First I want to say that the Snapmaker 2.0 hardware is awesome. Very well thought out, well constructed, and attractive. Luban is rather cumbersome however. I am coming from PRUSA Slicer and it has some many settings already sorted out. In 3D print mode things that take 45 minutes on the PRUSA are like 4 hours on the default Luban settings, but I digress.
I am trying to cut 12 stickers from a sheet of paper. I have a DXF that I output from Fusion 360 and it appears that I can’t pattern in Luban which is disappointing. So I had to load in the same DXF 12x times. That is Ok, except the default settings of 140 mm/s, 2 pass, 100% power is not appropriate for my application. I figured out that 700 mm/s, 1 pass, and 70% power cuts through the paper, but not the backing so perfect. The problem is I have to make those settings changes 12x times in a row, one for each item.
Is there a way to select multiple items and change settings for them at the same time? Alternatively can I change the default laser settings before I start loading multiple items so I don’t have to spend 5 minutes going part to part? Does anyone have tricks for this?
I would also love to be able to save configurations and then just pick my sticker configuration or my plywood configuration, kind of like I can for materials on the 3D printer side.
all the Prusa printers are able to print at much higher speeds then the SM2 ever will. SM used lead screws in the linear rails to get better torque but that means they sacrificed speed. in general if you have a Prusa, you will probably never want to use the SM2 for printing unless you absolutely have to.
the answer for all these questions is to ditch Luban, if your laser engraving buy lightburn. it well worth the 40 dollars in the time you will save alone. plus it is just better at its function (the same way prusa slicer is just a better slicer then Luban)
Just as a side note speed testing is on my to do list. The machine will move 150mm/s (9000mm/min) easily, with default firmware - for non extrusion moves in X/Y only.
Print quality aside, I don’t think the lead screws are limiting the speed.
i think they have some sort of variable step setup, using smaller steps for slower speeds and larger steps for faster speeds. so your right that it can move and print faster, but the backlash and inaccuracy will be really bad. especially compared to a high quality 3d printer like a prusa.
so your right i should have been more clear, the SM2 will never print as fast with the same quality as a Prusa printer will.
I think it actually doesn’t - everything I’ve seen indicates the machine full steps 100% of the time. It never microsteps. It also never double or quad steps.
The benefit of having a 120MHz controller is it can send pulses stupid fast.
That part of the machine is legit great design and would’ve been a good selling point. Just wrap that in some marketing flavor like “maximum torque using innovative full stepping leadscrew, no microstepping” or something lol.
I didn’t address the inaccuracies introduced by printing at speed because the carriage is massive, and unless you have long straight lines it’ll be jerk/acceleration limited 100% of the time, really limiting the speed. Bowden, or flying Bowden, extruders can’t be beat for speed.
interesting, but i stand by my statement. i have not been able to get my SM2 to push much beyond 75mm/s without significant decreases in quality. while i dont own a Prusa, my ender 3 can push 100mm/s easily. and i would imagine the Prusa can at least match that.
As an engineer with a background in automation I really like the hardware. My complaint is that there are not multiple configurations already proven out and included at least in a white paper if not the software. That is where PRUSA really excels. The hardware is just enough to get the job done, nothing really special, but the software is good. More importantly they have created profiles for different speeds as well as materials.
SnapMaker has a guide for laser cutting (http://www.icfn.net/files/sm_laser_materials.pdf) which is a good start. Hopefully over time this will get baked into the software so you can pick the material you are working with and if you want to etch or cut and it loads the right parameters.
Same goes for 3D printing. I have an ender clone and I had to spend a lot of time dialing it in for PETG which is what I print with almost exclusively. I had hoped that the SnapMaker experience would be more like PRUSA with really good starting points already sorted out for you. Hopefully they catch up on this. I can see the potential of Luban as having one software for all the configurations. I like being able to send direct from the software without a USB stick or the added layer of Octoprint.