I’m spinning my wheels trying to get a laser up and running. I’m using FoxAlien 4040xe with FA40w laser. I’m using Lightburn on an attached laptop (Win 7), and I’ve watched a lot of videos, and while I’m doing okay at designing and using the tools, I apparently do not have the set up correct. When I load the Engrave test, and click on start, I get the message “Transfer Failed. There was a problem sending data to the laser. The machine may be busy or paused.”
In Device Discovery, the result says GRBL-M3 1.1e or earlier 10mm x 10mm at COM3 1… (GCode) Serial/USB.
The USB is in COM 5, which is what is shown on the bottom right window of Lightburn.
Should my FA controller be set on PC (as it is now) or Controller?
I have Laser, not spindle selected.
Paw Paw talks about changing GCode, but I can’t find that. He is using Candle, but I don’t use Candle at all if I’m using Lightburn, correct? Do I need to change the GCode?
Am I right in thinking the process goes from creating in Lightburn on the laptop that’s connected via USB to the controller, and sending the burn job directly to the laser from Lightburn?
I have been successfully using this computer with this Fox alien controller to a De Walt router for several carving projects.
Thank you so very much for helping this ol’ grandma out! I know I’m close, and appreciate your assistance.
This is the message you see when Windows shuts off the USB connection when it either is energy saving or it sees no activity for a while.
I suggest you Google for Energy Saver Mode Win7 to get the instructions for disabling that feature. I went from Win Vista to Win10 in one leap, so I am not much help here.
Another possibility is the poor quality USB cables usually shipped with the lasers. Find one that is foil shielded and has one or more ferrites on it.
Kathy, check windows 7 USB settings to make sure windows isn’t idling the USB port if it thinks it isn’t busy, also you might try a different USB port on the LT if you have one as not all ports provide the same power level. If you have a friend that has a LT running windows 10 or higher you might see if it works and that will narrow the issue to your laptop/Win 7. Did you install the USB drivers? Are you running the latest version of LB?