Question about the camera

When one of the cameras is used does i then do you use the camera for absolute coordinates? I am wondering if I can use it as a finder for the location of the edge of the workspace and such instead of getting up to go verify. Basically tell me the benefits of the camera. I am thinking about mounting it on a gantry above both my cnc router and my laser so I can use it for both in laightburn. I was thinking about using a nema 17 and a controller to move the carriage back and forth depending on which one I want to use

You must use Absolute Coordinates with the camera updating the LightBurn workspace, so that the image corresponds to the physical layout.

The adjusted / corrected image will then allow positioning on the platform within a millimeter (more or less), so that you can avoid all the fiddling around with framing and suchlike.

I use it for initial positioning:

  • Open the LightBurn file with whatever I’m doing
  • Update the camera image on the workspace
  • Drag whatever I’m doing into position on the image
  • Fire The Laser!

Frankly, I can’t imagine working without the camera.

Some background:

That will most likely not work, because the camera position must be absolutely constant after calibration / adjustment. Even sub-millimeter camera motion will wreck the image positioning at the platform surface.