Hi there,
I’ve recently been using Lightburn and I’m very enthusiastic. Now I would like to use LightBurn Brige. I installed Lightburn on the Raspberry and integrated it into the network (is also displayed). But no connection to the laser can be established. Is that because a connection to the laser can only be established via the network connector or would that also be possible via USB? Note I use a NEJE laser (GRBL).
Thank you in advance for all the answers!
Regards
Aljoscha
The LightBurn Bridge only supports Ruida controllers over Ethernet.
Thank you very much for the quick feedback. Will this feature be offered to other controllers in the future?
We’d like to, but it’s not a high priority. We did it mostly for Ruida users with Macs, because of USB connectivity issues there. We very strongly discourage remote operation of lasers, and I worry that many diode laser owners do not understand how large a fire risk this presents.
It would be awesome to support GRBL based controllers. I’m currently building a custom laser repurposing as many parts from a bricked 45-watt proprietary C02 machine using some ideas from OpenBuilds and other sources.
My plan was to use an RPI to create a .net blazor touch interface that runs in a docker container web UI on the RPI that would send the jog/home/etc type of g-code controls via a python g-code streamer to the GRBL controller. I would love to use LightBurn however, given it doesn’t run natively on the ARM architecture of the PI (and honestly would probably suck on a 7-10 inch touch screen), I was struggling with how to connect it to the RPI (yes I know I can get a protoneer cnc hat for the PI not sure if that would be supported by LB and I basically I have 3 arduinos, 2 with cnc shields already installed and an RPI3b+ and RPI4 and am reusing to keep costs down).
Then I seen that I can install the LB Bridge on my own PI and I thought hell yeah, solution just presented itself (albeit I would need to install docker on the bridge image to load the .net blazor UI to run the touch interface controls, which may not be possible as I dig deeper into this), then found out it only supports Ruida controllers and I just don’t feel like shelling out hundreds more for a home build to get me by with a usable C02 laser targeting under $500-600 until I can get my other laser back from 8 states away later this year.
I’ll also acknowledge this isn’t to remotely run the machine. Basically build a custom touch interface on the PI interfacing to Arduino. I just don’t know if/how LB would detect the PI as a valid controller board, I know it does the arduino grbl.
The next release of LightBurn adds the ability to connect to GRBL devices over TCP, so implementing a simple telnet / serial relay would work for those. At the moment, finding Raspberry Pi’s is next to impossible, so the Bridge hasn’t been getting much development.
I’m currently trialing LB, but pretty sure I’m gonna be a customer (great explainer videos BTW)… just adding my 2 cents that any method of allowing control of GRBL laser without having to have machine physically connected would be great! I’m running off an old iMac w/Montery because I cannot go hours on end without my Macbook, BUT the problem is I have to put my laser outside under a covered patio to avoid fumes in the house… carrying the little P7 is not a problem, but it’s a real pain lugging the iMac in and out too! Totally understand the safety concern, and that should be stressed to all who want remote control, but there are situations that could use it… FYI, my laser on the patio is always in sight thru the glass doors from where I sit inside. Was really hoping the Rpi was a solution as I have several kicking around.
So if I’m thinking of this correctly would this enable an ESP8266 → USB TTL type solution?
I am wondering how powerful of a PI would be needed as PI Zero 2Ws are not that difficult to find. The risk of fire is understood, and the intention of running a laser unmonitored is not the idea. But a nice compact package using as little space as possible as I learn to use a laser would make for a happy wife.
usb would be great, also alot use camera’s nowadays and remotley operate from desktop to garage for instance
I see there’s a Ethernet/TCP option to connect a GRBL laser, so what do I need to run on the Respberry Pi to use it? I’d like the whole file to be buffered on the Pi, so I can use my PC for other things, including rebooting, while the laser is running.