ComGrow recently released a camera for lasers. They claim it works with LightBurn. I purchased one and can not get it to work with LightBurn.
After extensive Internet searches I have tried the following without success:
Reboot laptop.
Turn MalwareBytes antivirus off.
Make sure Windows 10 security allows all apps to access the camera.
Tried all three USB 3.x connections on laptop.
Plugged camera in prior to plugging in laser.
Changed LightBurn to run in Windows 8 compatibility mode.
Upgraded LightBurn software to 1.3 from 1.2.?? version.
Things that do work:
When I plug in the camera I get the Windows beeps telling me that a USB device has been plugged in or unplugged.
The Windows 10 Camera app works with the ComGrow camera.
Verified inside of Device Manager that the camera is detected and working properly.
I have been doing all the above from a user account that has administrator privileges.
I have been in eMail communications with ComGrow but i am losing confidence in their ability to resolve the problem.
Comfigruation:
HP OMEN laptop, 2 years old, running Windows 10 Home with all updates applied
Installed software (in case of possible software conflicts): TechSmith SnagIt screen capture, TechSmith Camtasia (video capture), WinZip, Epson scanner software, HP 76xx all-in-one printer/scanner software, Microsoft 365 (office suite), VLC player, virtual Clone Drive (mount ISO image), Chrome browser.
All software is up to date.
Laser is Ortur Laser Master 2 LF which is 11 months old. Using a small 5-gallon air compressor for air assist, and an in-line fan to exhaust air outside through 4-inch flexible ducting. I doubt these matters but I want to be complete.
Help would be appreciated.
Thank You in advance,
Jesse
I am sorry to take so long to respond. I have been working on Christmas projects and today was the first time I had a chance to fight with the camera.
Your third suggestion worked! Thank You.
I have a couple of follow-up questions which I am not sure if I should ask here or in a new topic.
In the “live” window I get rolling bands of light and dark slowly scrolling upwards. They do not affect the “overlay”. What is causing these and how can I eliminate them?
When I do an “Update Overlay” the result is out of focus. But the “live” display is in focus. Is there a way to have the “Update Overlay” into sharp focus?
I’ve been using my laptop for design and to control the laser. I have a computer on order that will be dedicated to controlling the laser. Do I have to fight with redoing the camera’s focus and alignment is is there a file I can transfer? If I can transfer how?
Note sure what that might be? Possibly a rolling shutter effect or an issue with clashing refresh rates between your camera and display?
Are you certain that’s not just the difference in scale? The overlay is going to be significantly larger than the live image. Try disabling “Fade” in Camera Control and see if there’s truly a difference in focus. Also, make sure the focus of your camera itself is good. You’ll never get a sharp image if the focus itself is off. I’ve never gotten what I would consider a super sharp image in overlap. I partly attribute that to the resolution, available light, distortion correction. and how much I’m typically zooming in.
Right click on Camera Control window, then export. Then import on new computer.
Those come from the camera “shutter” timing and the flicker from your lights. Some USB cameras have a Power Line Frequency configuration setting (50 Hz or 60 Hz) to synchronize their shutter with the flicker to reduce the effect.
Old-school incandescent bulbs didn’t have that problem, but my overhead LED shop lights drive my phone camera nuts. [sigh]
On the issue of scrolling bands, I suspect that it is an issue of me having fluorescent lights on the same circuit. I am working on trying an extension cord from a circuit that does not have florescent lights.
There is definitely a focus issue. without any zoom a line in “live” view is sharp and the same line in “overlay” is wider and less defined.
I will try the export / import tools. I was using LightBurn’s “Laser Tools” menu to focus and align.
I will update after getting the extension cord, APC UPS (battery backup), and the new computer installed at the beginning of the week.
I had similar issues with my Comgrow camera. While attempting to set it up per the instructional video that they supplied. However, after it burned the targets for alignment on to my stock, I was unable to capture the image. Found the USB cable that has a tiny connector on the camera board had worked loose while sitting there (the previous day, I affixed the cable and verified that my laptop could see it as well as showing up in Lightburn…)
I wasn’t very impressed with that connector because while trying to align and calibrate the camera, the connection failed 3 different times.
After eventually performing the set up per Comgrow’s provided video, I tested it by burning several 10mm squares in various parts of the same material that Lightburn burned its alignment targets. Each of these squares was in a different location than indicated by the camera capture by up to 4 mm. Only one was off by a small value of 1 mm. Most of the deviations were in the positive y direction but almost all were off a little in the positive x direction.
They did not have me do the dot image alignment, only the target picking process so doing the COMPLETE set up, MAY have solved my issues. However, the fact that the camera seemed to be losing connection too frequently led me to believe that the connector would fail prematurely from my continual need to tighten the connection. They did offer to send a new camera with the cable connector glued in place…
Bottom line, I was swamped with Christmas gift projects and didn’t want my Amazon return window to slam shut so I returned it. Another factor is that my laser workspace is 600mm x 600mm and this camera mount was not tall enough nor long enough to properly cover my laser bed so, figuring I will need to make a more appropriately sized mount, I intend to purchase a camera separately.
The Comgrow hardware (other than the flaky connector) WAS very nicely made. The instructions were clear and easy to follow.
I have made several improvements. I have a new dedicated computer (Dell 4GHz, 32GB ram, 1TB SSD) running windows 10 Pro, I added an APC UPS, and a power strip with individual switches. I also moved the power from the same circuit that has fluorescent lights to a circuit without fluorescent lights.
The rolling bands have been eliminated!
With Windows 10 Pro I can remotely connect to the computer to watch it cut from my main computer.
The laptop I used to carry down to the laser would not allow LightBurn to access the ComGrow camera using LightBurn’s custom camera control (device settings). The new computer does. I exported / imported the camera configuration. An interesting side effect is that with the imported camera configuration (from computer using the “default capture system”) into a LightBurn using the “custom camera system” is that the capture is distorted. Not really a problem as I can re-run the calibrate camera lens and calibrate camera alignment.
Blockquote Found the USB cable that has a tiny connector on the camera board had worked loose while sitting there (the previous day, I affixed the cable and verified that my laptop could see it as well as showing up in Lightburn…)
I wasn’t very impressed with that connector because while trying to align and calibrate the camera, the connection failed 3 different times.
Yes, I was not overly impressed by the camera to USB cord connector. While the white Molex connector is a common connector usually it has some form of strain relief to secure the cable.
I have not had the problem of the connector coming loose but it is just a matter of time till the connector or cable fails.
Blockquote After eventually performing the set up per Comgrow’s provided video, I tested it by burning several 10mm squares in various parts of the same material that Lightburn burned its alignment targets. Each of these squares was in a different location than indicated by the camera capture by up to 4 mm. Only one was off by a small value of 1 mm. Most of the deviations were in the positive y direction but almost all were off a little in the positive x direction.
I also noticed that the alignment was off slightly. My initial estimate was around 2mm. I have not had time to work more with the camera.
