is there a user guide on using the luban software?
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We don’t have a user guide for the Snapmaker Luban, but there are some video tutorials which show you the process of how to use Luban to do various tasks on our YouTube channel.
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I scanning many forum and FB post, I believe it time for you to produce a user guide for LUBAN, it would address many users questions.
All commercial software manufactures have user guides for their applications.
Also, having such a guide will reduce the number of support calls.
Doug
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All you can do at this stage is to try whatever work you are trying to complete and then record the results. It builds into your own version of a technical manual. There is far too much stuff to remember and so much of the detail that you really want to know is not readily discoverable in Luban.
I am in the middle of a project right now and when it is complete, I will write up what I did and what processes in thought and action I had used. I will also detail my mistakes. Not a manual nor a guide but it could potentially help other people like me who are brand new to this 3D printing/Laser cutting/CNC world.
How about that JKC20? A forum subject line that would permit people to post their own experiences with a particular project. Not a place to moan about problems but a place to show methods of work.
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Hi @jepho
As mentioned in other postings if you setup a customised print profile you can save it with the settings you have made, then you can reuse this profile fro other prints.
e.g. I created a profile #ForJepho , which I can reuse time and time again. I can change some of the settings and save/update the profile again. So there is no need to keep a long list of settings or input them all again fro the next print.
Doug
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Hi Doug,
Thanks for the information and the demonstration image. I am not doing any 3D printing as yet. I looked at Luban and could not find anywhere to enter a custom profile. It appears to me that only the 3D printing section has that facility. I will certainly remember this demonstration when using the 3D printing aspect of Snapmaker capabilities.
I think that the persistence of user settings is an area that could usefully be improved. Right now my struggle is trying to understand how I can make the correct setting to let the endmill in the CNC carving segment of the application software move a bit quicker. I don’t mean in RPM for that is fixed at 19,000 as far as I can tell. The first track cut by the milling bit happens in a short time. What I cannot understand is how to make it cut at that speed constantly. So far my 40 x 40 x 10 mm square hole has taken what feels like the best part of 10 hours and it is still only 91% complete! I must have missed a setting that would have stopped this from happening. What a stupid mistake to make.
As stated to Beelzebub, I check my files using CAMotics so here is the screen shot form that application. It shows the file is good and will work as intended.
What is less clear to me is how to make the relevant adjustments to the CNC part of the Snapmaker software. My file is shown with the settings i had made to get the correct file in CAMotics. e.g.
You will see that the file I am attempting to carve is only registering as a 37mm square. This is because I discovered that when you do not account for the dimension of the bit (in this case 3mm) then it is added to the overall dimensions and you end up with a hole that is 43 mm from edge to edge, rather than the 40mm you thought you were carving.
The parameters appear after you press the process button. In order this is what I think they mean…
First I selected the centre box at the top for the flat ended mill bit - Next I selected the target depth box and entered 10mm , which was the final depth I wanted the hole to be - The step down selection was the depth of each step the carving bit would take after it had finished carving a level. I set that depth .0.5 mm. That should be a total of 20 step downs to reach my 10mm depth - The jog height was 5mm and I left it at that value because it referes to the height of the bit above the workpiece when it is not actually carving. I figured that was a safe height if the non carving bit was moving across the workpiece - I selected 10mm for the stop height which is the height of the bit above the workpiece when the work is finished -
The density setting I put at 10 figuring that it would cover the entirety of the area I wanted to cover. on rereading that phrase I checked again with Luban and I feel that this is where I made my mistake because the first sentence states it sets the density of the tool head movements (doh!) Oh how I really wish there was decent explanation of how to start using these tools.
The other settings are not really relevant to the timing issue
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Hi @jepho
What a fantastic response, a big thanks for that.
Yes it is only on the 3D printing that customised profiles are available.
I must admit you are exploring features such as the CNC more than I. We are all here learning and your comments will be useful to many. We also share failures, has saved a few frustrations.
Myself and I suspect many other users will look forward to hearing more of your exploits.
Keep learning, keep sharing and keep having fun.
Doug
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Yup, 10 hours and 11 minutes for a 40 x 40 x 10mm hole. 
Still, I have learned a valuable lesson.
Having looked at the jig, eased the rounded corners with a chisel and fitted the alphabet blocks into it, I am more than happy that the jig is now securely fastened to the table. It will provide a degree of repeatability that will permit permanent settings to be made once the CNC section of the application has passed it’s alpha, beta and release candidate phases. (as an aside, I have never known a commercial company release an alpha copy to its public)
That image was the underside of the table with jig attached. Screws are a little long if one was looking for a counsel of perfection and I suppose I will cut them down when I have some additional time.
the image above shows the hole finished with the unavoidable rounded corners from the 3mm endmill bit. I eased the round section with a chisel so that cubes would fit nicely.
the completed jig in situ clearly showing the new A2 stainless cap head 3mm socket screws and washers. Each screw was centred 5mm from the edge of the jig which I cut to 130mm square to coincide with the table size.
This image shows the jig holding a completed alphabet cube. Fits beautifully, does not rock about, is level and always centred on the same place.
I made this little gauge for centering the laser beam. Very simple and very effective. A refinement may be to mark one face so it is always oriented in the jig the same way.
Useful tool that prevents the hassle of clamping the work every time and furthermore I found the clamp bars to be far too soft an alloy for clamping work, so they were not very effective. I have bent two of them because they were not exactly level with the workpiece and that is only using moderate clamping force.
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I will keep a record of the suggestions you guys have made. A user guide for Luban sounds important and I will make sure forward this to our team. There are just so many suggestions already and we are working on some of them, but it takes time. And one more thing, you can only save profiles for the 3D printing feature right now. But we are looking to adding that feature to laser engraving as well.
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Thank you for sharing your experiences! Keep up the good work!
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I am new to this whole deal. My spouse surprised me with the Snapmaker 2.0, and while I can see a million possibilities, I have no idea how to begin. You need a basic glossary for each module. I figured out 3D printing well enough to feel comfortable adjusting things. The facebook forums have been incredibly helpful. Now that I’ve moved on to the laser engraving, I’m finding LUBAN impenetrable. I managed to burn two really dark images onto a piece of wood, but they weren’t where I thought they’d be. You really need a step-by-step guide for getting started. Otherwise, less adventurous types are going to feel ike they bought something too complicated to be fun.
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I agree, I would really like a user guide for the software. I don’t learn well by watching videos and much prefer a printable or online manual or help file. Was very disappointed to find that none is available
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Hello Diane. You may find that Luban is quite limited and an exercise in sheer frustration. I struggled for months and with each day that passed I felt completely stupid. In the end I tried a different software and it was a night and day difference between the two. Lightburn is a very well written software with supportive developers and it is comprehensively documented too. Luban is quite problematic and if it works one day, the next day it wont, just when you think you can understand it.
Have a look at Lightburn and its documentation. Yes, I know it is $41 to buy but you can have a fully operational software for a no obligation 30 day free trial. If you have any design skills with computer photographic manipulation or drawing packages, you will have no difficulty mastering the design language of Lightburn, They also have a very active forum, where you will often bump into the developers.
Lightburn software free 30 day trial.
Lightburn forum.
Lightburn Software Documentation ( second link is the renewed documentation so may not all be present yet as they have just made this move)
first link is to the original documentation
I am not affiliated or employed by Lightburn and you may decide it is not what you want. If it turns out to meet your needs, you will save yourself a lot of grief and have a really comprehensive software package for laser work.
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Thank you Jeffrey! I appreciate you taking the time to respond and will definitely check out Lightburn. $41 is not too much for something that works and is supported.
Appreciatively,
Diane
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You are very welcome, Diane. I hope it works well for you.
Jeff
Hi there,
@jepho are you using Lightburn v 0.9.16 with your SM? I’m using it but I’m suffering for frequent errors. Not sure how to solve and maybe you can help me.
BR. Gianluca
Hi jepho,
Are you transferring Lightburn files with a USB interface or memory stick to SM ? While checking out the Lightburn program I couldn’t find a WiFi interface option.
I used both the USB connection and the USB stick. SM1 had no WiFi interface so I cannot tell you about that aspect. The Lightburn software generates files with a .gc filetype. If you want these files to work with SM1, you must change the filetype to .nc.
I made the somewhat painful decision not to buy another Snapmaker and have now purchased a Shapeoko machine. I am currently putting it together now. I had not been on the SM forum for a while and it was only that I saw your e-mail message. I managed to miss the message from @jlropes so the information should help. remember to set the baud rate to 115,200 or there will be no communication between SM and Lightburn. Their forum is super handy too and the developer’s are always ready to help out. I left a link to my brief look at Lightburn. It is unfinished because I am not impressed by the rudeness of SM staff and their abject failure to address issues raised for years.
Welcome to the forums, while there isn’t an official WiFi transfer we use this:
For laser this makes our workflow something like: open base file in lightburn, check settings and preview, save as .nc, go to file explorer and use the transfer to send to Snapmaker. Then run it from the console.
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Has anyone else had issues with “run boundary” from the touchscreen when working with files made in lightburn?