Camera control For Boss Laser

LightBurn Hardware Compatibility Cameras
22

I also have the Boss 1420 and I ordered the 60 degree camera. I plan to mount it on the front face of the lid, using the handle mounting bolts. When the lid is open the front cover is about 26" (660 mm) above the bed. With the bed being 14" (355 mm) x 20" (508 mm)

Using the formula provided by LightBurn of Longest Dim/.825 (for 60 deg lens) = min distance above bed.

So largest dim is 508 mm
508/.825 = 616 mm = 24 inches

So based on this as long as the 60 deg lens is at least 24 inches above the bed it should be able to see all of the bed with very minimal distortion.

Since with the lid open the lens will be about 25 to 26 inches above the bed (depending on mounting), the 60 deg should work great. But I have not received the camera yet so I am hoping the math is correct.

1 Like
23

Any updates? I got a 1420 coming as well and would love to hear some feedback.

24

Yes, I did install the camera and it is really working well.

I mounted the 60 deg camera I purchased from LightBurn very simply, just cutting a rectangular (5 inch wide and 4 inch high) 4mm piece of acrylic with two holes (1.55 inch diameter) 3.86 inches apart so I could use the lid handle bolts to attach the camera to the lid.

I just used some UV epoxy to attach the camera module to the acrylic on the far end so the camera was over the center of the bed.

With the 4 mm acrylic the existing handle bolts were not long enough so I needed to purchase two M4-07 x 30 mm socket heads from Home Depot (about $1). These new bolts were then about .05 inches to long to snug into the handle so I added a thin washer between the acrylic and the case. The handle was able to attach nicely after that.

The camera gives me a very good view of the work area and the software makes it super easy to align work now.

1 Like
25

Can you send a picture of location that you have the camera mounted please?

26

Where the handle is on the front of the cover, there are two bolts. That is where the acrylic is mounted

image
0134F722-34FA-4183-A8E2-7CF68138F64E.jpeg3024×4032 1.91 MB

27

Thank you for the picture, I did also installed my camera in the same place but I’m not getting near the quality that I think I should. That may be due to the size of my bed which is 55x36. I can only focus the camera under very small area on the center of the bed.

28

Your bed is much larger than mine. What lens do you have on your camera? You should also check to see what the resolution of the image is. When you capture an image in the Lens calibration tool, the actual resolution will be displayed on the screen.

29

I did purchase the 90 degree lens. Celebration in that camera was a pain. According to the camera software that can’t be my computer I am running at 5 megapixel 2592 by 1944. also have another 5 megapixel camera that I can just hold it on top of the bed and take a picture of the bed and image is 200 times better than this camera.

30

Are you using one of the cameras sold (or recommended) by LightBurn? One of the known issues is that a lot of the USB cameras default to a low resolution (regardless of what their best resolution may be).

LightBurn does not change the resolution of the camera, so whatever the default resolution of the camera is what you get in LightBurn. With some USB cameras that default resolution is really horrible (like 300x300)

31

15536963461145528213390585689459
15536963461145528213390585689459.jpg2138×2851 3.52 MB

That is with lightburn camera, I purchased a camera directly from a lightburn, so it is their camera.

32

This is the problem I’m running to all the time. It sees the parent but it will not register it.

1553697444730985081698432206634
1553697444730985081698432206634.jpg2138×2851 3.23 MB

33

Have you been able to focus the camera? I know that mine was really badly out of focus from its lid attachment position.

34

Yes I did I cannot get the whole bed in focus but I can get a little part of the center of the bed to focus.

35

Other than just calibrating the camera for the center portion of your bed it sounds like you have done everything possible. I don’t know what else to suggest, maybe @LightBurn can offer some better ideas,

36

Thank you for your help. I will contact them and see if they can help. Thank you so much

1 Like
37

I would be surprised if a 90 degree camera mounted inside the lid would work on a bed that large. I am using a 140 degree lens for a smaller 700x500.

You may have camera issues too, but I am pretty sure that your target placement is part of the problem too. That looks to be too small (not covering enough of the camera’s view) to be correctly recognized by Lightburn.

Another potential issue is the pattern behind the target (pattern printed on the protective paper of a sheet of material of some type?). Tape some sheets of copy paper down to cover the cutting bed or cover the bed with a neatly folded trash bag to create a blank background. The trash bag worked well for me and stopped that error.

38

Yeah, do this. Put some cardboard down or something, so it doesn’t confuse your bed for the dots.

39

That target image is too small. If you cut the camera image up like a tic-tac-toe board, the circles pattern should occupy the size of a full square. I notice you’re holding it on the end of a stick as well, but that’s going to make it hard to hold it still, so brace your hand on something when you capture, or the targets will be blurry, and that will affect the result.

Blake is correct about the patterned paper as well - that might be confusing it. Flipping it over to the plain side on the back might help.

41

Thank you, I will try that.