I have found this question on the forum but not with a definitive answer.
Is it possible to save a set of layer settings and then just load them into a project?
I have lots of files where everything is grouped by the right layer (and the same num/color as other files). It would be a huge time saver to be able to save a layer settings “set” and reload on demand. Writing settings down and re-entering is time consuming and prone to errors. Likewise, having to go find the library setting for each layer is a little better but not much.
Yes, that is possible. Select the parameters you want and assign them to a layer (color). Remember to save the layer values as default for this layer.
But, I mean just like @jkwilborn, that the material library is better suited for storing layer/material properties, it is actually made for this purpose.
Thanks for the suggestions but neither of those solutions is really ideal.
I have particular “sets” of settings that I always use as a group. For example, I cut, mark, and abrade ceramic fiber paper. For cutting I will have multiple layers with the same settings so that I can order the sequence of inner pieces being cut before outer pieces. I’m pretty confident this is a common use case.
I have designs that I’ll use on different thickness of fiber paper. Some layer settings will change for the new thickness, others will not. I should be able (I think) to quickly and explicitly change from one thickness fiber paper to another.
I can create entries in the library for everything but that still leaves me the unpleasant task of figuring out which ones I needed to change, finding and applying then, and hoping I didn’t screw up.
What I do today is I load a file with the settings I want, delete any objects, and copy and paste in from the file I want to cut. That’s a massive kludge and a file maintenance hassle - but 8 do it because it’s more reliable.
It would be so much more efficient for me to simply save my current layer settings into a “layer settings sets” that I can load on demand. If I’ve tagged the objects in any file with the right layer ids then a single “load later set” command would make the switch.
It’s a matter of data normalization from my perspective. Don’t store data copies when you can store once, reuse, and change in one place.
Ok, I see what you mean.
I will do it in the following way.
Create a file with the layers and their properties you need and save the file as “Material 1 Template” for example. The layer properties should be saved even if you delete the objects in the file. If you want to be 100% sure, make a small identification logo with the layers/properties they should represent and save it with the file.
This file will now act as your template in the future, therefore you must name the file you are working with with a different name.
Hi, just been reading this thread and downloaded ‘TEST.lbrn2’ file.
Went to open it and it gives a message that it was created with version ‘1.13.01’ opening this file may cause data loss.
The latest release is 1.13.00.
This is more or less what I do but it’s an ugly solution. It doesn’t address the main use case of being able to take a design and easily switch it to a different material, or, for someone who has multiple machines with different powered lasers, easily use a shared design library for both machines.
I think the model I’m looking for is similar to a style sheet in a word processing app that lets me change attributes without having to mess with content.
I have workarounds but they are all inelegant and introduce problems.
In this case, you must in any case find new/separate settings, there is no difference here for the wood or metal industry. For my laser machines, I have also had to create different libraries with properties that cover the different machines, how else is my diode laser supposed to handle it same task as my co2 laser?
Another “problem” in this context is that it is extremely rare for two deliveries of material to be the same. Structure, moisture content and quality are never the same, wood, lead, slate and so on are natural products.
For laser machines, it also applies that the power values must be continuously adjusted during the lifetime of the machines. So here there is no load and start solution.
Both your examples reinforce the value of what I’m asking for.
When my tube starts to lose power I don’t want to have to update my acrylic cut setting in a hundred files, I want to do it on one place.
If I have a design that I sometimes engrave on my Boss 1630 100W and sometimes on my diode engraver, I don’t want to have to maintain that design in two files. I want one design file where I can easily switch layer settings based on machine/material.
This is exactly why data/software architects normalize data. Except for some performance cases, one of the most basic rules of software design is don’t duplicate data.
Mind you I love Lightburn. It’s reliable and an exceptional value. I just get frustrated at how often I have to re-enter data or make the same changes to multiple files.
I think you could pull that off with two distinct material libraries, one for each laser, with matching entries linked to the project file layers.
IIUC, linked material layers pull parameters from the current library on their way to the laser, so you could switch libraries “underneath” the current project to switch lasers without changing anything else.
I’d definitely verify that with some careful experimentation before depending on it!
Of course, you’d be duplicating the material definitions in each library, but at least they have meaningful names instead of bare numbers.
Maybe I’m misreading you here, but when my machine is set to the led, the materials library for the led is loaded and when I switch back to the co2 the co2 library is loaded… I change devices, it changes libraries… I thought…
Nobody does, but what you want is something that would have needed to be ‘designed’ in or be a complete re-write. It’s pretty much a parametric design system … this has been mentioned in the past.
