Just been having a conversation with the Lightburn Developer, they are getting a fiber laser with the possibly of creating a EZCAD alternative.
[OP]
Member
Just been having a conversation with the Lightburn Developer, they are getting a fiber laser with the possibly of creating a EZCAD alternative.
Shenhui SG350 fitted with a 60w tube.
Aeon Nova 10 100w tube.
Aeon Mira 5030 30w RF tube.
20w Fiber Laser.
50w Fiber Laser.
Located in the Isle of Man, which isn't in the UK but almost surrounded by it.
Good Luck. It will take a lot of work. Not nearly the same as RDworks. Software is WAY more complicated, and wedded to each motherboard. Why do you think that the US manufacturers just license the software?
I still can't see any real advantage to Lightburn unless you are trying to design in RDworks and THAT would be difficult. Corel or even Illustrator would be way better. I couldn't imagine designing much of anything but a box in RDworks.
And LB isn't Corel..... it is slightly better than RDworks. At least commands are written in english natively
Woodworking, Old Tools and Shooting
Ray Fine RF-1390 Laser Ray Fine 20watt Fiber Laser
SFX 50 Watt Fiber Laser
PM2000, Delta BS, Delta sander, Powermatic 50 jointer,
Powermatic 100-12 planer, Rockwell 15-126 radial drill press
Rockwell 46-450 lathe, and 2 Walker Turner RA1100 radial saws
Jet JWS18, bandsaw Carbide Create CNC, RIA 22TCM 1911s and others
Member
John, I do not know if you are a true lifer or not, but you are completely wrong in your assessment of Lightburn. Now, I will consider that you posted this back in July 2018 so you may not have seen all the updating and what Lightburn has to offer now but I can tell you this, Hands down 2000% better than RDWORKS and a lot of tools to use have been added. It is even better when it comes to photo engraving. I have both photograv and 1 touch and lightburn blows both of them away on photo engraving.
That's my name Gordon.....Originally Posted by Gordon Lytle
At any rate, I've been meaning to take a real look at the LB software. I don't have issue using RDworks for what I use it for. But if LB can do better on things such as pictures it might be worth that alone.
(wouldn't take much to be better than RD for pictures, has to be worse POS ever made for that use)
Woodworking, Old Tools and Shooting
Ray Fine RF-1390 Laser Ray Fine 20watt Fiber Laser
SFX 50 Watt Fiber Laser
PM2000, Delta BS, Delta sander, Powermatic 50 jointer,
Powermatic 100-12 planer, Rockwell 15-126 radial drill press
Rockwell 46-450 lathe, and 2 Walker Turner RA1100 radial saws
Jet JWS18, bandsaw Carbide Create CNC, RIA 22TCM 1911s and others
[OP]
Member
I’ve not tried the LB For photos, as I don’t use them, but it has so many features now that put its way ahead of RDWorks, it well worth a second look. It’s abiltity to vectorize raster images, now saves me using Inkscape on a lot of projects, it’s tile function works well. I’ve started using it with a rotary and it’s a simple set up. Lots of users are also making use of the camera feature, something I’m hoping to use in the not too distant future.
If Lightburn does bring out a fiber application, I think I will be one of the first in the queue.
Shenhui SG350 fitted with a 60w tube.
Aeon Nova 10 100w tube.
Aeon Mira 5030 30w RF tube.
20w Fiber Laser.
50w Fiber Laser.
Located in the Isle of Man, which isn't in the UK but almost surrounded by it.
Member
What is it about a fiber laser that makes it "WAY more complicated"? Or are you referring to galvo machines?
Shenhui 1440x850, 130 Watt Reci Z6
Gerber Sabre 408
Contributor
There are so many more variables and often they are not intuitive and not relatable to what you may know from a co2 gantry machine. Speed and power sound the same as a co2 machine, but speed can be deceptive since I have materials that mark better, and deeper, at higher speed than lower - opposite what as co2 usually does. Then throw in frequency, hatch type (4-6 of them), hatch spacing - not to be confused with lpi on a co2 because they are not even remotely close to the same, then add in focus - hey, that's one thing that's exactly the same as a co2!
When you consider all of the variables with a fiber it boggles the mind when you actually understand just how complicated it really is. Oh, and you can have many combinations that work for whatever you are trying to accomplish, and tweaking the same setting the same way on all of them will yield yet another set of results and none of them the same.
So, what's so complicated about fiber? Don't even get me started... oops, too late.
edit: I completely forgot about the image you are starting with - a gantry co2 can use just about anything and a galvo fiber is so picky when it comes to hatching that you'll be amazed when it actually works.
Contributor
Maybe a bit off topic, but one of the 'things' about a galvo machine that is just incredible to me is the galvanometer itself, how it moves the mirrors, and moves them so precisely-- The other day I took my ebay2 machine, which came with a 220mm (work area) lens. The focus distance from the mirrors to the work is roughly 17"-! Now, how many of us has barely grazed a C02 machine's mirror with the red light on, and moved the spot an inch or so from where it was? Yet this machine outline-engraved the word 'test' at 1/2mm high, did it in .023 seconds, and when viewed with a 10x loupe, it was perfectly readable and nearly flawless, all the letters looked like they're supposed to. And this engraving was steered by 2 mirrors 17" away... ! Does anyone have a mathematical calculation to figure out how far mirrors 17" away moved to engrave text that's only .02" tall? Also incredible to me is the sheer volume of math calculations involved with the coordinates necessary to run even a simple hatched box, let alone complex stuff! Back in 1991 when I got Casmate, it took the 486 computer running it 14 seconds to display a .01" hatch fill of a 4" tall tree on screen; EzCad calculates and displays hatch fills 100's of times as complex as that tree, in 10ths of seconds...
And all made in China...
And according to some of the laser science I've read up on (Thanks, Sheldrake, and anyone know why he's MIA?), our galvo fiber-lasers are just childs play compared to some of the technology- I forget exactly the details, but I read something about high-speed laser switching that was incredible; IIRC one type of laser is capable of firing 180,000 pulses per nanosecond- that means 180,000 fires before the 1st pulse travels 11" !
Sorry for the ramble
========================================
ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now- fiber lasers
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle
Member
Perhaps I am being dense... it sounds like you are talking about galvos, which are not limited to fiber lasers. It seems to me a gantry style fiber laser ought to be pretty similar control-wise as a CO2.
Shenhui 1440x850, 130 Watt Reci Z6
Gerber Sabre 408
Member
About 0.067 degrees.
Shenhui 1440x850, 130 Watt Reci Z6
Gerber Sabre 408
Member
That would be 180 terahertz, six times the frequency of CO2 laser light. It would be turning off an on several times per wavelength oscillation. I think there must be some mis-remembering of the details here, probably by a couple orders of magnitude. If not, then my mind will be truly boggled.
Shenhui 1440x850, 130 Watt Reci Z6
Gerber Sabre 408
Contributor
I am talking about galvo fiber but only because when I think "fiber laser" all I think of is galvo. A gantry fiber is a complete waste due to the limitations of gantry vs galvo so I don't even put it in the mix when I'm talking about lasers. It would be about like a formula 1 driver talking about his latest car and someone saying "no, I meant a volkswagen bug"...
Contributor
maybe some 'mis-remembering' for sure, but the technology is there for sure too-
Just found this 7 year old story: https://phys.org/news/2012-09-attose...ser-pulse.html
--this guy and his team created a 67 attosecond laser pulse-- an attosecond is a 1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000 of a second (one quintillionth)...
I mentioned 180,000 pulses per nanosecond from my admittedly not the best memory, which is what, 180,000 billion pulses per second-? this guy's laser fires at the rate of 15 million billion pulses per second... ! Just boggles my mind
========================================
ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle
Member
I know that was your name. I like it. A laser lifer. Just messin with ya. But, honestly, give it another try. They are getting ready to come out with the latest update. I find something to use in each new update. Refreshing.
Member
A 67 as pulse is incomprehensibly short, but it is not the same as firing 15 million billion pulses one after the other. It is an extremely short duration pulse, not a frequency. Sure, to illustrate how short of pulse it is you can say how many it would take to fill a second but that does not mean that it fires at that rate.
To be extra clear, what I am doubting is that there is a laser that can fire 180,000 pulses in one ns, not that there is the technology to fire a single pulse that is one / 180 thousandth (0.0000055) of a nanosecond in length.
Shenhui 1440x850, 130 Watt Reci Z6
Gerber Sabre 408
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