makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software User Guide

June 4, 2024
makermade

makermade LOGO SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION GUIDE
LIGHTBURN
A guide to installing and configuring LightBurn
software for use with MakerMade’s Laser
Module Kit. 

Lightburn Laser Resources Software

The instructions in this document are intended for use with your MakerMade M2 or Maslow CNC cutting machine. This document does not include full instructions, warnings, and disclaimers for using a laser with your CNC machine and is only for the setup of your LightBurn software. If you have any questions, you can fill out a support ticket at: https://makermade.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new
These instructions are based on the download and installation instructions from LightBurn. You can find their full documentation here:
https://lightburnsoftware.github.io/NewDocs/Downloading.html
https://lightburnsoftware.github.io/NewDocs/Installation.html
https://lightburnsoftware.github.io/NewDocs/FirstRun.html
https://lightburnsoftware.github.io/NewDocs/AddingYourLaser.html
https://lightburnsoftware.github.io/NewDocs/CreateManually.html

DOWNLOADING LIGHTBURN

The first step is to go to lightburnsoftware.com
At the top, click “Download and Trial” (or click here )
You’ll see links for the current release of LightBurn.
Download the version that matches your computer.
Windows 64-bit – nearly all modern computers are 64 bit
Windows 32-bit – some older systems might need this
Mac OSX
Linux 64-bit
When you’ve completed the download, you should see the file in your “Downloads” folder.
On Windows and Mac, you can just double-click the downloaded file.

makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software - FIG 1

WINDOWS INSTALLATION

Launch the installer by double-clicking it.

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Click Next, then click ‘Install’. The installation will proceed. When it completes, you’ll see this:

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That’s it! Locate the LightBurn icon to launch the program.

MARCOS INSTALLATION

Double-click the LightBurn.dmg file to mount the disk image.
Drag the LightBurn application into your applications folder.
Eject the LightBurn disk image, or drag it to the trash bin.
Please note that at this time, LightBurn for MacOS is not digitally signed. This means that you will need to tell MacOS that you trust us. (Read about this here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh40616/mac )
To launch LightBurn for the first time:
Open a Finder window.
Browse to the ‘Applications’ folder.
Hold the Command key and double-click the LightBurn icon, or two-finger tap the icon.
When MacOS asks if it should open the program, say yes, and it will be listed as an exception in your launcher. From now on you can just launch the application normally.

LINUX INSTALLATION

  1. Open a terminal and run the following command: Sudo adduser $USER dialout && sudo adduser $USER tty
  2. IMPORTANT! Log out and log back in (this refreshes the permissions we just added)
  3. Download the Linux 64-bit version, either the .run file or the .7z file, and follow the appropriate steps below: .run installer

1. Open your terminal and cd to the directory you downloaded the file to.

2. Run bash ./LightBurn-Linux64-v*.run

3. It will now automatically install and create a program listing in your desktop environment.

.7z installer

  1. Extract the folder wherever you want Lightburn to exist
  2. Right click AppRun > Properties > Permissions > ‘Allow executing file as program
  3. Double click AppRun inside your Lightburn folder

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Once you have activated your license or the trial, click ‘OK’
The next thing you’ll see is the ‘General Usage Notes’ page – this is a brief help page just to get you going. You can get back to it any time in the Help menu, under Help > Quick Help and Notes. Click OK.

ADDING YOUR LASER TO LIGHTBURN

LightBurn can’t control every laser, but it can talk to a number of different types of laser controllers, all of which use different ways of communicating and have different abilities and settings.
This step tells LightBurn what you have.
If you’ve never configured a device in LightBurn, you’ll be brought here automatically when you run the software. It is important that you pick something because the interface in LightBurn will change depending on the capabilities of the laser you choose.
If you’ve done this before, but want to change your laser, or add a new one, click the ‘Devices’ button in the Laser Window to bring up the devices list.

makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software - FIG 5

LightBurn can also be configured to control more than one laser, and there are settings stored for each device.
If you don’t pick one, we have nowhere to put these settings, and a number of features within LightBurn will not work until this is set up.

The Devices Page

makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software - FIG 6

This is the Devices page in LightBurn.
Here you will see a list of all the laser devices you’ve added to LightBurn, or an empty list when you’re first starting.
Manually Adding a Laser
To add your laser in LightBurn you can click the ‘Create Manually’ on the Devices page.

makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software - FIG 7

Device type:
LightBurn will open the New Device Wizard, and the first thing you’ll see is a list of the controllers supported by your version of LightBurn:

makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software - FIG 8

Choose GRBL and click Next.
Connection Type:
The next step is choosing how you connect to your laser.
Choose Serial/USB and click Next.

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Name and Work Area Size:
Name the laser and set the size of your work area.

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You must set the size of the work area for your laser so that LightBurn can make try to prevent things from going out of bounds. If you don’t know the exact size, you can easily change this later on the Device Settings page.
Laser Origin and Homing:
The origin setting is where the ‘zero’ point of your X & Y axis meets. If you get this wrong, you can change it later on the Device Settings page. This setting also controls the orientation of the output – if it’s wrong, the output from your laser may be mirrored or upside down.

makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software - FIG 11

For the M2, the origin will be Front Left in LightBurn.
Auto “home” your laser on startup should not be checked.
You have created your new device!
That’s it – The final page will show you a summary of your choices.
You can go back and fix anything if necessary, or click Finish to create the new device entry.

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Next, we need to change some Device Settings in LightBurn.
Device Settings
Open Device Settings
Go To Edit > Device Settings

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If it is not already, set the S-value max to 1000. Click OK.
This number must match the $30 setting in Makerverse.

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LIGHTBURN + MAKERVERSE

Now that you have added the laser as a device, you can create G Code for the laser from your project in LightBurn. Click on the Save G Code button to save the G Code to your hard drive.

makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software - FIG 15

Save your project and close LightBurn.
Open Makerverse and the activate laser mode widget on the right side.
Upload the G Code you created and click the Play button to run the project.

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Open up the Settings tab in the Maslow widget on the left-hand side of the screen.

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These three settings need to be changed or confirmed that they have the correct value entered.
First, find the setting for Maximum spindle speed ($30) and change the value to 1000. Click the little save icon to the right of the value.
Next, find the setting for Minimum spindle speed ($31) and change the value to 0. Click the little save icon to the right of the value.
Last is Laser-mode Enable ($32) This value should already be 1. If it isn’t already, change it to 1 and click the little save icon to the right of the value.

makermade Lightburn Laser Resources Software - FIG 18

Now you are ready to upload the G Code you created and click the Play button to run the project!
LightBurn is now configured!
Have a question or need guidance?
The MakerMade technical team is available to help! You can fill out a support ticket at: https://makermade.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new
LightBurn also has some great resources available to learn how to use their software.
Go to the Help tab at the top of the screen and select from the drop-down menu.

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We can’t wait to see what you make! Be sure to tag us in any of your projects and use our hashtags #madewithMM and #makermadeCNC!
Find us on Instagram , Facebook , YouTube , and TikTok!

Happy Making!
– Team MakerMade

References

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