Thankfully with LightBurn, the process is almost exactly the same. The only key difference, is that the contour/box outline in ezcad would just be a checkmark on the hatch settings; with LightBurn, the contour is done via a sublayer. This can be done quickly by just double-clicking on the layer in the cut/layer window at the top right, and selecting the + button to add a sublayer, or next to it is a duplicate current sublayer button where you can make the second sublayer a line. As a line, it would just run an outline around the perimeter, just like a the contour box would :) We cover doing it live (Kyle and Matt do it together, using their identical Co2 Galvo's. If you like the more casual style of doing it live and troubleshooting, that's in our Live section of our channel and should come up if you search our channel for Timing Hope that helps!
I just wanted to say that as a first time fiber laser owner ( 60 watt Mopa Jpt), this video is such an invaluable piece of information to me! I can't thank you enough for taking the time and effort to put this out there ! So thank you for this and all the other great vids! Huge fan of you and the channel, and keep up the great work!
Brilliant! So clear and helpful. Indispensable. I didn't realize how much information I would need to optimize my 60W mopa, and you have succinctly presented a TON of great insight and instruction that would probably have taken hours just to locate -- in much less usable form. The whole crash course package is truly a masterpiece of technical instruction without the confusion so many instructors can't get beyond. This is really impressive work, and I thank you for all the effort, thoroughness, and clear thinking that had to go into composing and presenting so much material so beautifully.
I am not sure how you have only 20k subs. by chance every time I have googled a laser question since beginning my fiber laser quest your videos keep coming up, and contain the most accurate and comprehensive information on many diverse topics within lasering. Thanks a lot, you're a great help!
I don't know what to say Alex. This is hands down the best timing tutorial video i've seen. Very detailed and clear. This is why I support your channel... Awesome work..
I'm new to the laser world and I was finding all those settings very confusing, and didn't know what they were for. After watching this video in its entirety I have a good understanding of all that now. I thought it was just get the laser and go. Thank you for all the information you have provided, this lecture was a God send!
You say at the beginning of the video that things are going to get confusing, but then you explain them in a way that they are not. Your videos on galvo lasers are by far the best (and most thorough) on the internet. They help me tremendously. Thank you.
It is *almost* there in LB but when you hatch something, it doesn't like the shape like EZC3 does. Though it doesn't do timing, check out the new Galvo config under Laser Tools in the latest Lightburn.
Thank you SO much!! I tried to just plug it in and use it, and although I got good results, it wasn't perfect. I was changing things, and they weren't giving the expected change in output. Followed this and now my photos on anodized aluminum look like photos. Guess I know that I'll need to actually do the proper calibrations in the future. Thanks again
Only you Alex to make so useful and full guide about timing setup. This is essential for people who have just acquired a marking machine and even for pro guys.
Extremely helpful and thorough video. Thank you for this one! I thought I was content with the timing values I had dialed in previously, but now after watching this video I’m gonna have to go back and take another look at them.
I just bought my first Fiber laser and I will be doing everything in this video as soon as it gets here. Awesome video def joining the discord! And also picking up a microscope too...
When you get it we have a playlist on the main channel page called "Lasers 101" that walks you through literally every step of getting your galvo laser setup, this video included. Don't skip it!
Gotta Love your stuff 👌👌👌 Just got a JPT 60 watt MOPA Totally overwhelming Your videos keep the headaches to Minimum BUT I have figured out to do my NWT with fiber
Awesome thank you so much. I just bought a new diode module and have been struggling to dial everything in with engraving images. Can't wait to get home now and start adjusting!
Unless it's a galvo diode laser running on Ezcad or LightBurn they likely do not offer you the ability to adjust these values. Most galvo diodes on the market right now use proprietary software and that software is usually really limited when it comes to tuning. If you're using a gantry laser, this tutorial does not apply to you at all and you can safely skip it.
Thank you for the professional instructions. (and the video, as a hobby video editor, I appreciate how much work was put in to producing such a video) 👍 Found your video for Lightburn all device settings also, Great!
Great video! Everything was clearly explained, and the tests make perfect sense. Do you have similar explanations for Freq and Pulse-width? I glanced at your videos (after subscribing), but nothing jumped out. I just bought a 60W ComMarker b4 MOPA so more information is better.
I would LOVE to see this revisited with the new Lightburn. Unfortunately a lot of what EZC3 does just doesn't work the same way with LB. The hatch doesn't make a box, just lines, so it's REALLY hard to tell the start/stop numbers.
Thankfully with LightBurn, the process is almost exactly the same. The only key difference, is that the contour/box outline in ezcad would just be a checkmark on the hatch settings; with LightBurn, the contour is done via a sublayer. This can be done quickly by just double-clicking on the layer in the cut/layer window at the top right, and selecting the + button to add a sublayer, or next to it is a duplicate current sublayer button where you can make the second sublayer a line. As a line, it would just run an outline around the perimeter, just like a the contour box would :) Hope that helps!
Wow... Alex. That was an insane amount of work. The value is huge. Thanks for putting in all that work. I will be tweaking every last bit to make my 10K+ investment the best it can be. Thank you again for all the effort. Matthew (CSH)
Great video! I read your comments below regarding "LightBurn does not generate contours around vectors automatically." Should I just make a box in Lightburn, set to Fill, adjust the line interval to 2mm (no cross-hatch) and then add a sub-layer that is set to "line"? Will this give me the "box" and "lines" required to follow along and calibrate the laser? Oh yeah...should I disable Bi-Directional Fill or does that not matter? Thanks!
100%, that's exactly it! Only generate 1 object, and add a line sublayer and it will act as a contour. bidirectional or unidirectional is fine, you just need to know what you're looking for. unidirectional will put all the starting points on one side, and ends on another. bidirectional will alternate start/end in the case that might be easier for some people to compare/see results. Its preference, just gotta know which is which and what you're looking for, given the above details. Kyle and Matt did this live for the matching pair of Co2 galvo's they got on live stream a few months ago too if you wanted to see how they did it. Same process as this, just live troubleshooting and working through tuning. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Zp14-HpVKUs.html&pp=ygUaY28yIGdhbHZvIHRpbWluZyBhbmQgZGVsYXk%3D
In theory you shouldnt have to but the reality is each lens has its own distortions that will aggravate the corrections being made. Ultimately at the very least confirming the settings may be a good choice.
Amazing video guys thank you so much. The timings on lightburn are named a little differently: laser on tc laser off tc end tc polygon tc so there is no start tc. can I assume start tc = laser on tc?
AWESOME video, setting mine up now. I have 3 lenses. A 110, 220 and a 300 on a 50W JPT. Does it matter what size lens to use, or is it all universal since it's the galvo and not the lens? Also, what wattage machine are you using in the video? Thanks for any help sir!
Best I can figure, once you have timing down it has to do with firing the tube which shouldn't be affected by the lens. Lens will change power/speed/intervals. At least that's my understanding.
This video does a pretty good job describing the differences in the different lens field sizes, if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I_M19yy4G9g.html
The settings are going to depend on a combination of your wattage, but also the lens size you work with. Smaller lens have much better density, which means less power is needed. Larger lens will require more. If you use an aluminum business card, I suggest only using enough power to mark the surface gently to get to the metal. If you overpower it, it will make it hard to see the fine details you are tuning to improve.
Thank you for this great tutorial. But in my case it only engraves the middle lines of the rectangle if I set the line spacing to 2mm. I suspect that this has to do with the "Mark Contour" setting (05:27), which I probably didn't set. I work with Lightburn. Can someone tell me briefly where I can find this “Mark Contour” setting in Lightburn. Thank you in advance Sandro
If you double click on the layer to see the details of the layer, you can add a sublayer at the top right with the + button, and make sure that sublayer is set as a line. set your power speed and frequency, and that'll be your contour :)
This video should be included on a flash drive for every new machine. My machine's jump delay settings were way off. The timing and delay were off marginally. Thanks, Alex.
We do our best to help, glad you got value from it! Often times, manufacturers don't tune for timing/delay since they used to be traditionally set per parameter (based on the speed setting impacting them), so if you had a setting that used 1000mm/s speed, it would have a potentially very different timing/delay set to a parameter that used 5000mm/s. Lightburn consolidated it to a the device profile as a global setting instead of per parameter, and allows for overriding it individually if needed which is nice.
Thanks so much for this video Alex! I'm trying to set up in lightburn but it doesn't seem to want to etch the outline of the boxes, just the 2mm hatch (so 4 lines per box). Do I just need to create another layer for the outline?
Glad you’re getting value from it! With lightburn, we don’t get a checkbox for contour like we do in ezcad. You don’t need to add a whole new layer, but if you double click on the cut/layer, you can add a line sub layer using the same power/speed. The + button at the top right, or button next to it to duplicate the sub layer and change it to a line will get you going with that :)
Just when I thought I was getting my machine dialed I start noticing issues in my engravings and now I see there’s all this timing stuff. Is this going to affect my other settings in my library like my colors for stainless? Or will this mostly give crisper edges?
Alex - Will LightBurn you are demonstrating in this video serve in place of EZCAD2? I use the latter to operate a 3W UV laser and it t is frustrating. BTW, are you using and demonstrating the trial version of LB in this video?
Thank you very much for the video. I have a question when I'm cutting metal most of the time when starting the laser gives as a small jumps stops cutting some areas and then already cut in a smooth manner. What is the reason for that. I have a 50w fiber laser
Without seeing anything, you may have a problem with your artwork. This is going to be very tough to diagnose on RU-vid comments. Join our Facebook or discord for more help, link is in the description.
Hey, since Lightburn has uses these settings as global, what speed should we use to make these adjustments? Will LB adjust the settings automatically when you go up in speed?
If you find you need to make adjustments for high speed settings you can override the timing on a per setting basis in the cut setting menu. For speeds up to 4000mm/s the global settings should be fine for most marks and you shouldn't have to edit them regularly.
On the Jump Delay card you said that you set the hatch to .02 line spacing. Did you mean .2mm or am I confusing settings? If I mark at .2mm it appear to be even finer of a hatch than what is on your card in the video. I think I finally have everything honed in to peak performance. For Jump settings I ended up not seeing much effect and went with the manufacturers recommended settings at 4000 sp 200min 400max which seemed to match up well with your findings as well.
The hatch settings for the jump delay settings are very unclear to me. Can you please elaborate the hatch settings for this test, starting at around 18:00? Preferably for Lightburn
hello sir alex ive been watching you since i operate this ezcadlite 500 and you been great help thanks a lot. just want to ask somethng i have a problem with my marking machine the markings did not correspond with my input size and red sign it decrease it size when i start to mark it please help me
Timing only really effects galvo lasers. Diode and CO2 lasers have a scanning offset adjustment that does something similar (but different) that needs to be addressed.
Hello Alex, my mas os Miguel from Portugal, thank you for your work. I am preparing to buy a laser fiber machine for marking stainless steel jwelery. Could you advise me some machine. Thanks
The 30w or 50w JPT LP units from Mactron would be perfect for this. You can read more about them on the buying guide: www.lasereverything.net/buyingguide
I have a question? Is there a way to deal with timings at different engraving speeds? Settings at 2000mm/s are not working with 4000mm/s Or just picking a speed to engrave with it all the time? Any advice would be great!
If you're doing significantly higher speeds like at 4000mm/s vs a more typical 500-1500 range, it might be good to have a second set of timings for the 4000 speed. You can have individual timing settings per parameter in ezcad, and in Lightburn you can as well by using the override on the layer details screen. I find running a timing test at ~2000 speed is good for anything up to or around that, but once you start exceeding 3000 speed, it tends to need a little more time to settle the lenses. Most setups just don't often need to hit those speeds for the material to be effectively marked, unless it's a lot of pmags/polymer marking. Most metal engraving is much slower unless you have a higher wattage laser than average, but you can totally have multiple timings set and is a good way to handle that. Having a base timing for common mark settings overall, then override for the couple of VERY high speed ones is how I'd likely handle it.
@@LaserEverything Thank you very much for the detailed answer. I literally discovered override settings option yesterday 😅 It banged me immediately. Because i did my timings for 4000mm/s, but with these setting I got aometimea noticeable ghosting/blurring on some texts at slower speeds. First I thought that if we set lasers max possible speeds, then we can use them for lower speeds too 😂 🙏 Thank you again! ✌️
I don't even own a laser machine and yet I watched most of your laser videos! ..... No, I'm not wasting my time... It's, "aspirational", because maybe I'll get a laser someday! Lol 😂
Glad you're liking the content so much! I hope you're able to get a laser someday. Maybe start with a smaller diode laser - they're much more affordable and much smaller. Great for beginners and hobbyists that want to dip their toes in the water!
Hi Alex Thank you very much for these informative videos about what you do. On your Free Starter Laser Settings Packs page you say that you should take a screenshot of your timing values on galvo lasers, which of course I didn't do. Now my question. I saw that you also have an EM-Basic 2R in your possession. Can you please send me the original settings for Ezcad 2 and Lightburn via a screenshot. I also wrote you an email if that was easier. Thanks a lot in advance.
Sorry for the delay! The timing/delay values will often be completely different from one laser to the next (even the same model. We tested this with Kyle and Matt's matched pair of Co2 Galvo's).
LightBurn (for Gantry) and Diode lasers have a completely different timing process unrelated to this one which you're able to do right inside LB itself. We have a video covering how published as part of the LB for Gantry Crash Course available free right here on the channel. LB for Galvos users however, MUST access a copy of ezcad, preferably one that came with their machine, in order to run through this timing process as LB does not currently support NATIVE lens corrections.
Use the standard (non bi-directional hatch at zero degrees. The only real difference should be the fact that you're looking at DPI/Interval instead of line distance. Your interval should still be around 1-2mm. Make sure flood fill and cross hatch turned off. Otherwise it should really be the same process. I'll double check the next time I'm at my machine and if needed I'll publish an update.
I have this problem in lightburn. I follow the instructies but I just get horizontal lines, even the tekst next to the 'box' are just some horizontal lines. I try really hard to find the solution but I'm lost here. I have mode:fill , bidirectional fill off, crosshatch ( it's called raster here ) off , lineinterval 2mm, lines per inch 12.700, angle 0°, angleingcrement 0.0 , any help is welcome
How do I get a box to engrave around the four lines in Lightburn? I'm pulling my hair out! All I get is four horizontal lines and no box around them for reference.
Dumb question, but for Jump Delay, scan angle of 0? Im on LB, trying really hard to see the differences, also what font? Maybe that will help me see easier.
It's a good question! Scan angle of 0 is good (you want the scan angle to be going across the letters as it fills them, so it jumps from one letter to the next). Font doesn't make a huge difference. To see the difference a bit more easily, go from one extreme to the other, high/low, using a relatively fast parameter for marking (not crazy fast, but maybe 1500-2000 speed). It should help give you a better idea of what isn't working well vs what is and make it easier to tune.
Any machine that projects it's beam through an f-theta lens onto a workspace with galvo mirrors is a galvo laser. Both of your fibers, CO2 galvos, and UV lasers are all great examples of galvo lasers.
Thanks ver much Alex I was getting confused hearing you talk about Galvo lasers. Now I understand. Just need to inbox my new JPT and learn ezycad 3😂😂 Thanks again for all your utube training videos.
I tried to draw same test file in lightburn, unforcenetly it works totaly different than on your video with ezcad. Is it possible to share file, or somehow explain how to do that in lightburn please ?
In lightburn, you would create a sublayer (the plus button at the top right of the layer pop-out window) and set the sublayer to line. There isn't a checkbox for contour in lightburn like there is in ezcad, so that's something we need to specify as a sublayer explicitly. We have an example of this with Matt & Kyle doing this live when they were setting up their Co2 Galvo's together. Here's the link if you wanted to watch them go through the process of doing it for 2 identical systems with very different results: ru-vid.comZp14-HpVKUs
Hello, The other time my ezcad got out of configuration and now there is a margin of error with the measurements. Where in the program can I fix that? I have used the guide that my supplier sent me to set up the machine but I still have the problem. For example in the program I draw a circle of 5 mm and when I mark it has 4.7 mm :(
Make sure you pay attention to the numbers you need. For instance, if your numbers for the start TC or between -100 and -250, make sure you fine tune between -100 and -250 otherwise you're going to print six different cards wondering why the gap at the start isn't as close as it is to the first test card. Apparently -100 and -250 are different from 100 and 250, who knew!
Do these settings need to be set for each different lens? Say I set them on my 210mm lens, if I use my 110mm lens I will have to change the default settings again correct?
Good question! Yes and No. For the VAST majority of use cases, the timing/delay values will be very close, if not identical between lenses, mostly and with an asterisk. For anyone who likes to know the WHY, I'll dig into the gritty details further. Comparing across 8 different lenses & sizes on the same laser, I found that for me at least, everything from 110 up to 300 was within a very close margin (and required no change on on/off/polygon). Once I had a tuned value for one lens, and retested on other lenses, it was close enough where it didn't need adjustment and could carry the values forward. Moving down to my 70mm lenses (2 of them), the values weren't far off, so still served as a good starting point, but I did need to adjust my laser on/off values a bit because there was a noticeable (in plain site) difference and was clearly off a bit. TLDR: At the moment, I would say once you've tuned for one lens, you should be able to likely utilize that for other lenses in likely most cases. You could run a single quick box just to validate its good, and in a worst case it might need minor adjustment and still get you into the rough ballpark as a starting point.
@@LaserEverything So i set my 110mm lens up and got it engraving nicely, I put in my 175mm lens and the settings were not even close to what I had set my 110mm lens to, and it didnt engrave text very well, they didnt change from what they were to start with. I changed the settings for all my lenses to match the 110mm lens settings.
Speeds can impact it a bit. Generally, when doing timing and delays, the tests will be valid for a pretty typical range of speeds that would commonly be used. If you really push the speed frequently (for example, 3000mm/s or higher) where a more common speed would be under 2000mm/s, it can cause discrepancies to appear and you may need to have a high speed and low speed timing/delay values. Ezcad has these built into each parameter, and lightburn has an overall machine value for this but you can override it on the parameter individually if it varies from the rest of your parameters.
LightBurn does not generate contours around vectors automatically. In order to reproduce this you'll need a separate layer or sublayer set to cut with the appropriate settings to mark the contour of the shape.
Is there a video for this in just lightburn? I am trying to follow the directions but it won't fire correctly. It only makes 4 lines instead of a box, and at only does tips of the text.
Not a concise video (yet), but we did a livestream where we discussed how we did this in lightburn with our Co2 galvos (Kyle and Matt together). Not a short stream, but skip around if you have the time to the parts where they specifically do timing and delay. It's very similar, you just need to remember to add a sublayer as a line to get the outline shape, otherwise you'll just have horizontal lines and no enclosed box. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Zp14-HpVKUs.html
I know this was probably a good video on this subject in EZCad. But being brand new to lasers I value going thru the steps in Light Burn. It the software I am trying to learn so jumping back and forth between the two loses me. Thanks for putting in the time to help. In this play list if it can be exclusive to light burn that would help a beginner like me that is starting his learning curve in Light Burn a lot.
I can show it in lightburn, we can add that to the production list, that said, the steps are virtually the same as the controller is the same. So by generating the same test shapes you should get the same values. This is the process that I use in lightburn now.
@@LaserEverything how do we generate the shape, I made some squares in line mode, is this right? Just add some horizontal lines, because there is no hatch mode for line, only fill?
Bothering you again so soon... It's a good video. I just can't help myself. So, at the 13-minute point, you begin to draw a square to test the POLYGON start/stop performance and you are confident that the start point is the lower left corner on the finished burn. Will EZCAD2 or 3 tell you what the start point is for any curve? The reason I ask is that at about 16.57 in the clip, there are two hatched rectangles. The lower one seems to suggest that the start/stop position of its contour is the lower left corner. But the upper one suggests that it's the upper left corner. I realize that for the purpose of testing to set TC parms LaserOn, LaserOn and End TC, a single hatched rectangle in the drawing area is all you need. But for the POLYGON TC test, you use multiple rectangles. It it a known fact that all the burn order for all the rectangles is counterclockwise from lower left corner? Is that controlled by a setting somewhere? I wouldn't feel safe about making an assumption. Another thing, I don't know what "TC" stands for in the context of this laser stuff. It's not EZ to find its definition in the EZCAD manual. And I'm pretty sure it's not "Turks and Caicos Islands". Is it simply "Timing Control"?
I honestly don't know what TC stands for I just know what it does, considering the poor Chinese translation for just about everything on these machines I wouldn't put too much stock in what It is actually abbreviating. As for the start and stop location I'm absolutely sure that a standard rectangle marked on its own begins and ends in the lower left corner. When moving from shape to shape over the course of a single job to jump point will change due to optimization so while the first rectangle may start in the lower left corner the second rectangle is going to start wherever the most efficient jump point dictates it should begin. Since each of our rectangles was marked individually, one at a time and not all together in one run I can absolutely guarantee that each of those rectangles began in the lower left corner and ended in the lower left corner.
@@ChargerDude70 ,Yep you got it, no response. Have not delved further as these timings do not seem super crucial to me at the moment. I will hit Lightburn support when I do, I have found them very helpful previously.
@@damianmaloney5535 I’ve tried every way to Sunday to see what those settings do in LB but only difference I seem to get is when I change the start value, nothing on the stop seems to do anything. I’ve put 1000 in there thinking it doesn’t care if it’s a negative value. Still can’t get it to stop short of the Y vector line
@@ChargerDude70 I definitely saw a difference when changing values. One 'thing' is that mine seems to start the ladder box bottom right not bottom left as described, this led me to believe that the horizontal lines are beginning on the right also, I could not reduce the start delay to a point where I had them start on the vertical line, always a very tiny gap, this is why I wanted to go into negative but could not.
We have a support forum on our website, free discord and free facebook group where we offer support, so that's the best place to ask questions if you're looking to have them answered quickly.
