar issues where current from the laser tube flows back via other earth paths and causing these intermittent issues. See https://awesometech1.wpengine.com/k40-laser-grounding-instructions/