Bizarre behaviour, please help

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1

I’m new to Lightburn (and lasers in general) and have run into a problem that I can’t figure out.

I’ve got a Bachinmaker (with Arduino nano controller) and was previously running LB 0.8.07 (GRBL) with no problems. I then upgraded to 0.9.02 and everything has gone bananas. Just lots of bizarre behaviour that I can’t make sense of. Amongst others:

  1. Moving the laser with the arrows gives completely unexpected results, e.g. on pressing ‘up’ once the laser moves up and then left. Sometimes it just keeps going and tries to go beyond the borders of the machine for no apparent reason
  2. ‘Frame’ gives unexpected results, appears to move in random directions, sometimes beyond the border of the machine (and certainly nothing resembling the design)
  3. On ‘Start’ the laser turns on and starts moving seemingly appropriately, only to stop very shortly after. I noticed that the length of time it will cut for is related to the power output - if the power is 3.5% it lasers for maybe half a second, if it is 60% it lasers for a few seconds, but even at 100% it only runs for seconds and never even close to finishing the whole thing. Sometimes hitting ‘Start’ doesn’t do anything, or it starts showing the elapsed time but no lasering.
  4. Errors: all sorts, I’ve had error 11, 1 and 2 so far. The console also outputs a lot of 'ok’s and code
  5. When checking machine settings, it will sometimes say ‘no connection with controller’, other times it appears to connect fine

Things I have tried:

  • Downgrading to 0.8.07: no difference
  • Changed USB cable to one I know is working: no difference
  • Reboot everything: no difference

I’m really not sure what else to try at this point so would appreciate some help!

3

This does not sound like a LightBurn issue as you state that you downgraded back to 8.07 with “no difference”. My guess is something outside LightBurn has changed. What version of grbl are you running? Wondering if some of your grbl settings were changed.

You identify “Errors: all sorts, I’ve had error 11, 1 and 2 so far.”. Have a look at these to help you understand what each error means: GRBL Error List

Here is a list of grbl Alarm Messages as this might also be of help: Grbl v1.1 Interface · gnea/grbl Wiki · GitHub

After reviewing the above, try this: Type $$ into the LightBurn Console followed by ‘Enter’ key. Copy and paste the entire results here and we can take a look.

4

Hi Rick, thanks for your quick reply.

I’m not entirely sure how to check which GRBL version I’m using, sorry. I chose the plain GRBL when adding my device (so without the LPC or M3 suffix - I must admit I don’t entirely know what the differences are). On startup my console says Grbl1.1z.

I had seen the error codes list but they don’t really mean anything to me in this context - the explanations for 1, 2 and 11 seem to be to do with bad G-code, but I get these errors even with files that have previously lasered correctly. And strangely enough I’ve had no alarm messages!

Here’s the result of $$ (entering this into the console also turned the laser on for a second and moved it about a bit):

Waiting for connection...
Waiting for connection...
Port opened, waiting for response.
Grbl 1.1z ['$' for help]{8kdz.com}
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
$$
error:11
error:2
ok
error:1
ok
ok
ok
ok
<Run|MPos:0.000,0.000,0.000|FS:1512,0|Ov:100,100,100>
ok
<Run|MPos:0.010,0.000,0.000|FS:1512,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:0.020,0.000,0.000|FS:1512,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:0.030,0.000,0.000|FS:1415,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:0.050,0.010,0.000|FS:1415,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:0.090,0.010,0.000|FS:1112,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:0.130,0.020,0.000|FS:1112,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:0.200,0.030,0.000|FS:1112,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:0.250,0.030,0.000|FS:810,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Run|MPos:0.350,0.040,0.000|FS:810,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:0.470,0.060,0.000|FS:508,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:0.530,0.070,0.000|FS:508,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:0.680,0.090,0.000|FS:237,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:0.760,0.100,0.000|FS:237,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:0.900,0.120,0.000|FS:252,629|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:1.040,0.130,0.000|FS:252,629|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:1.090,0.140,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:1.190,0.150,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:1.240,0.160,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:1.310,0.170,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Run|MPos:1.340,0.170,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:1.380,0.180,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:1.400,0.180,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:C>
<Run|MPos:1.410,0.150,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:C>
<Run|MPos:1.420,0.140,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:1.420,0.120,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Run|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|WCO:0.000,0.000,0.000>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100>
<Idle|MPos:1.420,0.110,0.000|FS:0,0|Ov:100,100,100|A:F>

I hope this makes more sense to you than it does to me :)! Thanks so much for your help.

5

This is the issue. Have a read through this thread found on github: Communication but no control · Issue #543 · arkypita/LaserGRBL · GitHub

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