LightBurn will generate a g-code file, or it can be used as a g-code sender. I run headless and use it to generate g-code. Using it as a g-code sender gives you some benefits. For example, if you pull your stock off the machine and find that it did not cut through in places, LightBurn has functionality that allows you to replace and align the stock for another pass. It can also outline the area where it thinks your stock should be so you can make sure you have things setup correctly before you start cutting or engraving.
The LightBurn license allows you to have copies on two machines.
Robert and Robert told you true. LightBurn can do direct machine control without generating a gcode file… or you can create a gcode file to use with another sender and/or SD card. I particularly like @Basstone18’s method of testing with direct control and then commit the gcode to SD.
The direct control thing is really neat, BUT… after a run I have no way of telling what settings were actually used for that burn. And, of course, I’d never think of scratching the settings on the back of the piece. And, at some point down the road, I’ll guarantee I’ll go back into the LB file and jack with some settings… and all is forever lost.
When I create a gcode file, however, I try to embed the major settings in the filename; i.e.
“image_thing-e1200_85_339-jarvis-1xp120_100.gc”
That tells me that “image thing” is engraved at 1200 mm/min, 85% power, and 339 DPI with jarvis dither and a 1-pass profile cut at 120 mm/min and 100% power. As long as I can associate the job with a particular gcode file, I can know the settings I used. But, of course, I can still mess it up… I’m the “king” of disorganization
BTW while they advertise their license allows LB on TWO machines… they almost always will allow THREE, if you’ll ask them nicely. I’ve got LB on my daughter’s Chromebook, my Chromebook, and a Linux Mint laptop… three machines. No begging, no hassle… they were happy to do it.
Thanks for the details… the laser arrived today but the one item that has me stumped is the pcb that has the digital read out. I was hoping the wiring set up would be close to my Sainsmart 5.5w laser given I have all of the wiring in my cable chains already. I have the DC barrel jack, the three pin jack and the two pin jack but looking at the pin out between Sainsmart and this one they are not the same pattern. If I am not mistaken there needs to be a shared ground. I was looking at the BlackBox manual and I am guessing this is considered a three wire configuration. All that said, still not sure about that other PCB that was in the box.
On the little adapter board photo (the one without the digital readout) I show a few posts back – if you choose to use it – it gives you 3 different ways to connect your Neje laser module to your PWM controller and laser power.
Notice the screw terminals at one end. They show TWO wires to the center GND terminal where the GND “sharing” would occur if wired discreetly, when using separate power supplies for your controller board and laser.
A second connection scheme using the 2-wire connector and the barrel-jack… it connects the GND in the 2-wire PWM connection from your controller and the barrel-jack GND from the laser power supply with the adapter board’s plane/trace wiring.
The 3-wire connector might be used if you’re using a single power supply to power both your controller and the laser. It implies the GND-sharing is taking place in your controller and all the laser’s required power is coming through those tiny pins in the 3-wire connector. This is probably “sketchy” at best and IMO not the best connection scheme to use.
That little board with the digital readout is SUPER HANDY for testing your Neje laser before connecting it to your machine. Just plug in +12V power brick and the laser module and use the little board’s PWM circuitry to turn on and test the laser to find where the factory focus is set. You can then cut a gauge block to quickly set focus distance to the material surface… like this
Coincidentally the power jack and the two pin connect that I had wired for the Sainsmart turned out to be plug and play for the Neje. So I have it up and running - tried it on 6mm ply with a simple star that is about 25mm x 25mm - I ran at 100% and 7mm/sec with no air and after five passed never cut through.
I put your 3d printed nozzle on and just ran it once with no air to see what it would do and the tip basically melted. I printed it in PLA and understand that it should not be ran this way without air.
I am guessing I don’t have the correct focus even for five passes no air or the ply I have just will not work. The ply is craft plywood from like Menards or Hobby Lobby, etc.
The little pamphlet that came with it said to set it at 25mm from the bottom of the lens cover to the surface which I did. I had the ply sitting off the spoil board between two boards so there was a gap but it never cut through.
The only air I have it an aquarium pump so will given that a try until the bigger pump gets to me.
I got the A40640 model. I have read that some plys cut better than others… something to do with the layers and glue… but I don’t know much about it at all.
Different ply types varies wildly in terms of cut-ability! I got some dark teak-like-ply from father-in-law. No matter what settings I tried, I never got through. Everything charred and got tarred. Then I got some 4mm poplar ply from the hardware store, and it cuts like butter!
Glad the Neje was simple to hook up. 7 mm/s (420 mm/min) is pretty fast to be trying to cut 6mm – nearly 1/4" – plywood in reasonably few passes… also without air assist. Did it flare up on you as you cut?
Also what distance did you focus at? The A40640 module seems factory set up for about 22mm from the bottom of the housing… and all of mine have been close to that. I set up the nozzle to extend about 15mm below the housing IIRC so there should be 5mm to 7mm between nozzle and material when focused on the surface. I personally have my best results when focused on the surface… not halfway thru the material like so many suggest. If you focused to ~3mm below surface… your gap between nozzle and material was decreased by that amount. And if there was a lot of fire and smoke when you ran it, with the nozzle that close and no air flowing through it, I suspect a lot of smoke and soot entered the nozzle and possibly coated your lens… as well as any burning action on the surface being close enough to possibly melt the end of the nozzle. I’d recommend taking the nozzle off until you get air-assist set up. I always keep a tiny amount of positive pressure in the nozzle with the air assist to keep smoke and soot from entering the nozzle, to protect the lens when engraving. I recently had a laser module which seemed to be losing power… and a Q-tip and isopropyl alcohol applied to the lens did wonders to restore the power.
For reference, I usually run 100 - 180 mm/min and 100% power to cut 3.2mm (1/8") plywood in one pass, focused at the surface.
I have to second David’s sentiments about running without air flowing using the air assist nozzle and having the material flare up. I printing my nozzle in ASA. I was cutting some black poster board with air assist running, when the air line got tangled and pulled out of the nozzle assembly. The whole cut was only 6 minutes, but I turned around to see a burning nozzle. When I got everything clean up, I noticed the laser lens was cracked. It took a couple of weeks to receive a replacement lens out of China.
I know others on this forum have printed the air assist nozzle out of PLA, so I’m guessing your melting was due to a lack of air flowing, not the material.
I uses the little board with the LCD on it. I like to turn the laser on the lowest setting to line up on the part. The second setting on the board puts it in ttl mode for the controller to work.
LightBurn has a focus test under the Tools menu. David (dkj4linux) takes his laser off, sets it on a flat surface point at a wall, then moves it forward and back to obtain the best focus and reads the distance on a ruler. A third method is to place a piece of wood at an angle (like a ramp) and burn a line down the ramp. You need to record the starting and ending heights. You can then walk your way along the line from each end and interpolate the focus distance.
As for XY, this will depend on your authoring software. I setup LightBurn so that it works like by router jobs where the starting position is (0,0,0).
