Hello all. The engraver is so new the box it came in is still spread out over the floor. I have a couple issues, I want to print a few images and I did a test engrave with the first one. I would love links, or even videos if needed.
Issue one, I lost colors doing a burn and I dont get why, and I have watched so many videos waiting on the box to arrive that it’s all becoming a blur. I have a bunch of color pictures, including this one, that has 5 colors. I pulled one into lightburn after about 2 hours of being lost in the GRBL free software. I got the printer to work with lightburn, but as you can see from the pictures I only get two shades of burn.
second issue is I have no idea how do i dig into the material for one color? like in the case of this image, if I wanted the red to be deep, the yellow not as deep the mountain higher, and the person the highest? or something like that?
Because you’re working with a raster image file you are not likely to get the results you’re wanting. A raster image only allows for one speed / power setting and it makes the changes using various dithering modes. If this file was a vector file you could assign different settings to each color. This video is a quick run through of the different image modes that you may find useful.
I have a Lightburn for newbies playlist and there are several others on youtube with great Lightburn content (LA Hobby Guy, The Clack Shack, Hobo With Wood, That Mom with a Laser to name a few). Start with simple files and work your way into bigger and better.
Welcome to the LB forum. We love helping people learn how to get to know the program.
Tim has a very good series of videos, I encourage you to step back, get some rest and look at the problem with fresh eyes.
Some key concepts:
Image layers are grey scales by the laser. Getting expected results from image layers takes a lot of practice. Images are raster graphics.
“Objects” are made up of lines, which are vector graphics. Lines stacked close together are how you get Fill and Offset Fill. Objects are where you should be starting off until you are a little more comfortable operating your laser (IMNSHO).
Use recycled cardboard for a cheap and plentiful practice media.
You can right click on an image and use the TRACE command to convert the image to a vector.
Have fun! I learned a lot from videos, but I also pushed every button and use the Preview button to see what I am about to send to the laser.
CTRL+Z = go back one step. I use that a lot too.
We all started exactly where you did. Don’t get frustrated
Point, click and good results…take a bit more time.
Guided development time.
My own process for your example image:
TRACE the picture of dude and mountains. Play with the slider keys to get separation of the color areas. You can trace more than one time. Set the results to the side for pending edits.
Use the UNGROUP button to break the objects into distinct items.
Set each color group to be on a different layer. Adjust power, speed, line interval and scan direction to achieve different engrave color/texture/depth.
Use the preview button (use it a lot).
Engrave onto cardboard. I set my 10w machine to 2000 mm/m at about 20-30 percent power. Fine tune your settings until you get the results you are after. Having the different parts on different layers will let you tune each one individually.
Try this and see if it helps. I separated your design into 4 separate elements. You can assign each one to a separate layer and fill as needed with different power and speed settings. I had to draw the mans body by hand. Got it pretty close but you may need to tweek it a bit. Hope this helps
Try this and see if it helps. I separated your design into 4 separate elements. You can assign each one to a separate layer and fill as needed with different power and speed settings. I had to draw the mans body by hand. Got it pretty close but you may need to tweek it a bit. Hope this helps
