I have just installed lightburn using the Cohesion 3D board and I am having all types of problems setting up my laser in Lightburn.
When I test a simple job and send to the laser the X axis moves backwards from the home position and bangs against the stop then moves forward to cut the part.
I have it set to return to home after the job and sometimes it works and sometimes it moves to the left of the Y position as if that were the home position
for no reason it disconnects from the laser and I have to disconnect the cable and reconnect to get back to the ready state
3.when it does some what work the busy indicator remains on with a 99% after the job is finished and I have to hit stop to get back to a ready stage
I have watched videos and read manuals but a lot of the information does not address these issues
I have solved my jog problem
What I need to know is when I jog the laser to the bottom left of my cutting grid from the move panel I set everything to ( 0)
I set the origin with the settings at the top of the panel
when I do a test cut with my wood sheet set at (0/0)/ bottom left of the grid the laser moves to the middle of the grid to begin its cut no where near where the wood is located
At the end of the cut the laser goes home (upper left corner )
what am I missing to setup?
When you have a project on the screen in lightburn you should see a small ‘green’ square’ next to the project.
Use the teardrop icon on left of the screen and click on the ‘green’ square, the laser will move to the square.
Click ‘set origin’ in the ‘move panel’
That is where you place the edge of the material, press ‘frame’ and watch the laser move around where the project should be.
(Not sure if yours is a diode laser) but if it is you can ‘shift+click on frame’ and it will frame with the laser on low power.
If it isn’t a diode laser then you ‘must not use’ a ‘fire’ button for framing
Doesn’t take long to get used to it.
Make sure in ‘move’ tab that the laser is below 5% so it doesn’t burn while framing.
On the ‘laser’ tab select ‘user origin’, there are 9 circles, select the ‘bottom left’ circle.
In ‘system settings’ at top of the screen (spanner and screwdriver) set ‘origin’ to bottom left.
Doesn’t take long to get used to, it’s harder to explain than it is to do…
Good luck, hope it works.
If I set my material in the upper or lower corner of my grid and go through the setup
Will that allow me to do repeat cuts without having to reset each time?
I make several of the same cuts .
I guess if it opens on the screen in the same place, you could mark the work surface so you know exactly where to place the material.
I tend to swap and change materials a lot so i don’t have the need to try myself but it should work.
I’m pretty sure there is a way to fix the screen setting but as i said, never needed to find out (maybe i shall)
P.s I use a piece of timber as my work surface and have lightburn score a line
for each time i start a different project so i only have minor adjustments to do on one side…
Did you go through the documentation that tells you how to set up a Smoothie board, set origin, how origin works and how to place objects and send a job with the origin settings you want?
I don’t know what spectrum is, but LB is one of the most intuitive and simple laser control apps, ever.
Your problem is set up and a lack of familiarity. It’s really not a hard app to use.
I have a full spectrum laser using retina engrave 3D software and I didnt have to go through anything like this.
I agree with you that it is a matter of learning how to use the software.
I dont use Cohesion to draw with I only need the layers function and the cut function
If the laser is seeking the wrong corner when powered up, you have something incorrect in the configuration of the board itself, which you would edit in the config.txt file on the SD card.
As Bo mentions, you are swapping out a pre-configured controller with one that has no idea what sort of machine you have, how big it is, how many steps it takes to move the motors a given distance, etc. A laser manufacturer would normally set all of these things for you, but by swapping out the controller, you have chosen to take this part on yourself. It’s not horribly difficult, but it can be a little daunting if you’ve never done it.
This is a SOFTWARE support forum for LightBurn. Ask a LightBurn related question and you will get all the support you could ever want. If you have a hardware question they will go above and beyond the call of duty to try and help you, but to expect them to support ALL hardware for EVERY user is unreasonable.
When you make a machine yourself and don’t know WTF you are doing and expect other people to solve your problems, what do you call that?
I did notice 8 different posts trying to help you solve YOUR problem, only one of which mentioned DIY. And that was in respect of your DIY machine not being as well sorted as the one you bought, complete, from a vendor.
To condense your post: you don’t know how to configure YOUR controller or to set up the software to work with it, but it’s all our fault for not moving heaven and earth to solve the problem created by your lack of familiarity with YOUR hardware and the software - is that about the size of it?
I wonder how much documentation you have read - any?
I have spent many decades installing, repairing, servicing, building, and sometimes designing a wide variety of electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic equipment, largely in industrial settings and I can absolutely confirm: Documentation is your friend. I highly recommend making good use of it when it’s available.
