Laser on during FRAME operation

[Erik (Erik Metz)]

Is there a way to have the laser on very low power during the FRAME operation, to assist with placement of the material prior to pressing play?

I confess to have only spent a few hours working with the software. I have tried positioning the laser, then using the Console to turn on the laser. So far I can only get the laser to stay on without a move operation.

I have a home made GRBL 1.1f based machine with TTL/PWM supported laser power output. It’s running on an Arduino Uno and GRBLDuino Shield. Everything else is working awesome.

[Rick (Technical Evangelist)]

Once you have set the software to use the ‘Laser fire button’ as described in the following:

Focus diode laser at reduced power

You have not provided anything about your setup (controller / type of laser) but, for gcode based systems - go to ‘Device settings’ and enable the “Laser fire button” switch, then restart LightBurn. There will now be a button to fire the laser at low power in the Move window. [image]

Holding the ‘Shift’ key then ‘Frame’ will turn the beam on to the power value set in the Laser Fire setting while the frame runs to allow better placement.

[LightBurn (Oz)]

I’ve added a FAQ entry for this:

How can I turn on the laser for focusing my diode?

If you have a diode laser, and need to turn it on at low power to focus it, LightBurn has a setting for this. First, in Edit -> Device Settings, click the “Enable Laser Fire Button” shown here in the lower right: [image] . Then quit, and restart LightBurn. In the Move window, you’ll find the Fire button and the power setting at the lower right: [image] . Set the power just high enough for you to see the laser when you enable the Fire button. Note that this is a toggle - the laser will st…

[Erik (Erik Metz)]

Rick and Oz,

Thanks so much. Exactly what I needed and it works great.
I’m really glad I found this software. I’ve watched all of the tutorial videos and have used it for just a short while, but this is really excellent software. The drawing tools and preview tools and well as control over every aspect of the machine that my son (college freshman Mechanical Engineer) and I made over winter break. I will post a photo and all of the things I learned in building this if anyone is interested.

Full disclosure I’m on the trial version for less then a week, and I’m about to go pay for a license. I will share this whenever I post on other forums too.