I configed the LR3 with a SKR 3 EZ board. Marlin 2.1.x bugfix
Everything is working except the attached lasermodule NEJE 40640. (tested in test mode, works fully!) and after that did exactly how NEJE described how to attach to the laser. It has a external power supply 12V 6A (to save some amps on the LR3) and connected the ttl/ground with a dual wire to the board. Connected on the SKR 3 EZ like the laser pinout in pins are directed, to PB5 for PWM and PB6 for laser/spindle enable. The SKR 3 EZ had 3 PWM / CNC pinouts with 5/12 or 24V output. I have a BTT dc module to get a 0-5V signal output.
So everything should work right?
THE PROBLEM!
When I power up everything the laser fires up (lightly) it isn’t burning anything at al. But it shouldn’t fire at al!
Oke little extra I tested with a multimeter what would happen I use the port. It has a 100mV output from the start. Could this be the problem? When firing up the laser output to 50% and 100% I get the 3V and 5V out of it. So this looks fine. What now?
If you have not already purchased the board, seriously consider getting one that has pre-made firmware already.
If you are familiar with customizing Marlin already, by all means, do so, but many people come on and just assume they can use whatever board, and “a few tweaks” will get them running, and it turns into a big deal.
Some people have customized firmware for different boards. I run Duet boards on my Primo and LowRider CNCs for example, but that was something that I could do for myself. Other people have used my custom work, and others yet have done it for themselves.
As such, an SKR Pro v1.2 is recommendable. A Jackpot board is also an excellent choice, as it is very much suited to working with V1 machines. Both have pre-configured firmware that will “just work” for most use cases. Either will manage a spindle or diode laser easily.
Thanks for your answer. I understand the complexity of rebuilding an application on top of a different platform (I am a software engineer by trade and had to explain why time is needed to “just” switch to a different database engine or application framework). I will have to go that route though as Santa got me an skr 3 ez I should not go to electronics store with family…
I have just finished the printing and haven’t sourced the hw yet, so it will be weeks before I try my best at customizing the firmware. In the meantime, could you share your source files, so that I can diff them with the standard Marlin? Would be a good starting point. I was planning on making a diff between marlin base and a V1 firmware, but as you already got an skr3 running, it would be a better starting point.
If you’re an SWE, you will like the MarlinBuilder releases. It is a bash script to configure each version from vanilla Marlin. The release zips have the .git folder, so you can do the comparison. Or you can edit the scripts and make an SKR3 version. The scripts are run in github actions daily and on PRs. We were chasing our tails trying to make sure the different releases were made correctly, and now they are just built for us. The tradeoff is that we made a new standard for configuration, and now you have to be able to write bash and use git to edit them.
Thanks for the tip, I think I will get to that in Feb, expect a lot of questions around that time
I’m more of a ksh/cvs guy, but I am just showing my old age here…
I have had a big home movement last months so didnt do anything with the machine for that time. I do have the Marlin config I made for the machine with the SKR EZ somewhere on my computer. Will look for up for them after Christmas holidays for you!
Thank you very much, I’m sure it will speed up my work! Happy holidays in the meantime!
I don’t know if the drivers installed on the board change the firmware config, I will get some “classical 2209” (not the EZ version). That’s in case I end up moving to another board, like the pro 1.2
Were you using those?
