I would like to add a camera to my laser that I use for detailed engraving. I don’t need to fit the whole bed and from what I’ve researched, I would get a better picture over a smaller area. Ideally the camera would see a 24" x 12" area but 12" x 12" or even 6" x 6" would work if the alignment will be more accurate. I can make a fixed mount at whatever height is best. Could I get an even more accurate alignment if I mounted the camera to the laser head or carriage?
LightBurn does not currently support Head-mounted camera features, although we want to, it is not there yet.
We offer a built-in ‘Camera Selection Help’ tool to provide the options under the LightBurn ‘Help’ menu. Enter the different bed sizes you’d like to see which cameras work best at different hights from your bed.
So would the 8mp W-95 or the 5mp-60 give me a clearer image? Need a beta user for a head mounted camera?!
If you are in need of absolute exact positioning for an object you’re wanting to engrave, you might consider indexing with a spoil board.
A camera would work better for my application but thanks for the info.
Is a camera accuracy of 1/32" or better out of the realm of possibility? Wondering what the real world numbers are?
I can confidently say that a level of accuracy to that extent (0.8 mm or less) can not be relied upon. There’s too many variables / opportunities for movement of either the camera within the mount, the surface the camera is mounted to, the height of the bed / focus of the machine, etc.
I’m extremely proud of my camera setup and mount and find it to be superior to anything that I’ve seen elsewhere, yet with all of the variables I expect anywhere from 1/16 to 1/8 inch of difference across the 36 x 24 bed.
Thanks for your insight! Do you feel like you could obtain a higher accuracy if you were only concerned with a smaller area, say 12"x12" or 6"x6"?
If you’re pointed at a small area, and the camera is hard mounted so it cannot move it’s possible. The accuracy of the camera is only going to be as good as the best mechanical accuracy you have on whatever is holding it - for example, if you were to drill a hole in the acrylic lid directly over the bed center, that would mean the camera angle and lateral position could not move, which would be ideal. That said, if your hinges have half a millimeter of slop in any direction, that will translate into half a millimeter of inaccuracy with camera placement too.
The head mounted camera feature should allow for better accuracy, especially with larger lasers. There hasn’t been significant progress on it yet, but I’m hoping to get some time in soon.
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