Lightburn

From makernexuswiki
Revision as of 11:28, 18 March 2023 by Jschrempp (talk | contribs) (→‎Material Test)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Configure Lightburn

For our BossLaser: select "Ruida" for controller, "Serial/USB", name it, set appropriate bed dimensions (BossLaser is approximately X-axis 1016 mm, Y-axis 609.6 mm), set origin to "Rear Right".

Note that you might have a later version of Lightburn than we run in the makerspace. Lightburn offers two save choices: Lightburn Legacy Project (.lbrn) and Lightburn Project (*.lbrn2). Lightburn Legacy Project (.lbrn) works fine for me on the older version at MN.

Tips and Tricks

These first few are courtesy of BARN Lightburn training. Their original document is available in GitHub.

  • Offset Fill: A Mode for the layer. It will do a spiral fill instead of a raster fill.
  • Perforation: Double click on a layer. Look for Perforation Mode.
  • Library Window: Select a layer, then select the Library tab. This brings up a list of settings for typical materials. Click "assign to layer" to apply those settings to the layer. This copies the settings so if you later change them in your layer, it does not affect the library settings.
  • Cutting Order: In the Laser area click Optimization Settings. We recommend:
    • Layers first, then priority within layers
    • Cutting inner shapes first
    • Remove overlapping edges (when shapes share an edge, the laser will only make one cut pass)
  • Priority Cut Order: Select a shape and look at Shape Properties. Adjust Cut Order Priority. It two shapes have the same priority, then Lightburn will decide which to cut first.
  • Images to Vectors: Import your image, left click to select it, then right click and select "trace Image in the pop-up menu
  • If your SVG file import has the wrong size, go to Edit/Settings, click on the 'File' icon and change the DPI setting

NOTE: There is a setting for using the Rotary attachment. If this is left enabled, your output to a normal laser cutter bed will be distorted. You can check this here: Open menu Tools / Rotary Setup menu. Uncheck: Enable Rotary

Material Test

When you work with a new material (or even a familiar material but from a new vendor) you are faced with the task of finding the best settings of speed and power to etch and cut the material. LightBurn now includes a nifty tool that will generate a test grid for you. It can be found in the menu under "Laser Tools / Material Test". A video is here. Here are a few photos of the tool in action.

Lightburn material test.png
Menu to Access
Lightburn lasertools.png
Configuration
Lightburn grid screenshot.png
Screenshot
Lightburn material test example.jpg
Used on Plywood

Software updates

If you buy your own copy, the license only lets you update until a specific date. It checks for updates every time you start it, so Lightburn might have you download and install a new version which you're not licensed to use. Looks like finding the newest one before your license expired and installing that one works ... but a bit of a hassle.