The Benefits of a Digital Laser Module - Prophotonix

A digitally controlled laser offers functionality advantageous for your application versus an analog laser module. This post details the benefits of using a digital laser module including control and monitoring functionality as well as highlighting the ease of using a digital interface

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There are various methods to operating a laser module; from simple application of power (on/off) to achieve the required output, to utilizing a digital interface to operate and observe laser operation.

The choice you make for the laser module depends on the application in which it is being used, and what level of control and monitoring you require. Cost is also a consideration.

If your application requires enhanced control and monitoring functionality, then utilizing a digital interface is essential. The PROdigii laser module does this for you, offering control and monitoring of multiple aspects via an interface that is easily incorporated into your overall system.

Why Would You Want to Control and Monitor Via a Digital Interface?

Typically, systems requiring the use of a laser module component will also incorporate other elements communicating via a digital interface. Having a common interface through which a single control system can operate these modules is a distinct advantage, keeping the design as concise as possible.

Should a failure occur in the laser module, a fast diagnosis of the problem is essential to ensure a timely repair can be performed to get the system running.  Data from the laser module will alert the user/operator, in the graphical user interface, of the failure mode [see the PROdigii Digital Interface image below] allowing a fast resolution.  In addition, data from the laser module confirms its operation is within your specified limits and indicates when preventative maintenance activities should be scheduled rather than relying on reactive repair.

In comparison, achieving an enhanced set of operational information via non-digital interface is simply not practical.

Digital Laser Module Features

PROdigii incorporates an industry standard RS485 serial interface offering control functionality as well as a series of fault indications and analog operational values that can be used for monitoring purposes.

The digital laser can be configured to operate in a wide variety of operational modes in a range of optical configurations. Some items of available information are specific to certain configurations of operation.

Operational information is available on a polled basis. Commands can be pushed as required.

Also available is information about the laser module itself: Part and serial number, revision, and build date, etc, all of which allows quick identification of the component within your system.

Control commands include:

Control Description On To transition the module into the Optical output on state. Off To transition the module into the Ready state. Output power control To set the required optical output power. Operation mode (ACC) To set the module to operate in the constant current (ACC) mode. Operation mode (APC) To set the module to operate in the constant power (APC) mode. Set user defined identification To set the user defined identification within the laser module.

Fault and operational information include:

Control Description Laser diode current Returns the current laser diode current Photo diode current Returns the current photo diode current Laser diode temperature Returns the current laser diode temperature General module temperature Returns the current general module temperature Input voltage Returns the current input voltage Laser diode supply voltage Returns the current laser diode supply voltage Optical output power – Average Returns the current optical output power – Average Optical output power – Peak Returns the current optical output power – Peak Modulation duty Returns the current modulation duty Modulation frequency Returns the current modulation frequency Modulation pulse length Returns the current modulation pulse length Hours count Returns the current hours count Laser diode slope efficiency Returns the current laser diode slope efficiency Output energy count Returns the current output energy count

What is Involved in Using a Digital Interface?

Simple really – First establish a connection between your chosen controller and the laser module. This can take the form of a simple USB to RS485 . Our engineers can recommend a suitable type.

After establishing the necessary connection interface, ProPhotonix offers an initial start-up Laser Control application that can be quickly used to start operating the module within your system. If more than one laser is being used, each can be individually addressed.

The Laser Control software gives the user full access to the available functionality.  Commands sent between our Laser Control software and the laser module are available for integration into your own bespoke software as part of your overall system.

What does the PROdigii Digital Laser Module offer?

Aside from the many optical configurations available in the PROdigii digital laser, the common digital interface allows flexibility for the laser module to be optimized for your application. The laser module features a configuration file setup on installation and can be configured to your specific application.

Configuration allows laser operation to be maintained within safe operating regions to ensure long laser life. It also sets the levels at which the various fault indications will occur. All this information is internally stored in non-volatile memory.

ProPhotonix has specialists to advise on the operation of the digital laser interface and how to best utilize the available information. For more information, contact us at

ProPhotonix is a leading designer and manufacturer of Laser Diodes, Laser Modules, UV LED Curing Systems, LED Products, and UVC LED Disinfection Systems. Contact us for free expert advice on selecting the optimal solution for your system.

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So, I know you all love it when I change the laser software, right?

I’ve installed a new laser control program called LightBurn on both of the laser computers. I’ve tested it out a bit and quite like it so far. It is fairly similar to RDWorks, much easier to use than LaserWeb, and can be used with either laser. We need to do some more testing, and put together some instructions (@kim, you love doing that, right?). RDWorks and LaserWeb are both still installed, so you can keep using them as well. In the long run, if LightBurn works out well we will probably want phase out the other 2 to avoid confusion.

So, if you want to jump on learning the new software let us know. We need some guinea pigs for testing. If you have a file that never worked right in LaserWeb it would be a good test to see how well LightBurn handles it.

Overall I think this will be a very positive change for the usability of our laser cutters. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, etc. leave a comment below.

Here is a quick summary of pros and cons for this software.

PRO:

• Cool features
  • Move the head by clicking a point on the bed
  • Configurable Material library
  • Camera support so you can line up your design on your workpiece more easily and do other cool things
• Supports both of the controllers that we currently have
• Supports Windows, Mac, Linux
• Imports many file types: AI, PDF, SVG, DXF, PLT, PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP
  • It also loads files much faster than LaserWeb
• Easy to use interface (In real English!)
• Good documentation
• Large, active userbase
  • They have a great support forum (which may look a bit familiar)
• Responsive developers

CON:

• Costs money
  • Users have to pay for a license if they want to use it on their own machine, but we have a discount code so members can purchase the software for $20 instead of $80
• Limited customization

Everyone hates change, but I REALLY hate laser web, so this might cancel out.

Here are the things I most hate about laser web, are they fixed in lightburn?

1. Teeny-tiny button text
2. No good defaults, so every time we engrave we have to set the beam width, overscan, burn white off
3. Hitting “generate gcode” and waiting a very very long time (sometimes indefinitely) for it to execute a complicated design
4. Dropped connections and odd software bugs that require re-connecting and hoping for the best

There’s not really anything I hate about RDWorks, so I guess I want to ask what’s keeping us from just converting the red laser to use RDworks, is it an issue of having to buy another controller? Well… it’s annoying that you have to convert svg to dxf for rdworks, but that’s not so painful, other than that I like rdworks a lot.

Button text looks fine to me. The only things in the LightBurn UI so far that seem a bit too small to me are the toggle switches.

LightBurn has a preferences file that can be modified to change the defaults. It also has a material library where we could set up defaults for different materials.

Everything I’ve tried so far has loaded and run quickly, and I did try a couple complex designs. I’d like to gather a number of files that completely suck in LaserWeb and see how they do in LightBurn.

I’m pretty sure the issue where Mario disconnects and won’t reconnect without unplugging and plugging the usb multiple times is an issue with the control board rather than LaserWeb, in which case this software won’t fix it. However, while I was testing I did not have any connection issues.

There are a number of advantages to using LightBurn on both lasers instead of swapping to RDWorks on Mario:

• This gives us the ability to transition more gracefully; users won’t have to immediately switch software, they can spend some time getting used to it.
• We won’t have to immediately replace the controller in Mario. While we will most likely end up replacing it with same controller as is in Luigi, I’m curious to see how much better Mario runs just with better software. In the testing I’ve done it moved and cut much smoother.
• Based on using both RDWorks and LightBurn (and also reading what other users have written) LightBurn is a much better piece of software. The only advantage that RDWorks has is that it is free.
• LightBurn is very actively devoloped, and the developers respond to bug reports and feature requests. With RDWorks we’re pretty much stuck with whatever issues it has.

You should really try it out and see what you think. It is installed on both laser computers. You can also download the software and use it as a free trial for 30 days if you want to explore the interface and test file loading at home.

I am ALL FOR a common piece of software for both lasers. I learned on Luigi and use Illustrator at home for my designs. It’s been very frustrating and cumbersome to get my files to work right with Mario and there’s times when I just give up on it and wait for Luigi to become available.

But apart from my personal experience, a common workflow for both machines just makes good sense. I think both lasers would end up getting used more often and more efficiently. In that regard, it doesn’t matter to me whether the common platform is lightburn or RDworks but it sounds like lightburn would be worth the investment. I can’t wait to try it out. Thanks so much for pursuing this!

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