I am trying to troubleshoot why my laser seems to not working like it did just 2 days ago. It’s not able to cut through a 6mm Balsa board, matching the same settings used previously.
When I go through the User Guide for Lightburn, it talks about settings that I can’t locate within my software, i.e Minimum Power, Constant Power Mode, among several others…
I noticed the User Manual in the website is for v1.0.04, whereas mine is v1.3.01. Do I have to so something to unlock all settings? I have a paid version…
I am NEW to this and my settings on Thursday cutting through 1/4" Bulsa plywood @ 800 speed, 70% power, 6 passes, whereas today I had to change it to 700, 95%, 11 passes. This is the exact same piece of board.
FYI, I am able to find where these settings are supposed to be, they’re just not there…
Can someone HELP please - it’s like my laser has lost over 50% power overnight…
If you’re seeing a sudden change in cutting performance it’s unlikely due to be caused by a setting you have no access to.
Having said that…
Check the top of the Title bar when you open LightBurn. Does it indicate “Beginner Mode” anywhere along the top? If so, disabling that will reveal more functions.
If not, it may just be a contextual thing. For example, Minimum Power is only available on g-code devices when using grayscale images. Otherwise not relevant. And in this, unlikely to be related to what you’re seeing.
You haven’t indicated units for your speed settings so it’s unclear if these are comparable speeds. A common issue is using one set of units while expecting or referencing values meant in another set of units and not doing the conversion.
Assuming for the moment that these speeds are like for like then general issues that could cause what you’re seeing:
- You’ve neglected focus
- Your lens has become dirtied due to smoke. In this case clean with IPA and retest.
- You’ve had a power supply failure. Check voltages from the supply.
- The cable connecting controller to laser module does not have a good connection or has become damaged. Check the ends to make sure they haven’t become dirtied.
- Your laser module is failing
- You’ve damaged the lens and it can’t resolve a tight dot
- Variation in the material itself is sufficient enough to account for the difference.
There may be others I’ve neglected. The first two are the most likely culprits so I’d suggest checking for those first.
Thank you very much for your reply -
as far as the speed units, I’ve never messed with the default setting [mm/m]
I am going to go down your list.
a) beginner mode is/was turned off
b) I should have the G-Code version -
maybe I grabbed the wrong DL - will check, but unlikely
c) most likely needs to be clean -
I have been doing A LOT of playing with different board types and things, and in my haste and neglected my maintenance… Now I feel… well. I’ll leave it there - ha ha
I am going to start with the cleaning and go from there.
Thank you for your advice and time.
This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.