My laser has had a loss of power. I think it’s happened after the Lightburn update. I recall a couple years ago a similar problem that was fixed in the $ counsel area, a value that needed to be changed to return full power to the laser. Is there a list of what all those $ values are supposed to be? Is there a way to test if my laser is getting old and weak, or the settings are just incorrect?
Make sure your lens is clean.
G10 L20 P1 X0 Y0 Sets current position as X0 Y0
Setting Description
$0 Step pulse, microseconds
$1 Step idle delay, milliseconds
$2 Step port invert, XYZmask*
$3 Direction port invert, XYZmask*
The direction each axis moves.
Step, Direction, Homing
Setting Invert X Invert Y Invert Z
0 N N N
1 Y N N
2 N Y N
3 Y Y N
4 N N Y
5 Y N Y
6 N Y Y
7 Y Y Y
$4 Step enable invert, (0=Disable, 1=Invert)
$5 Limit pins invert, (0=N-Open. 1=N-Close)
$6 Probe pin invert, (0=N-Open. 1=N-Close)
$10 Status report, ‘?’ status.
0=WCS position,
1=Machine position,
2= plan/buffer and WCS position,
3=plan/buffer and Machine position.
16=Limit Pins
$11 Junction deviation, mm
$12 Arc tolerance, mm
$13 Report in inches, (0=mm. 1=Inches)**
$20 Soft limits, (0=Disable. 1=Enable, Homing must be enabled)
$21 Hard limits, (0=Disable. 1=Enable)
$22 Homing cycle, (0=Disable. 1=Enable)
$23 Homing direction invert, XYZmask* Sets which corner it homes to.
$24 Homing feed, mm/min After switches are hit and rehome
$25 Homing seek, mm/min Homing before hittings switches.
$26 Homing debounce, milliseconds
$27 Homing pull-off, mm
$30 Max spindle speed, RPM
$31 Min spindle speed, RPM
$32 Laser mode, (0=Off, 1=On)
$100 Number of X steps to move 1mm
$101 Number of Y steps to move 1mm
$102 Number of Z steps to move 1mm
$110 X Max rate, mm/min
$111 Y Max rate, mm/min
$112 Z Max rate, mm/min
$120 X Acceleration, mm/sec^2
$121 Y Acceleration, mm/sec^2
$122 Z Acceleration, mm/sec^2
$130 X Max travel, mm Only for Homing and Soft Limits.
$131 Y Max travel, mm Only for Homing and Soft Limits.
$132 Z Max travel, mm Only for Homing and Soft Limits.
About CNC Firmware Z-Homing
The command to turn on this feature: ($Homing/Cycle1=Z)or($Homing/Cycle0=Z;$Homing/Cycle1=XY)
The command to turn off this feature: $Homing/Cycle1=0
- XYZmask is a value setting for the X Y and Z axes. Change if an axis is moving in the wrong direction. Value will be 0-7. ** Reporting units are independent of the units set in the Gcode!
I’d like to update my question. I did check $30 in Console at the value is 1000, so that’s not the issue. Yesterday I gave the laser another test with engraving and it worked perfectly. I had not changed anything and I got beautiful crisp letters. So I set up my next project and it was back to barely there. Almost so feint couldn’t see it. Again, I changed nothing. What could be the problem?
Thanks for these, I’ll print them out so I know what they are and someday I might understand this a bit better. Thanks again.
The symptoms suggest the wiring between the controller and the laser head has become intermittent due to repeated flexing. The fault may be at the wire joint with the connector pins or wherever the wire bends sharply.
Wiggling the wire while the laser is running is a reasonable way to discover where the fault lies, although it does require chasing the head all over. Manually firing the laser at low power while wiggling the wiring might be easier.
Super simple follow up question - are you sure your layers are set appropriately? Remember that they are saved with the project so can be different from default.
I know this is basic - but I actually ran into this last night
I will check and double check. I have noticed that I can save settings, then next time I open that file the settings changed.
I’ll inspect and wiggle wires tomorrow. That solution wasn’t on my list so I’ve not looked at the wires. Good suggestion. Thanks.
If you save to art library it doesn’t save cut settings for whatever reason.
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