Camera Help Please

I bought the Lightburn Camera at a 160 degree angle. I have ran through the darn setup and calibrations so many times but my laser ends up way off no matter what. I have watched about every video possible on this subject and I still cannot get the dang thing to align right. Any help is much appreciated

to find the problem requires diagnosing specifically in which direction it is “way off”

after you print the 4 numbered target marks , grab the image again and try (for example) to cut a text item of a specific width on top of the centre rings of the test chart.

then you can see and measure precisely how it is wrong.

(don’t do this test with a square or a circle as those shapes are symmetrical in both axis)

it will either be :
too big
too small
flipped top to bottom
flopped left to right
offset left of x
offset right of x
offset above z
offset below z
rotated
or
something else.

without the precise description of how it’s wrong, nobody will be able to diagnose the issue.

For example, at the moment ,on my Ruida system i have the image flopped left to right. but the shape and size is correct.

i am guessing i need to wait for a software update to fix this. but i’m happy to wait because i can see it’s going to be an amazing feature.

To describe how it is wrong would best be put as the laser when told to relocate to one of the circles…dead center… the actual location is up about 2" and to the left about 3". Then if I proceed to the circle above…number two……. it is negative in the Y axis instead of positive (going downtowards number three circle). I’m pulling my hair out over this because I have tried the x shift, y shift, and expansion of the x and y axis for the image overlay.

Details help:

  • what size is your machine?
  • what scale did you cut the alignment image at?
  • show a picture of what the camera sees
  • did you move the camera after running the alignment?

300mmx406mm workspace
scale was at I believe 100
camera has not moved at all

I clicked in the picture dead center on the crosshairs and this is what is happening, and no matter how much I calibrate, adjust with settings it always throws it off when I go elsewhere with the laser.

And this is if I shift the laser down to number four crosshair. It is shifted up

Does your machine have limit switches?

Negative. No limit switches.
It is a basic DIY setup with an upgraded 15W laser and the info I have on it is Elksmana SE, Kelife running GRBL with the recent update for software.

This looks like you could adjust by increasing the Y scale a little. It looks like the X is basically dead on. Increasing the Y scale will move it up toward point #1, and down toward point #4.

I asked if your machine has limit switches because if it doesn’t, you’d have to make sure to power up the controller with the head at the front-left of the workspace (zero) very precisely, or all bets are off. The machine itself has to be very repeatable to begin with.

It would also be worth measuring the actual physical output of your machine - If you cut a 200 x 200 mm square, and it comes out at 200 x 210 mm, that could easily be the problem. The camera code assumes your machine is accurate.

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Hmmmm, didn’t think about that. I will give a trial cut 200mmx200mm and reply back. If that were the case if one came out 210…how would I go about adjusting to make sure it comes back into 200mm?

These are my machine settings btw.

Try this:

  • Create a low-power cut in LightBurn that is a 200 x 200 mm square
  • Center it in the workspace
  • Run it on a piece of material
  • Turn off your laser
  • Turn it back on again
  • Run the cut again

If they come out in different places, you have to solve that problem first - the machine must be accurate and repeatable, and the camera alignment won’t work if that isn’t true.

You’d adjust the “steps per mm” value on the axis that’s wrong by the ratio of ‘how wrong’ it was.

For example, you showed 70 steps per mm on the Y axis. If your machine cuts a 200mm square 210mm tall, it’s 5% too big (210 / 200 is 1.05). If you divide 70 by 1.05 you’d get the correct number of steps for that axis.

So the math is:
(Current steps value) / (Measured size / Requested size)

Well, I did that because my circles came out oval looking. So I jumped the Y stepper down by 10 and they came out perfect. Plus when I had the Y stepper set at 80 it wouldn’t finish some circles completely. Weirdest dang thing I saw. I apologize if this is causing any headache haha

Ran the test as instructed and the square lined up great

… and is it the correct size?

Couldn’t he make the machine repeatable by moving the head to the 0,0 position upon each startup?

YesX that was one of the first things I mentioned:

“I asked if your machine has limit switches because if it doesn’t, you’d have to make sure to power up the controller with the head at the front-left of the workspace (zero) very precisely, or all bets are off.”

Ok, been up for quite a few hours. A little tired lol. The square was close. Off Y axis by about… 1/8". I have gone back a reprinted bigger sizes of the circles as well as smaller ones. Nothing. Still off. Ok, so… I think a “new start from scratch” meaning delete device settings and such and try to figure out whats going down here. I honestly don’t know how to find out stepper information to configure that correctly. The bed size I find odd but it is 279mmx443mm. Measured it over and over did calculations for it. If it isn’t too much to ask, would someone like to step in and walk me through the initial setup? Newbie here, won’t hide it. Just, don’t want to give up because of a silly camera operation.

All is set. Countless hours and research lol

“All is set” meaning you have it working properly now?