just received my ortur 20 watt fixed laser and im having a interesting time getting settings on lightburn to work. i import the image, set it to jarvis or dither, and then when i hit the preview button, the image is super dark, and when i etch it on the 54x89x3mm wood pieces that came with the laser, its super dark as well. I just want it to look like what the actual image in light burn looks like. here are some images of what i mean
you can see how on the burn table, it looks like the way i want it, but in the preview, its way to dark. below are my settings as well as my actual goal image
I’m not an expert, but Diode lasers won’t produce any image at 300 DPI. Way too high.
Then, there are a whole slew of tweaks you can do with Gamma, Contrast, Brightness, etc if you do a little research on engraving images with LightBurn.
I’m having this exact same problem. I haven’t been able to find any technical information about how to fix this just yet, but if I do I will keep You posted on the progress.
My burns were coming out perfect just as the image I intended and then I’m not sure what changed, but then started coming out in preview as overly dark and burn results as the same, just as You appear to be getting.
I’m new to laser burning so the technical adjustments needed to change this haven’t been found yet!
Anyways if I succeed I’ll let you know!
Good luck with Yours!
Are you really moving at 6000mm/min? I doubt a diode laser will actually make an accurate dot at those speeds. I suspect that by the time the laser turns on for each dot at that speed it has already moved so it is like smearing the image.
If it was a typo, and you meant 600mm/min, then double that. On my 5.5W laser I burn images in cork at 1500mm/sec 30% power for cork and 1200mm/min 50% power for wood.
Also, that is probably a 5W or so actual optical power, because diode lasers don’t get to those power ratings (they often quote the electrical consumption as power rating). Go to Amazon and search for “laser 20 watt” to see what I mean, even reputable suppliers like Ortur are advertised there incorrectly.
Have you tried a test pattern? You can generate one here for Lightburn, then play with the numbers to narrow down to the best settings for your setup and the type of media you are using. https://www.o2creative.co.nz/laser/
Another point - Focus Is King. A bit out of focus and you are burning over the next line.
yeah its the 5.5 wat laser. im just used to saying the “20 watt” version haha.
im going to be doing a test pattern to see what works best on the pine i have at the moment. I also have heard that lightburn can adjust gamma, contrast etc…
Not sure why you think that? It has more to do with the material and the lens. Blue diode with the right lens can do 300 dpi easily. The material you burn the picture on may not be suitable for 300dpi.
Well, Matt, its pretty hard to help people when they deliberately do not give the correct information. Also, I have to say that there is trend I see constantly in forums of people who are not prepared to go out and learn the craft. Instead they just expect others to feed them the solutions.
The old story - give someone a fish and they eat today. Teach them how to make a fishing rod and they feed themselves every day.
Go and join “Nortons Den of Lasers” group. There is a whole set of guides on how to burn images into tile and wood. If you are prepared to put in some work, that is.
what do you mean “deliberately do not give the correct information” where did i give the wrong information you happened to see a screen shot and ASSUMED i had not changed the speed yet. that is the only “incorrect” information i have given.
my issue with the etch is NOT the power or speed settings, its exactly what I and WildEyeDreaming is experiencing, and that is that the preview button is producing images super dark, no matter what settings i choose. I have had some images come out looking way better than the preview pane shows. I ran the same image through imag-r and re-did the burn with far better results than lightburn, which tells me its either a bug or a specific setting.
“I have to say that there is trend I see constantly in forums of people who are not prepared to go out and learn the craft. Instead they just expect others to feed them the solutions.”
the only solution you have given me is “are you sure its 6000mm/min and are you sure its a 20 watt laser?”
oh, and you did mention a test burn pattern in which i did reply to above saying" im going to be doing a test pattern to see what works best on the pine i have at the moment. I also have heard that lightburn can adjust gamma, contrast etc…" Im doing som etest patches today:) this will be nice haha.
i too have noticed a trend on forums the last few years… no one reads the post…
and for whats its worth, i have spent many hours on this, i cant help that lightburn sometimes doesnt work the way i need it to.
I have tried many differnt power levels and speeds with nearly same results. I did run the image through a website called imag-r and it produced something really good with my default speed and power settings of 3000/50, which tells me that its either a bug or a setting. The preview of the image in lightburn, no matter what settings i choose, is always dark so i have no clue what itds going to look like on the surface of my material without a test, which is fine, but it would be nice to at least have a guesstimate
If you post a screen shot, it needs to be accurate to what you are doing, not 6000mm/min.
If you are going to post laser power, then its 5.5W, not 20W.
Spent “hours”? Ask people who do this successfully, see how long they have spent getting it right.
Do you know the maximum speed settings in $110 and $111? That is as fast as your machine will be going.
The preview is not to see the image, it is to check the burn pattern, especially useful for when there are multiple groups and layers. To see the actual image, go to “Adjust Image”, that is where you can alter gamma and dither and see the result. But you still need to your speeds and power right, which takes more than “a few hours”.
This is the last time I will look at the post. Spend your energies on the activities like test patterns and reading the guides I suggested.
this is my first time ever using a laser and i came here for some help since youtube has nothing covering this particular issue and documentation on the ortur and lightburn is somewhat lacking. I have already taken note of your suggestions, including joining the group. I have already done test swatches that show different speeds and power ratings as you suggested me to do so.
According to your first reply "Also, that is probably a 5W or so actual optical power, because diode lasers don’t get to those power ratings (they often quote the electrical consumption as power rating). " this is exactly WHY i posted the power to be 20 watts, i was UNAWARE it was really 5.5 and the exact model i have IS the ortur laser master 2 20 watt.
Thanks for the help, but please do not respond with anymore help if your gonna be a disrespectful human being about it;) I have built many cnc machines and 3d printers. I am a aerospace engineer and have DONE the work. I cant help when software or documentation lacks the information i need.
thanks for the suggestions though. The test burns supplied me with a great amount of information. I will be testing them on tiles next, then some other materials to get the laser all dialed in.
Hi Matt, what documentation are you wanting? I might be able to help you find what you are after.
As I am sure you are aware, you are playing with 3 distinct technologies (Laser hardware, motion control firmware, and Design and Control software for the entire setup), produced by at least 3 different entities, and in many cases, when talking about these DIY style GCode systems, the integration is pushed to the End User, yet presented in a “it is so simple, just like a printer” manner. It is not.
Image engraving is one of the most challenging tasks a laser can do, and takes a lot of testing to dial in. I suggest you try very simple tasks to learn, test and dial in the settings and integration of these technologies prior to trying one of the hardest.
I contacted lightburn support yesterday and they have helped me with this issue. It seema with the newest update, certain windows 10 builds and antivirus software, mainly avast, messes things up. Ie, couldnt save any files or export my processed images and messed up previews.
After uninstalling avast,ow and behold it worked. I also asked them about documentation and they are currently teying to make better documenta for new users such as I.
I have finally completed some awesome projects. I dis some test tiles and swatches and found out some decent settings.
must be a millennial
