Device Settings¶

Basic Settings¶

This tab is available for all devices, and contains the most commonly used settings.

Working Size¶

The maximum X (Width) and Y (Height) travel for your laser. This affects the work area in LightBurn, but does not affect the laser itself.

Origin¶

The location of your laser's Origin, or home. If this is set incorrectly, the orientation of your laser's output will be mirrored or inverted.

For help with troubleshooting your laser's Origin, please see Troubleshooting: Wrong Orientation.

Laser Offset¶

If your laser has a red dot pointer for framing and positioning, this setting allows you to compensate for misalignment between the pointer and the actual cutting location. Enable this setting to shift the laser's output relative to the red dot location.

See Laser Offset Setup for instructions on calculating the offset.

Enable U Axis¶

Enable this setting to apply per-layer U Axis offsets. This is not supported by all controllers.

Z Control¶

This section contains settings for your laser's Z axis, which controls the distance between the laser and the workpiece. The options available will vary depending on what laser you're using.

Enable Z Axis¶

Enable this to allow LightBurn to control the Z axis of your machine.

Reverse Z Direction¶

Enable this setting if your machine's Z axis moves in the opposite direction of what you expect. For most lasers, a Z height of 0 means the laser is touching the material or laser bed, and positive values for Z move the laser further from the material. When enabled, this setting tells LightBurn that Z moves use negative values instead of positive values.

This setting does not affect jogging in the Move window.

Relative Z Moves Only¶

This setting treats the machine's height at the start of the job as 0, and uses that height as the starting point for all Z moves. Material height is ignored when Relative Z Moves are enabled.

This is the simplest way to work, as you set your focus according to the manufacturer's directions and LightBurn will treat that height as the correct height to start from.

Optimize Z Moves¶

By default, LightBurn always retracts the Z back to the starting height after completing a shape with a Z Offset. This is done to prevent the laser head from crashing into the workpiece.

With Optimize Z Moves enabled, LightBurn will only issue Z moves when the Z height actually changes. If you know your material is flat and that none of the Z moves will result in the laser moving low enough to run into anything on your work table, this can save a lot of time.

OMTech Polar¶

Enable this if using an OMTech Polar device.

General Options¶

Tab Pulse Width¶

When using Tabs, the Tab Pulse Width allows for additional control of the Tab Cut Power setting. Change this length to increase or decrease the width of the pulses used to simulate reduced power cuts.

Enable Job Checklist¶

When this setting is enabled, LightBurn will display a text box with a list of items whenever you Start or Send a job to your laser. This is typically used as a reminder of things that need to be done before starting the laser, such as turning on an exhaust fan or putting on protective glasses.

To create a custom checklist, click the Edit button.

Frame Continuously¶

This setting alters the behavior of the Frame button. When enabled, LightBurn will frame your project repeatedly until stopped, instead of a single time.

Continuous framing is often useful for adjusting material placement within the laser.

Overwrite Files on Device by Default¶

When enabled, LightBurn will automatically overwrite pre-existing files of the same name when sending a project to your laser's controller. Keep this setting disabled to receive a warning message whenever LightBurn will need to overwrite a file in order to send a new one.

Scanning Offset Adjust¶

This setting is used to compensate for minor delays in your power supply causing the laser's firing point to be a little behind where it should be when scanning back and forth at high speeds. For more information, please see Scanning Offset Adjustment. For an example of what Scanning Offset problems might look like, please see Troubleshooting: Blurry Edges.

The Add, Delete, Import, and Export buttons allow you to create, edit, import, and export your Scanning Offset settings. You can use this to import settings provided by your machine's manufacturer, share adjustments with other users, or back up your settings before making changes.

Other Options¶

Not all of these options will be available on all devices. If your device has an option that is not documented here, please reach out to the documentation team using the email link to the right of the headers to let us know.

GCode¶

The GCode tab contains settings for modifying the job output on GCode devices. For Custom GCode devices, please see Custom GCode.

Start / End Scripts¶

Some devices may need additional commands before or after running a job. GCode entered into these boxes will be added to the start or end of each job LightBurn sends to your device.

Use G0 Moves for Overscan¶

Enable this setting to use G0 moves for overscan instead of G1. Some controllers, such as FabCreator Smoothieware boards, have a non-zero power value for their minimum output, causing them to burn during the overscan portion of an engraving. If you find that your laser doesn't shut off completely for overscan moves, try enabling this setting.

Emit S Value With Every G1 Command¶

Enable this setting to have LightBurn specify the output power of the laser with every move command, rather than only when the power level changes. Enable this setting if your laser does not turn back on after travel moves.

Additional Settings¶

The Additional Settings tab contains settings used by the Preview simulation engine to calculate the time it will take to complete a job. Changing these settings will not change anything about how the job actually runs, but can make time estimates more accurate.

Use the Read From Controller button to sync these settings with your laser's internal settings, providing much more accurate time estimates without manual adjustment.

• Maximum Speed X and Y: the maximum speed at which the laser can travel on the X and Y axes, individually.
• Cut Acceleration X and Y: the maximum rate at which the laser can speed up or slow down while cutting (Line operations), on the X and Y axes, individually.

• Engrave Acceleration: the maximum rate at which the laser can speed up or slow down during engraving (Fill operations), on the X and Y axes, individually.

  Note

  Y axis Speed and Acceleration values are often set lower than X. Due to the greater mass of the Y axis gantry, many lasers must travel slower in the Y dimension to avoid slipping.

• Corner Accuracy: a value used to estimate cornering speed. Corner Accuracy is not read from controller. Read more about how this value works for lasers with GRBL controllers here.

• Minimum Corner Speed: the slowest possible speed the laser will turn corners at.
• Cut Speed Scale: scales cut speed estimates by this percentage when simulating job time. Not read from controller. Use this value to manually fine-tune estimates.
• Global Speed Scale: scales all estimates by this percentage when simulating job time. Not read from controller. Use this value to manually fine-tune estimates.

Custom GCode¶

This tab is only available for devices created using the Custom GCode type. Please see the Custom GCode page for help with it.