Upgrading Monport Reno to Use a Ruida Controller

I really like the Monport Reno 45 Pro, but I couldn’t get around the rotary problems and framing wonkiness with its Topwisdom TL-A1 controller. So, I replaced it with a new Ruida. The brand new controller (Ruida RDC8445S) also offers some bonuses (1 gig storage, wi-fi, Ethernet) that the TL-A1 did not have.

Don't be daunted by the length of this guide. It's actually quite easy to do and I doubt you'd run into any trouble. It simply takes some time (about three hours) and the majority of that is just cutting, stripping, and soldering wires together. You can probably save some time by running all new wires directly from the drivers.

Supplies

Materials

Ruida Controller

I got the 8445S for around $300 on eBay, but you can also get it on Amazon or AliExpress. Other Ruidas install the same way as this one, more or less. I also installed the 6432G before deciding I wanted the additional axes of the higher end one to experiment with.

Colored wires - 18 gauge

For example, I ordered this set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWH69X3H

You can use a single color, but it will make your life harder.

Shrink tubing - 1/8" or 3mm

I used this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0919GN3SX

Or you can use electrical tape, but…yuck.

Tools

Allen wrenches of various small sizes

Wire strippers

Tiny flathead screwdriver

Soldering iron

Solder

Heat gun (optional)

Step 1: Take It Apart

1. Remove the acrylic panel that the Topwisdom controller sits in. You’ll need two different sizes of Allen wrenches for this. Pop the acrylic panel off. It’s taped down toward the rear, so carefully peel it up until it’s free.
2. Cut two zip ties holding the bundles of wires in place. You need some maneuverability.
3. Remove the back from the TL-A1 controller using an Allen wrench. Disconnect the USB cable and remove the controller from the acrylic panel.
4. Remove the top and bottom side panels from the right hand side of the machine using an Allen wrench. When you reassemble, remember that the longer bolts are for joining the front panel to the two black side panels. Don’t forget the goddamned tiny bolts holding the lower panels on the underside of the machine. They’re a pain to get back on later.

Step 2: Transferring Connections

5. A big thank you to Monport for labeling all the wires so nicely. That makes rewiring a breeze. You can do the rest of this project several different ways (rewire all the way to the drivers, skip the intermediate block wiring, et cetera), but I’ll describe the extra-conservative method I took.

6. Look at the back of the Ruida mainboard module and you’ll see a diagram for every port describing each wire to connect. Grab the right sized green connector that came with the Ruida and transfer the wires from the corresponding connections on the TL-A1 to this new green connector. Most of the connection blocks on the Topwisdom controller correspond fairly closely to those on the Ruida. Take your time and you shouldn’t have any trouble deciphering where each wire goes. The only one I had to chew on for a minute is the door close sensor, labeled “IntLock” on the Ruida and “Door_Sw” on the Topwisdom. You will not use several blocks on the Ruida at all. You will not need to add any extra wires at all for this project, but you will need to lengthen all of them.

7. At this point I tried to see if I could stuff the Ruida mainboard in the lower compartment on the right-hand side of the machine. You could probably do that if you wanted to remove some plastic and stuff it in there at an angle, but I did not like that approach, so I decided to put it on the left side of the machine in the largely empty lower compartment. Note that on both lower compartment panels, you can pull off a black sticker to reveal a place to mount your new USB and Ethernet ports. I wanted mine to go out the back of my machine, however, so I did not use these. Someday I will get out the drill and make mounts for them on the back side. For now, I just ran the USB cable out through a hole in the read that was covered by a sticker. Ghetto, but I’ll correct at a later date.

Step 3: Splice of Life

8. You now need to lengthen every wire so it will reach the far side of the machine where you are going to stash the Ruida mainboard. Be sure to give yourself enough slack in the wires so that you can assemble the wires and mainboard outside of the compartment. Measure off a wire that will comfortably reach from the end of the existing wires to the far side. Use this wire as your template to cut the rest. Some of the existing wires are shorter than the rest, so either cut the extensions for those wires a bit longer or just cut everything to the longer length. Count the number of wires you need of each color, total, and cut that number from their respective colors. Start assembling bundles of wires for each green connection block. For example, for the limit switch block, grab a green, yellow, and black wire (because the blue and white wires are actually both wired together as ground, and black is the conventional color for ground wire). You can figure out some way to label these bundles if you’d like. I just used a Dymo label maker and stuck a label around each bundle indicating the name of the block it was to plug into on the Ruida—CN4, in this case.

9. Slide on a 1.5-2” piece of shrink tubing onto each wire if you are using it.

10. Strip 3/8” from both ends of every wire you just cut. The Irwin Vise-Grip wire stripper is a dream come true for this. If you don’t have one, it’s well-worth the $20. Treat yourself.

11. Tin the tips of every wire on both ends. If you’re new to soldering, I’m sure there are plenty of intro Youtube videos. It’s easy and fun and you’ll love it.

12. Do the next steps one connector at a time! Pick one of the green Ruida blocks you have all the original wires screwed into. One-by-one, unscrew a single wire from the green connector and replace it with the corresponding-colored wire from the wire bundle you made for this particular block. Screw it in. This ensures that you don’t jack up the wire order and the connectors are ready to go later. You should have one green block attached to one bundle of new wires you cut and tinned.

13. Using Helping Hands or a friend, solder the lead from an original wire to the free end of the same colored new wire on the block you’re working on. Do the same for the remaining wires on this block. Slide the shrink tubing pieces you already put on the wires (you didn’t forget, did you?) over the solder junctions and use a heat gun (or carefully rub the barrel (not the tip!) of the hot soldering iron over it) to shrink the tubing. You can use electrical tape instead, but that stuff gets sticky and gross over time and I hate it. You now have a green block that is wired all the way from the right-hand side of the machine and can reach the new Ruida mainboard on the left.

14. Do the same thing for the remaining blocks.

Step 4: Plug It In

15. If you have some loom, you can bunch all the wires together in a nice tidy sheath like I did here. If not, give them a gentle twist or use some sort of tape or cable ties to keep them in a nice bundle. Run them between the front silver panel and the chassis at the bottom.

16. Plug your green blocks into the ports of your new Ruida mainboard. Plug the control panel cable into the mainboard and run it in the same channel as the other wires over to the right hand side of the machine. Send it upward into the upper compartment from one of the holes, preferably the same one the X and Y axes are coming from. I used a zip tie to keep the cable up high and out of the way of the moving cable chain. Plug the control panel in and let it dangle off to the side. It’s time to make sure everything works. Plug your USB cable into the mainboard (use the extension if needed) and restore power to the machine. The new screen should power on and the Y-axis will make a horrible noise as it resets. Don’t panic. It will take 30 seconds or so to completely boot up.

Step 5: Lightburn Setup

17. Add the new controller in Lightburn and use the machine settings file I’ve provided to populate the settings. I did my best on this, but it might not all be perfect. I’ve been using the machine this way and it functions just fine, however. Ruida Lightburn machine settings file for Monport 45

18. Once you verify X and Y axes are set up and working correctly, reset the machine and do a test cut of something. If it all works, it’s time to modify the acrylic panel to hold your new control panel.

Step 6: Setting the Panel

19. If you bought an 8445S, you can use the "Reno45 Panel Cutout.lbrn2" file below to cut the bigger hole. I think the 6445 is identical, but you’ll want to verify the dimensions and drawings in the 6445 and 8445 manuals. The way I did this was to put the acrylic piece on the bed and in Lightburn have it continuously frame the orange tool layer only. That tool layer is the existing hole. Keep adjusting the acrylic piece (or alternatively nudge it in Lightburn) until the red dot grazes the entire hole evenly all the way around. When you’re happy with it, make your cut of the other layer. To make a nice clean cut, I used 15mm/s speed and 45% power at TWO PASSES. Don’t move that piece until you’re certain it cut all the way through!

Notice the little notches cut out on one side of the new hole. The Ruida has a couple protrusions that are intended to snap down under a piece of sheet metal. The acrylic is too thick, so this won’t work. The control panel will just sit inside the hole. You can use a little double-sided foam tape or a bead of silicone or something if you want to, but it fits nicely inside and won’t jostle around anyway.

20. Reinstall the acrylic panel, hook the panel cable back up. If the cable is in danger of being hit by the gantry’s cable chain, figure out a way to keep it out of its way. I busted out the E6000 and glued the thing to the corner of the compartment where it would be out of the way. You’ll need to keep it held tightly there until the glue cures.

21. Put the panels back on and you’re done!