I have the lightburn trial and it wont burn even on cardboard.
I was looking for better software then the generic open source free software that comes with the laser.
the software it comes with is LaserGRBL and it works to burn. so its not hardware related.
with lightburn i import an image and set the power in cut settings editor to 100% still not burning.
If i cant get the software to work there would be no point in buying so need to get it working before trial runs out.
What is the maximum speed in the firmware itself? I’m not familiar with “ToAuto Laser” but if it’s similar to a 3018, they have a really low maximum speed (about 8.3mm/sec, from memory).
LaserGRBL uses a command that sends full power regardless of the movement speed, which produces ugly burn marks at the start and end of shapes, and in corners where the laser has to slow down. LightBurn uses a different command that adjusts the power output based on the speed you asked for, and the speed the laser is actually moving, so the power is reduced for corners, giving a nice even result.
If your machine simply can’t reach the requested speed, the laser will also not reach the requested power, and this is almost certainly your issue.
Switch over to the Console tab in LightBurn and type $$ and press enter. Copy and paste the text it spits out back here - those are your controller firmware settings, and from those I can confirm if my guess is correct or not. You can also try running the job at 8mm/sec.
If you go to Edit > Settings and change the speed units to be mm/minute instead of mm/sec it will help as well - most diode systems work with those units, so it’ll make it easier to share settings with others.
I have lightburn set to same speed as lasergrbl. 10mm/sec
this is the laser i have. eBay 2.5WLaser pretty sure its generic and just uses some random name. i will try setting my speed slower and see what happens in lightburn.
Yup! Figured it out 5 minutes after posting and forgot to reply back I figured it out. However my first image I burned only engraved halfway. Also, how do I get the Fire button dialog box back? It disappeared on me. I want to use it at low power to align my work and origin. Thanks!
Changed $30 with $30=1000 and checked $32 is indeed 1. Still no change in burning. Ite just constant on. I even increased the speed because of what you said before about it reaches max power based on speed. From when it wasn’t working.
Got it to do some shading but its poor in my opinion still.
On the test scale I used it does 0-40% on scale rest is all same and is technically different shades… images (actual photos) also come out as pure black with no shading still…
You are likely going too slow, have the power setting too high, or something like that. Can you post the file & settings that you used to make this so we can have a look?
Honestly it looks like your laser isn’t focused well. The burn at the sides of the dog image is likely because you don’t have overscanning enabled. I would try focusing your laser to the smallest point you can and see if that improves.
