Table of Contents

The Ruida controllers have built-in ethernet connectivity which allows control of the laser through a network cable. It's pretty simple to setup a WiFi to Ethernet bridge to allow accessing the laser wirelessly. This page will walk you through the steps.

Required Items

Hardware Setup

Start by connecting your WiFi to Ethernet adapter to the controller. You can either do this by plugging it into the ethernet port on the outside of the machine, or you may choose to unplug the ethernet cable from the controller and plug the WiFi to Ethernet adapter directly into the controller. This would allow you to keep the wires and network adapter inside the machine case for a cleaner setup. If you choose to put the adapter inside the machine, you will need to find a way to power it. This can be done by wiring into the 5V on the low voltage power supply, or wiring a transformer into the main power coming into the machine. If you have an adapter that can be powered by USB, you might also choose to wire in a USB hub and connect your network adapter to that. A USB hub also has the added benefit of allowing you to connect other USB devices like a camera. For more information, see the USB Hub modification.

Network Setup

Configure your network adapter per the manual. You will want to choose a static IP address for the ethernet device (the laser cutter). This might be something like 192.168.0.200.

Laser Cutter Setup

You will need to set the IP address on the laser cutter itself. To do this on a Ruida controller, Press Esc a couple of times to exit any menus. Then press Z/U and navigate to IP config+. Press Enter to change the IP configuration. Use the arrow buttons to change the values and Z/U to move between values. When finished, press Enter.

You will want to put in the static IP address that you configured earlier.

Software Setup

Now that the network adapter is installed and configured and the machine is configured to use the network, the last step is to tell the laser control software to use the network connection.

In LightBurn, click Devices and choose Create Manually. I suggest naming this the same as your USB connection but with (Networked) or (WiFi) or something to that effect at the end. Next, select Ruida for the type of controller, and Ehternet/UDP for the connection type. Enter the IP address that was configured in your WiFi to Ethernet adapter and on the machine. Follow the remaining prompts to enter your machine dimensions. After configuration, you will be able to select the new device with the networked connection. To test the connection, try jogging the laser head.

In RDWorks, in the Device panel, click Setting. Now choose Add. Give it a name. There is no need to append (WiFi) since RDWorks will display the IP Address next to the name automatically. Under Web, enter the IP address you previously configured. Click Test to test the connection. Then click OK. You will now be able to choose the connection in the Device panel.