Starting in version 1.5.00, we added the ability to create Custom GCode device profiles, allowing users to customize the commands LightBurn generates to drive their machines.
While this was largely intended to widen the range of LightBurn-compatible lasers, we also knew there was potential to use this feature to control a number of similar non-laser devices.
One user, Chris Andriessen, has already done just that, creating a Custom GCode device profile that can produce GCode for his Wazer waterjet cutting machine.
Here’s how Chris did it, in his own words:
I started analyzing the GCode files and searched for any documentation I could find to understand what the special GCode commands do and how they should be used. Then, I created a new machine using the Custom GCode feature and inputted all GCode commands until I obtained a GCode file similar to the ones from Wazer. The only thing I needed was the material library from Wazer, which contains the speeds and piercing times required for cutting the materials. I wrote a script to convert the Wazer materials library JSON file to a Lightburn Library XML file. Now, I can easily assign the right settings for the material I want to cut. Our business can now use professional software that everyone is familiar with to create GCode files for our Wazer. This already is a big upgrade from the WAM software from Wazer. The next step is to establish direct communication, which functions using the USB cable since the Wazer is based on Smoothieware. Currently we can already directly home, jog and perform a dry run. For cutting we have to put the GCode file on the SD card because the Wazer wants to run through its safety screens for obvious reasons.
You can download the device profile and learn more here: