Can the laser follow a z-axis path?

Hi @ITmaze; Yes… and no. I have been less than impressed with Luban as a piece of software over the last 6 months. It appears to be beta, at best, for some things like laser work and it has been acknowledged as alpha (in the dialogue box when it is started in CNC mode) for CNC work. It is probable that 3D printing is where much of the programming effort was expended.

Until I get some hard facts about the laser beam focal length and the lens array that is used with it, attempting to program any kind of Z axis movement is futile. (@Edwin @JKC20 - please note that the delays in getting these questions answered is difficult to understand… it feels as if Snapmaker don’t want my custom) Luban has been a source of more than mild frustration to me. I have recently moved my CNC work to Carbide Create, which is free, logical and very capable and I will shortly be the possessor of a Shapeoko CNC machine from Carbide.

I have only just moved my laser work over to Lightburn, which is not free but relatively cheap to buy at £31 and it seems to be very well thought out and extremely capable. It permits the beam to be fired at one half percent power while focusing the beam. I am too new to the software to have covered all of its capabilities but I am very hopeful. Each aspect of a pattern to be engraved can be placed on a different layer very easily and each layer can have its own specified power and movement settings.

I am writing about my experiences with it and have just started to produce a piece for the forum. Not to blow my own trumpet but you will be able to read it here: SM1 Laser (1600 mW) and working with Lightburn I will be adding to it as time and knowledge permit. It is hoped that it will then become a resource for people just starting with laser and Snapmaker.

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