SYNRAD® 32-1 Operator’s Manual Version 2.2
40
User I/O Connections
Technical Reference
32-1 lasers are designed to operate at PWM signal base frequencies up to 20 kHz; however,
the choice of PWM frequency depends on the user’s specic application. In the majority of
laser applications, the UC-2000’s default PWM signal frequency of 5 kHz has proven to work
well. When considering PWM frequencies at 5 kHz or below, please review Marking/engraving
operation later in this chapter.
For high-speed motion applications that cannot tolerate any ripple in the optical beam re-
sponse but still need adjustable power levels, we recommend the use of higher PWM frequen-
cies, up to 20 kHz maximum. At 20 kHz, the laser’s optical beam response no longer follows
the PWM input and is very nearly a DC value with just a small amount of ripple present.
PWM signal
The modulated PWM signal applied to 32-1 lasers has three parameters: signal amplitude,
base frequency, and PWM duty cycle. By changing these parameters, you can command the
beam to perform a variety of marking, cutting, welding, or drilling operations.
The rst PWM signal parameter, signal amplitude, is either logic low—corresponding to laser
beam o, or logic high—corresponding to beam on. The laser o voltage, typically 0 V, can
range from 0.0 V to +0.5 VDC while the laser on voltage, typically 5 V, can range from +3.5 V to
10.0 VDC.
Base frequency, the second parameter, is the rate at which the amplitude is switched between
its low and high logic states. The standard base frequency is 5 kHz, which has a period of 200
µs. Maximum PWM frequency is 20 kHz.
The third PWM signal parameter, PWM duty cycle, is the percentage of the period that the
PWM signal is high. If the PWM signal’s amplitude (at 5 kHz) is high for 100 µs and low for 100
µs, it has a 50% duty cycle; if the amplitude is high for 190 µs and low for 10 µs, it has a 95%
duty cycle. The following gure illustrates PWM signal parameters while the following table
lists PWM signal specications.
Serious
personal
injury
Always use shielded cable when connecting your PWM signal
source to the laser’s PWM connections.
In electrically-noisy environments, long lengths of unshielded
wire act like an antenna and may generate enough voltage to
trigger uncommanded lasing.
Warning
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