Getting a handle on what all the settings do

Ok, have a couple of days learning the machine and LB. At this point Im asking myself, what the heck do all these settings do? In order to get a handle on achieving the desired results your looking for you need to have a good understanding of what all the settings do and how they all affect each other. Is there a white paper somewhere to get an understanding of the settings?

No doubt you have already read the documentation. https://docs.lightburnsoftware.com/

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You got me, I have not, I was looking for the fast track to get an understanding of speed, power, frequency, and pulse width. sorry for cheating.

There are lots of documentation and videos on what people have accomplished. There are also a ton of video where they show you great work, but don’t advise, not only the settings they used, but the machine and lens.

There are a couple of them that are above average… I’ve always followed the way Russ Sadler teaches and he helps everybody… He has a number of q-switched videos and good explanations of what is happening.

I got these from Russ when I asked him about a fiber laser…

Spread sheet for frequency pulses/mm

MOPA M7 laser source manual


There is also Laser Everything… they have lots of free information. They allow you to download one of their material libraries with feeds/speeds/frequency/pulse information, for $8 a month for site access…

Good luck

:smile_cat:

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Jack thank you for all the info you have provided. Much appreciated. Laser work is almost as deep as CNC machining! SO much to learn.

At least with a Metal cnc machine, the materials, tool and spindle are consistent… you can compute speeds/feeds…

A couple more adjustments for frequency and pulse width… and you’re in like Flint…

Even the material thickness has an effect it seems…

:smile_cat:

I dont see anywhere in the docs that explains what each setting does. Speed and power are obvious im looking for info on frequency and pulse width. What do they do?

Ive looked over the docs you’ve provided and I dont see how a spreadsheet of numbers gives me any clue as to what to do with them. Any insight would be great. STILL searching for the answer to my original question, does anyone know the answer??

I see the pop ups in cuts and layers BUT
What does frequency do? HOW dose it affect marking?
What does pulse width do? HOW dose it affect marking?
Any help understanding these basic concepts will help.

Fiber lasers are pulse machines, uses pulses/mm, the number of pulses, along with pulse width determines the damage to the material or how much heat you are putting into it… The pulse rate/width is usually determined by the frequency…

My MOPA I have a wider pulses/mm control.


See if this helps at all for an introduction…

Sing out if this doesn’t help…

:smile_cat:

This was definitely helpful, got a much better perspective on settings now. Just gotta read it a couple more times.

I find SabarMultiedia, Russ Sadler, one of the best groups of videos available…

Good luck

:smile_cat:

Ya going to get familiar with his sites and offerings, thank you for the referral!

Laser Everything has some great videos and very knowledgeable users. Most of it is free, but for the masters, they charge $8 a month… at least they did…

I found the site software to be a major irritation… can’t copy and paste, when you post a photo, you don’t know where it’s going to end up in the text. It windows everything, which to me is an annoyance. … people were great, software was so bad I walked… way too frustrating…

I happen to like how Russ Sadler teaches… he’s finding his way along with you, but he was an engineer and usually give good explanations for what he’s doing and saying… you just have to put up with a bit of British humor…

:smile_cat:

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