I have a custom high-accuracy CNC Mill with an IR Laser Module fitted and GRBL controller. On the table can be fitted a rotary turntable with its axis in Z. The turntable centre can be off the mill table area.
I’m trying to etch a clock dial which is larger than the table area. Planning on using the rotary turntable to rotate the part 11 times over the job with each pass etching the outlines and a single hour digit.
Can Lightburn rotate the turntable and job automatically or is there any way I can force a 30 degree rotation of both the turntable and part?
In LightBurn galvo devices allow for a Repeat Marking feature that’s intended for things like this. For Ruida devices there is something called Feeder Setup that’s intended more for linear advance but might allow enough flexibility to convert to rotary motion.
For GRBL devices I don’t believe there is any inbuilt feature to handle something like what you’re describing.
Having said that, I suspect you could achieve this by doing the following:
Use Variable Text for the Hour digit. Enable “Auto-Advance” in the Variable Text window.
Add custom g-code that will rotate the part 30 degrees in the “End Gcode” section under Edit->Device Settings->Gcode. This should force a 30 degree rotation after each job.
Run the job 12 times.
If you attempt this I suggest you test this with some scrap material to make sure you get the results you expect before running it on anything precious.
Thanks for the quick response berainlb. Fabulous ideas. I thought of using Variable Text but unfortunately roman numerals don’t increment the right way but putting them in a .csv file works fine.
Yet to test the G code rotation but doubt there’ll be issues there.