X/Y different speeds

Hi Oz, I have a diode laser on a DIY custom table. I have an issue in that due to the way the diode lasers operate (in that they aren’t pin point dots, they are in fact always short lines) I have different cut characteristics depending on which way the laser is cutting, either on the X or Y axis. At the moment I am trying to cut thick card which on the X axis (which would be the thin point of the laser) can cut through at 1200mm/minute. But on the Y axis (because the beam is then wider and therefore not as focused) it takes 800mm/min and 2 passes. This is terribly inefficient as I have to run the entire job at the lower, slower settings, dispite the X axis cutting through on the first past. Meaning my jobs are taking twice as long as they could be…

If I really wanted to I could ‘hack it’ by telling my machine there are 1/3rd as many steps per mm on the y axis, then stretching my jobs by 3 times. But that seems a lot of faff and equally a lot of work!

I am also aware of people mounting the lasers at 45 degrees but that doesn’t help when you also have 45 degree lines in your job.

Can there be an update where you can set different speeds set for the X and Y axis? This would be a great help to those of us running diode lasers.

Many thanks
Ben

It all depends on what kind of controller you have. just go to the console in Lightburn and enter the $ commands and values that correspond to the desired parameter of your machine.
Try looking for information regarding Gerbil settings.

Are you saying there are these parameters you can set directly? As they don’t appear in machine settings. I can set the max speed for the different axis, but thats not what I mean.

yes, all the settings for the machine itself can be set from these commands. You can not use Lightburn to set up your machine, but Lightburn reads the machine profile you specify / determine. If that’s not what you mean, I do not understand you correctly.

I have set up the machine and all the parameters in Grbl to suit my table, the thing you cannot set through Grbl or Lightburn is a different speed for X and Y, only Max Speed for each axis. This is what I’m asking for, so I can have the machine cut at say 500mm/min in x, but say only 200mm/min in y

Can I get a reply on this please? Thanks

I know this can be done by fiddling with jobs and the steps, but can it just be added to the software as an option?? This is a serious issue, doubling or tripling job times

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