Im trying to calibrate my rotary but i guess this is also an X and Y axis problem with or without the rotary.
WITH the rotary(w/ ruida) im able to do the test where i draw a line and it stops where it starts.
Doesnt that mean its calibrated?
But when i try to make a 10mm X 10mm square test, it comes out 10mm X 13mm.
I know RDworks has the setting where you can overwrite the vendor settings and input the measured vs actual distance. Does Lightburn have anything like that?
LightBurn does have axis calibration now, yes. Go to Edit > Machine Settings, then click the ‘Calibrate Axis’ button at the bottom. You’ll need to do each axis, then click ‘Write’ before moving onto the next one.
It’s also more accurate to do a larger shape, like a 100 to 200 mm square, and measure the output size. The software will ask you for the size you requested and the size you measured, and adjust the current steps setting accordingly.
Does changing the switches on the step up motor when you change from using the rotary to not using it, does it affect the accuracy of the Y axis?
I wrote the new measurements after the calibration but the square came out the same.
I dont think the controller is taking the new settings. Is there a way to verify or is there something im doing wrong?
I would first check that you don’t have rotary mode enabled by going to Tools > Rotary Setup.
If that’s off, then check to make sure that the step length numbers are actually changing - that the new values are being kept.
Do i always leave rotary disabled? Or just when im making changes?
What exactly does rotary enabled do? Calculate circumference and all that? Is that necessary? Isnt 10mm the same whether its flat or cylindrical since the surface thats supposed to be lasered is flat?
You leave rotary disabled when you are doing flat work, or trying to calibrate the Y axis for flat work. You enable the rotary mode when you are using a rotary.
When using a rotary, you unplug the Y axis and connect a rotary device to that motor controller instead. The rotary axis will move the surface of your material by some distance depending on whether you have a chuck or roller rotary, and the diameter of the object, rollers, rotary gearing, etc. The numbers you enter in the rotary setup account for all of this so the machine knows how many motor steps to take to move your object the desired distance and speed.
I saw an RD works lab where he doesnt use the Enable Rotary and instead just calculates the percentage if difference. So say i want 10mm but get 15mm, so he adjust the Y axis to 66% to make up for it.
Would this also work?
It will work, much in the same way that one of those tiny little ‘spare tires’ that car makers include now to save space. It will get you there, but it’s a hack, and isn’t recommended for longer term use.
Scaling the job instead of properly setting the rotary screws up a bunch of things.
Your interval value will NOT scale with the scale you apply. If you have to scale the Y down by 50% to size the job correctly, you’d also have to scale the interval by 50%
Speed and acceleration limits will not be properly managed - If you scale the job by 50% to get the size right, it means that both your Y speed and Y acceleration should also be scaled by that amount. When you use the rotary setup, this happens in the controller. When you don’t, it doesn’t, so it’s possible to exceed travel or acceleration limits this way. It also means if you are running a vector line, it will go the wrong speed in the Y direction.
You’ll have to remember and restore your settings every time, instead of just switching the Rotary Enable switch.
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