Problems for a newbie

[Hrcoleman66 (Hugh Coleman)]

Hi, new here. Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere…

I’m trying to use liteburn to control my 3018 cnc router with a 5500 mW blue laser module running GRBL.
Connection is good and the power and feed rate are good.
But…
A) I can’t seem to customise my origin. In the move tab, the button for setting the origin is not there.
B) when I start the cut, it starts fine, but then in the traverses between where it should be cutting it continues to cut.
C) about 5% into the cut file, it hangs and just stays in one spot burning…

Can anybody help please.

Cheers,

Hugh

[LightBurn (Oz)]

Start with this, and let us know if you’re still having trouble:

Configuring a 3018 CNC for use with LightBurn

The summary: Turn on Laser Mode to get rid of the travel lines You’re trying to move too fast, which is why you don’t get enough power You need to zero the machine 3018’s are pre-configured for use as CNC machines, not lasers, so their settings and speeds will likely need to be changed to give you acceptable results with LightBurn. To see the existing settings, you can type $$ into the console in LightBurn and press enter, or go to Edit > Machine Settings. Both are showing the same values, b…

[Hrcoleman66 (Hugh Coleman)]

Thanks. I’ll give all this a go.

[Hrcoleman66 (Hugh Coleman)]

Ok. I have managed to set my origin successfully, switch the machine to laser mode and have the cut speed as it should be, but it still gets about 5% of the way into the job and hangs.
The preview shows/plays the entire cut job.
However, the actual job starts at a different point to the preview. It cuts perfectly for the ten or twenty seconds at the start, then stops. No error shows.

There must be something simple I’m doing wrong.

Cheers,

Hugh

[LightBurn (Oz)]

Not necessarily - it could easily be power noise, a poor cable connection, or some other electrical issue. Check the connections to make sure they’re all snug. If you don’t see any error messages in the console, check that your ports aren’t set to go to sleep:

How to troubleshoot connection issues with USB

A very common problem with Windows systems and lasers is the way Windows handles USB connections - If it thinks a connection is idle, it can put the port into a power-save mode, which can make your device stop talking to it. This is especially common with laptops. If you are having issues where you often lose the USB connection after a period of time, try the following: Windows 7: https://pattersonsupport.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14917/~/disable-power-management-on-windows-7-machi…

[Hrcoleman66 (Hugh Coleman)]

I had a very strong suspicion you were going to say that. My USB cable (came with the machine) does have a ferrite ring.

Further investigation:
Error: 2 near line 31
Ok
Error:25
Ok

This is what is coming up in the command field.

How can I check the G code?

It’s worth noting that this ONLY happens with Lighburn. If I use the generic GRBLcandle software that came with the machine, it will run the full cut job.

Cheers,

Hugh

[Hrcoleman66 (Hugh Coleman)]

Edited to remove double post.

[LightBurn (Oz)]

@Hrcoleman66

How can I check the G code?

Click the ‘Save GCode’ button and open the output in a text editor.

Error 2 is “Bad number format Missing the expected G-code word value or numeric value format is not valid”
Error 25 is “Invalid gcode ID:25 Repeated g-code word found in block”

This means you have a communication error of some kind - LightBurn’s gcode is fine or I’d be hearing about it from everyone, not just you.

LightBurn does push the communication really hard, so if a machine does have issues, they’re more likely to show up when running LightBurn than with some software.

[Hrcoleman66 (Hugh Coleman)]

Well, I solved my problems by saving the g code and then loading it into laserwebs… which has a reputation for being slow, so it doesn’t overload the buffer… success at last.
I still use lightburn to create the g code, but I use laserwebs to push it to the machine.

Cheers,

Hugh