Can lightburn be used with CNC router?

[vinniemm101 (Vincent)]

Hello… Is this software able to be used with CNC router engravers? Just bought it and the program that came free with it is horrible lol

[adammhaile (Adam Haile)]

Only if you are using that CNC router with a laser instead of a spindle and it has a supported controller. We do not support CNC routing (as in 3D or 2.5D operations)

[stitch0852 (Barbara B)]

Really? I thought it could be used with the 3018-SE V2 machine with the spindle.

[adammhaile (Adam Haile)]

We support the 3018 with a laser but we have never supported a spindle on any machine. LightBurn is purely 2D

[Vinkske (Tom Vervynckt)]

@adammhaile

with a laser but we have never supported a spindle on any machine

Seems logical to me … After all it’s LightBURN and not LightTURN … lol

[stitch0852 (Barbara B)]

Thank you.

[LightBurn (Oz)]

It’s possible to make it work, but it’s not designed for it so the workflow would be cumbersome.

[raykholo (Ray Kholodovsky)]

@Vinkske

LightTURN

Good one - my joke names for any possible CNC offering in the future have been along the lines of LightCut, HeavyCut, etc…

[DougL (Doug LaRue)]

Give Kiri:moto(http://grid.space) a try for CNC toolpath generation. There’s lots more to CNC milling than what a laser does and because your bits(end mills) can break easily depending on the material you are plunging and cutting into the phrase, “watch your speeds and feeds” is quite common and dependant on materials and bit choices and depth of cuts.

[stitch0852 (Barbara B)]

Thank you. Being new, that last thing I expected was snarky comments when I have seen how you can set up LightBurn to use with CNC using spindle. Thank you for providing an alternative.

[vinniemm101 (Vincent)]

great community.

[MakeMe (Kelly McDaniel)]

As I have a separate cnc and have only been using Lightburn for 6 months, it is uplifting to think that a design program such as Lightburn might be available for my cnc someday!

[LightBurn (Oz)]

I’m struggling to see any snark here - what from this thread did you read as being snarky? I’m genuinely asking here.

Adam’s response was correct and factual, with nothing otherwise implied - LightBurn only supports lasers, not CNC routing, as that would involve a bunch of other things like tool offsets, possibly different tool types, better support for the Z axis, and likely a 3D preview.

[stitch0852 (Barbara B)]

Adam’s reply was not the one I referred to. It was the one below his. I appreciated Adams’s response. As I said, I am new and was seeking info.