LightBurn

About LightBurn

Laser work normally involves three programs: something to draw in, something to convert the drawing into machine instructions, and something to send those instructions to the controller. LightBurn collapses all three into one window, which removes the export step where settings quietly get lost and makes an adjustment to a cut a matter of changing a number rather than starting the chain over.

The editing side is a real vector editor. Shapes are drawn and edited with nodes, imported artwork is welded, offset, grouped and arranged, text is placed on a path or converted to outlines, and imported images are dithered or halftoned for engraving with control over the threshold. Arrays duplicate a part across the bed with spacing that accounts for the kerf.

Cut settings are held per layer, which is what makes complicated jobs manageable. Each colour in the drawing becomes a layer with its own power, speed, pass count, air assist and interval, so a single file can score, engrave and cut through in one run with the order controlled explicitly. Cut ordering, inner before outer, and per layer offsets are all set rather than guessed at.

Machine control is built in. The camera option overlays a live view of the bed so artwork is placed on the material where it actually sits, framing traces the job boundary before anything fires, job time is estimated before the run, and the console gives direct access to the controller for jogging, homing and diagnosing a machine that is misbehaving. A wide range of controllers is supported through the same interface.

What is included in this build

• Vector drawing and node editing with welding, offsetting and boolean operations
• Image import with dithering and halftone conversion for engraving
• Per layer power, speed, pass count, interval and air assist settings
• Explicit cut ordering with inner before outer and per layer offsets
• Camera overlay showing the real bed for placing artwork on material
• Framing and job time estimation before a run starts
• Direct controller console for jogging, homing and diagnostics
• Support for a wide range of laser controllers through one interface

Changed in version 2.0.05

• Additional controller profiles supported
• Faster image processing on large engraving jobs
• Improved camera calibration workflow and lens correction
• Better handling of imported files with very high node counts
• Reduced job send times on large cut files

Installation walkthrough

These steps assume a clean machine. If a previous release of the same application is present, deal with that first, since an overlapping install is the most common cause of a setup that stops halfway.

1. Connect the machine and confirm the operating system recognises the controller before installing.
2. Run the installer as administrator and allow the driver components to register.
3. Create the machine profile on first launch, entering the bed size and controller type accurately.
4. Run a framing pass on scrap material before cutting anything real.
5. Calibrate the camera, if one is fitted, before relying on the overlay for placement.

System requirements and file details

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