I really wish I hadn’t bought this product. I have followed all the guides, did all the updates, and checked out videos on how to set up to properly use the 10w laser. Yet no matter what I do, no matter how many tweaks, no project has printed perfectly! And this really pisses me off since I am making boxes for unclaimed Veteran remains for interment for Memorial day.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it. Also, the camera mode is totally whacked as it goes to the far right corner and then tries to burn the aluminum bed. Why?
You need to share a lot more info. What is going wrong exactly?
Share some pictures. (since you’re new here you might need to use an offsite hosting service.)
Lots of posts and info on camera capture on here. Most people find that there are faster and easier ways to align things. Sounds like your problem is with how SM handles work origin differently depending upon whether you run from Luban on your computer and loading to the SM and running from there. It’s very confusing and they’ve never understood why this is an issue. But it causes a lot of problems for people starting out.
Thanks for the reply. I saw that yesterday that you have to earn a level before you can post certain things which is just another issue with Snapmaker. How the hell can I get help if I can’t post what is wrong.
So no matter what I do, even after measuring everything, my engraving is off by this or that. I can have the project perfectly centered in the middle and it will still be off. It is like the (0,0) is always off no matter what is done. Using the camera is even more crazy as it seems to not take a complete picture of the project area. Again, this is after checking calibrations. Wonder if I should put the smaller laser head on and see if that has the same issues that I am having with the 10-watt one.
This certainly does not match my experience. Here’s my workflow, which basically every time was a success, both with the 1.6 and the 10W laser:
Create the Laser GCode, either in Luban or Lightburn (Luban is just fine for simple stuff, Lightburn has a few nice treats for better results in some cases). Make sure that you have the origin right when generating the GCode.
Send the GCode to the Machine via network (I’m a “run it from the touchscreen”-guy).
On the touchscreen, start the job by selecting the file. I use Autofocus, and it is giving me good focus usually. When the point for setting the work origin is there, move the laser with the jog control to the place on your workpiece that is supposed to match the origin of your laser GCode.
Do not forget to tap on “Set work origin” - I cannot tell how often I forget this after carefully jogging to the planned origin…
Tap on “Run Boundary”. That serves two purposes: a) it makes sure you did not forget to hit “Set work origin” (see step before…), and b) that the job will happen where you want it and not go beyond the workpiece. Be ready to hit the stop button or to cut power if there’s a risk to hit parts of the workpiece or clamping material.
Now start the actual job, make sure the doors of the enclosure are closed and stay closed.
When I watched the Kickstarter campaign videos and how they advertised the camera feature I thought: Wow, that’s clever, I certainly will use this a lot. Until today, I actually never used it picking the work origin by jogging is so easy, and can be done directly at the machine, no computer involved… I find it much more convenient in the end.
So why do I not use Luban to run the job, but the touchscreen? a) for long running jobs (3D printing, milling) I can turn off the computer, saving energy. And b) nothing can “break” in the sense that the network connection suddenly drops, the computer decides to go into sleep mode, the battery of the computer runs out because I forgot to plug in a charger, and, and, and… With the touchscreen controlling the process, everything is nicely self contained and reliable.
Thank you!! You saved the day. Still pissed that I invested so much in something I can’t run directly from my computer. The stupid camera never seems to work properly either.
Going to do a couple more laser projects then move to 3D printing. Hoping it goes better than the first time.
picking the work origin by jogging is so easy, and can be done directly at the machine, no computer involved… I find it much more convenient in the end.