Quick Tip - Easy way to center stuff on my work piece / substrate?

The easiest way to center align your artwork is to make a rectangle the size of your work piece, put it on its own layer (color), then set that one not to output.

It will still be considered when framing, so if you trace the frame, it should run exactly around the outer edge of the job. You can easily center your artwork by selecting artwork and rectangle and hit the ‘Align both vertical and horizontal centers’ icon on the upper tool bar and you’re all set.
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The camera would help too, but with simple shapes, doing a sized frame like this works well.

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I use this method quite often.

I have a question about aligning text I want to scan on a board. Maybe the tip above explains the same thing, but I’m not sure…I want to scan the name of a hiking trail on a board (like the test piece in the attached image). Of course, I want the text scan centerd and horizontal on the board. What I attempted was, in addition to the scan for the text, was also draw the perimeter of the board centering it around the text by making the X and Y axis coordinate values for both the text group and the sign perimeter the same. I set that layer to zero power so it wouldn’t cut, then pressed “FRAME” on the kay pad. I watched the laser head frame around the board and aligned the board and pressed FRAME a few more times until, as best as I could tell, the board was aligned with the path of the laser head when it did the frame. I then proceeded with the job and the text appeared to be aligned with the board as desired.

So is this an okay procedure, or is there a better way?

Thanks.

Tim

Thats how I do it.

Except I use a couple of 123 blocks to align the work piece with the X rail first so I know I am square to the laser rails, then begin moving the laser heard to put it exactly on the upper right corner (thats where I set the work origin), Then framing should prove the work is setup correctly.

Okay, sounds like what I explained, except you do an extra step first which is to square your work with the laser rail. Then, use the keypad to position the laser head over whichever corner of your work is at your origin (I use upper, left corner). Then frame to confirm. ???
Tim

Thats what I do, if there is a better way I don’t know what it is.

There’s a way to do this that the software can help with - If you use a pencil and straight-edge to create very light diagonal lines from one corner of the wood to the other you can find the true center of the workpiece. You don’t need to mark the whole line, just near the middle. Once you have the center, you can line your red-dot up with that center mark, select the design and click the “Move to Laser Position” button.

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You can use the “Show Last Position” button to help:
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And the “Move to Laser Position” button uses the same “anchor origin” as the resize numbers on the toolbar - It defaults to centered, but you can pick which point of the design gets moved to the laser position by changing this:
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If you wanted to do it closer to your method, you could still draw a box around your design of the correct size, then just pick one of the corners of the wood to line up with, and use the “move to laser position” button with the “origin dot” set to the corner you had the laser positioned at.

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Hmm, that sounds great. I don’t quite understand, but will be better able to follow and give it a try tomorrow when I get down I to the shop and fire up my laser-cutter. I’ll let you know how it works - thank you! :grin::+1:

Tim

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You don’t have to set the power of your layer to “zero” to have this work.
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Uncheck 'Layer Output’ to turn off and LightBurn will not emit a beam but will ‘Frame’ around your rectangle assisting with your placement as you do now.

But “better way” is relative. Some use a physical jig setup for ease of repeatability using ‘Absolute Coordinates’. Others will use a camera for virtual placement on a captured image as shown below from the LightBurn Camera setup.

More than one way to Pew-a-Pew. :thinking:

I should do a video for this one - this is one that’s easier to watch than read. :slight_smile:

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This is a demo of how the camera integration features work. :wink:

This is what I was looking for…Thanks Rick

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