Positioning the laser at the center of a selected object

LightBurn Software Questions
1

I have read the instructions but still unsure how to position the laser at the center of a selected object. For example, does the object have to be at a specific location from the machine origin. There has to be a relationship between the object in the work area on the computer screen, and the layout of the laser bed to locate the desired position. Simply selecting the object and telling the laser to move to the center seems to simple. How does the laser know where the center is?

2

Short answer, it does not.

I am pretty sure your Genmitsu has homing switches.

I am going to make some assumptions here, but if wrong we can correct.
Enable Homing on startup and use Absolute Coords.

  1. You have the laser and material base fixed in position. This allows repeatablity when making the same part at a later time.
  2. Locate your material in the corner where it Homes.
  3. Make your drawing in the same location on the Lightburn grid.
  4. Your material and drawing will be vertically aligned. No need to find a center.
  5. Use the Continous Framing mode to ensure the work will be contained entirely within the work material.
  6. Before marking valuable material, use cardboard to test with. The power settings will not be that much different from wood.
3

Mike,

Thanks for the helpful response. It does Home on startup. Your explanation makes sense. However, there isn’t a one to one correspondence between what’s on the screen and what’s on the laser bed. I am cutting out labels. There can be up to 12 labels but only one cutting vector. I need to be able cut any one of the labels. Perhaps I will have to create 12 cutting vectors corresponding to the location of the 12 labels. Thus far I have tried to turn on the laser and jog to a specific location on the label. Then move a known distance to the center, but it is very hit and miss since it relies on visual observation.

4

That is exactly what I do so I can cut/engrave one or more as needed. Engraving bamboo pens is a prime example of this, but in this case I created a fixture to ensure proper placement.

5

In my case it is an A size color printed sheet of labels. Interesting that you should mention pens because that is also my purpose. The labels are for resin casting. The paper is water resistant and isn’t affected by the Alumilite polyurethane resin.

6

Indeed! Once you set up a fixturing system, whether it be for labels, pens or keychains, running a new batch is quick and easy.

Risking info overload, I also create a master LB file with the layout. I then use copies of it to allow editing of text or images. I save the new copy with a relevant name, then edit text or image as needed. The space outline is always visible, for alignment purposes, but not output to the laser.

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7

I also have a “martyr” layer where I drew a 30mmx30mm frame, its outline is locked so it never moves. A bit like a

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8

No such thing as info overload when it is helpful!

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9

There is a function under lb for repetitions, we can also use the duplicate function, very easy to make 12

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10

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