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Ruida has been a market leader in production of controllers for CO2 lasers for many years. They have always followed and set trends, constantly moving the laser industry forward, making machine usage more convenient each time. The company recently released a major update to its main laser controller, RDC6445G. 

In this article: 

1. What’s new with Ruida? 
2. Is a new round of development of industry waiting for us?

Is a laser controller a necessary component?

Which controller is in the machine is an important question. A controller is a component through which a human and machine communicate. For this reason, user-friendliness, functionality and visual design are the main qualities.

Ruida laser controllers have always met these requirements from the very beginning of their operations in 2008. Since that time, almost the entire laser machine industry has followed the practice of using their controllers, and now it can be hard to find anyone who hasn’t heard about Ruida.

All this is achieved thanks to reliable operation, constant software updates and development.

What did Ruida  come up with this time? Let’s look into it in more detail.

Ruida RDC8445s

The RDC8445S is the latest generation of laser engraving and cutting control system developed by Ruida Technology. This update isn’t minor at all and includes many different functional innovations:

• Improved movement control abilities that support up to 4 servo/stepper motor controls.
• Increased memory storage: it used to be 128 MB, now you can store 8 GB.
• Wireless communications. Data transfer is now available through Wi-Fi.
• Control process with an app on your phone.
• IoT support.

As you can see, there are many innovations and they are all complex. Wattsan got the update first, so now we suggest dealing with each one individually. 

Extended memory

Previously, laser engraving controllers had a memory capacity of only 128 MB. The development of OS and rising complexity of projects has led to a need for more memory. And now Ruida RDC8445s has extended memory for 8 GB. Now you can store up to 1200 cutting programs in the controller’s memory! The new system also supports up to 16 characters in file names. This makes working with them much more convenient.

Wi-fi support

Lasers with the new Ruida laser controller now have a Wi-Fi module. It will be possible to connect the machine to a phone or a computer and send files for processing to it. It’s also possible to control CO2 remotely via Wi-Fi. 

Mantisolo app

Along with a new machine controller, Ruida has released a smartphone app — Mantisolo! Now you can use it to:

• Uploading an image from your phone.
• Drawing sketches with your finger, and the laser will engrave it.
• Image editing in the program.
• Taking a photo directly from an app and the picture will be immediately available for processing by the machine.
• Remote monitoring in real time.

The appearance of such an application means only one thing—it has become much more convenient to use the machine! Now literally anyone can start cutting with CO2, and for this you don’t need to learn a lot of complicated things—the app made the process even easier. With the application, the potential audience has expanded significantly and this is moving the industry forward! 

IoT

What is IoT? Literally, IoT stands for Internet of things. This is a trend that many manufacturers are following now. And although you might not have heard the term before, you could see the manifestation of IoT in many things! 

• GPS tags on the bodies of animals.
• A dog bowl with a wi-fi module that gives dog tasks and rewards him with food for correct answers.
• A solar-powered trash can that seals trash itself and signals wipers when it’s full.
• Smart sensors and water meters in the infrastructure of Sao Paulo, Beijing and Doha have reduced leaks and costs by 50%.

These are all examples of IoT—all these things have access to the Internet and are connected by one network. This principle forms the basis of IoT, or 4th industrial revolution!

Now, machines with Ruida laser controllers also support this technology and they can be combined into one network. 

Let’s summarize

There is no doubt that this update is something more than a minor upgrade. Adding a smartphone app is an interesting turn in industry, because now the machines have become even more approachable. Also, lasers are becoming IoT participants. All these innovations aren’t aimed at making this work accessible to everyone. Of course, someday the audience will understand that CNC machines aren’t as scary and difficult as they think, but this will happen over time. First of all, this is an update for those who already have lasers in order to make their work much more efficient. 

Machine efficiency is a key indicator, and Ruida has once again proved that there is a lot to strive for and there is much to improve. We are waiting for new updates from them. And of course, a new controller is already in Wattsan machines!