Welcome to the HackPGH training guide for the laser cutter. This document is designed to provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills to operate the laser cutter safely and efficiently. After carefully reviewing the information within, you may contact one of the Laser Crafting Section Leads in order to schedule an assessment of your knowledge and become certified to operate the equipment. Completing this certification will enable you to take on a wide range of projects with confidence.
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Outline
- Technical & Safety Information
- Basic Specifications
- Terminology
- Setup Procedure
- Precautions
- Standard Operating Procedure
- Startup Procedure & Work Area Preparation
- Lightburn
- Layout Grid
- Toolbars
- Main
- Tools
- Numeric Edits (Transform)
- Arrange & Docking
- Modifiers
- Text Options
- Panels
- Move
- Cuts & Layers
- Material Settings
- Library
- Console
- Laser
- Windows / Dialogs
- Material
- Cleanup Procedure
- Laser Manufacturing Concepts
- Operations
- Cut / Line
- Fill / Raster
- Special Techniques
- Line Engrave
- Offset Engrave
- Crosshatch Engrave
- Z-Offset
- Operations
Technical & Safety Information
First and foremost, please observe the following information to ensure safe operation, as well as to prevent damage to the machine. Please begin by familiarizing yourself with the laser cutter itself. Refer to the following reference material:
Specifications (Trogdor v2.5)
Trogdor is a CO2 laser cutter & engraver with fully custom hardware & firmware. It is currently equipped with a 100w laser tube and a 50.8mm lens for a good balance of beam power and precision.
Terminology (Trogdor v2.5)
- Trogdor
- E-Stop
- Power switch
- Lid sensor
- Tube
- Permeable mirror (Lens)
- Laser pointer
- Mirrors
- Mirror A
- Mirror B
- Mirror C
- Set screws
- Gantry
- Belts
- Cable chain
- Air supply tube
- Probe signal wire
- Lens Housing
- Lens
- Air Assist Coupling
- Bed
- Honeycomb (or “Work area”)
- Exhaust Grate
- Waste Collection Bin
- Maintenance Panels
- Z Axis (Main & Side)
- Mirrors
- Auxiliary Controls
- Control Board
- Power Supply
- Laser Tube (Side, Rear, Extension)
- Chiller
- Air Compressor
- Air Exhaust Tube
Safety Clearance
To be cleared for independent use of the laser cutter, members must demonstrate a reliable understanding of the following:
- How to observe laser safety protocols
- How to operate the laser from startup to shutdown
- How to navigate and use Lightburn
Standard Operating Procedure – Setup
Before operating the laser cutter, there are a few routine procedures to follow.
1. Power On
At the time of writing (late 2024), the power switch is out of order. Disengage the E-stop to turn on the machine by twisting it clockwise. Upon activation, the work area will light up and the peripherals (the chiller, exhaust, and air assist systems) should turn on automatically.
Confirm that the chiller, the exhaust, and the air assist systems are operational before proceeding:
Chiller
Located between the laser cutter and the refrigerator. The screen should display a temperature between 19 and 21. If at any time, the chiller starts to beep or display an error on screen, power down the laser system immediately and contact a shop lead.
Exhaust
The fume extraction system is powered by the mint green industrial fan behind the laser. When operational, it should be loud and the duct should show obvious signs of having air moving through it. If the fan is inactive or generating any unusual sounds, power down the machine and contact a shop lead.
Air Assist
The air assist for the tool head inside the work area is powered by the small air compressor between the exhaust fan and the chiller. The tool head should begin emitting a steady stream of air upon startup. If it does not, power down the machine and contact a shop lead.
Finally, before connecting to the attached computer, make sure that there are no foreign objects behind or to the right of the toolhead within the work area and that the honeycomb bed is seated roughly in the middle of the work area cavity. Once the space is cleared, proceed.
Notes
- If at any point following the setup procedure the chiller starts beeping, this is an indication that it is not functioning properly, risking damage to the laser tube. Turn off the device immediately using the E-stop and contact a shop lead. A built-in failsafe designed to cut power to the tube in the event of cooling failure is present, but as with any automatic safety measures, one must assume it is prone to failure and err on the side of caution.
- If at any point, the laser begins making a loud grinding noise, this is likely because the stepper motors driving one of the three axes of movement is straining to move against an obstacle. In the event of a tool head crash, push the E-stop immediately and contact a shop lead.
- The honeycomb bed must not be left directly up against the walls of the work area cavity because the screws holding it together are prone to getting caught on them during Z move operations, which can cause a crash and necessitate re-leveling.
2. Connect
Power on the computer connected to the laser cutter, log in with the provided password (you will be granted access to this when receiving training on the machine), and open Lightburn from the desktop.
Do not interact with the computer until Lightburn is fully launched. Doing so may interfere with the startup script the computer executes as part of establishing a connection to the machine.
By the time Lightburn is on screen, the tool head should have automatically returned to home – in this case, the back right corner of the work area.
If the tool head did not move, or if Lightburn is unable to control the laser cutter beyond this point, it likely did not establish a connection properly. If this occurs:
- First, try simply closing Lightburn and re-opening it.
- If that doesn’t work, try powering down both the laser system and the computer.
- If that doesn’t work, follow the yellow ethernet cable from the back left of the laptop to the laser to make sure it’s still plugged in.
- If the computer still fails to connect to the laser, contact a shop lead for further assistance.
Notes
- Do not launch Lightburn by opening a Lightburn file or launching from the Start menu (or Windows search bar). Doing so will bypass the startup script and the connection will not be properly established.
- Only attempt to launch Lightburn if the laser cutter is already powered on. Doing so in the reverse order will prevent a connection from being made.
- If the laser powers off for any reason whilst connected to the computer, the connection must be reestablished. Do this by either closing and relaunching Lightburn, or by turning both machines off and back on fully in the right order.
3. Prepare
Lastly, place your work piece on the honeycomb bed of the work area, secure it in place as necessary, and proceed to the Operation phase when ready.
Notes
- Whenever engraving a work piece, make sure to leave room on the sides – the tool head moves rather fast when engraving and needs room to slow down. The amount of overshoot is configurable within the Lightburn operation settings. Failing to account for this (always check the Preview button before starting a job!) may result in crashing the X axis – in other words, slamming the tool head into the sides of the work area. This is unlikely to damage the machine unless left unattended.
- There should be small plastic clips in the organizer on top of the laser next to the lid. Press these down into the honeycomb at the edge of your work piece to secure it in place. These are surprisingly good at holding down flat materials to prevent warping.
- Also in that organizer, or attached to the chassis of the laser cutter on their own, there should be some rectangular neodymium magnets. These can be used to further hold down especially thin yet still stubborn materials, such as leather or wood veneer.
- If you’re engraving an existing item with no free space on which to mark in order to confirm registration, consider bracing it against a sacrificial piece of the same height which can be marked first to ensure alignment without damaging the work piece.
- As of the time of writing, our laser cutter is limited to operating in relative coordinates due to the fact that the honeycomb is removable and thus cannot guarantee work piece registration. As such, if your project depends on closely reproducible placement between cuts, you are responsible for producing a jig with which to do so. The chassis of the machine as well as the track on which the gantry moves back and forth should both be sufficiently fixed surfaces for a jig so long as none of the mechanical components are obstructed.
Standard Operating Procedure – Usage
Once the machine is on and connected to the computer, the next steps are performed in Lightburn. After launching, Lightburn should look more or less like this:
1. Asset Import & Preparation
Lightburn is built from the ground up to make laser operation as easy as possible – and as such, it supports most 2D vector image formats, as well as most raster image formats for photo engrave operations. For the majority of jobs, you’ll likely be using one of the following recommended formats:
| File Extension | File Format | Vector/Raster | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| .lbrn / .lbrn2 | Lightburn Project File | Project File | The most ideal format is Lightburn’s own project format. All information is retained. |
| .ai | Adobe Illustrator Document | Vector | Adobe illustrator files are very well supported in Lightburn and always import to scale automatically. |
| .svg | Scalable Vector Graphics | Vector | SVG is an open source format for vector images. Always double check to make sure your SVG is the right size before starting a job. |
| .dxf | Drawing Interchange Format | Vector | DXF is a proprietary vector format developed by Autodesk. Most templates & designs you can buy are going to be delivered as DXF files. |
| .png | Portable Network Graphics | Raster (Engraving) | PNG files are a lossless image format with support for transparency. If you’re engraving a raster design or photo, use a PNG file if one is available. |
| .jpg / .jpeg | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Raster (Engraving) | JPEG is the most common image file type. JPEGs are often compressed to the point of visible artifacts and may or may not be suitable for engraving. |
Expand for a detailed list of all supported formats in case you need it:
| File Extension | File Format | Vector/Raster | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| .lbrn / .lbrn2 | LightBurn | Project File (Vector + Raster + Operation Settings) | The most ideal format is Lightburn’s own project format. All information is retained. .lbrn2 is the same format, just made smaller with lossless compression. |
| .sc / .scpro2 | SignCut | Project File | SignCut is a design software specifically made to facilitate creating signage. Its document format is partially interoperable with LightBurn. |
| .ai | Adobe Illustrator | Vector / Project File (With Raster Support) | Adobe illustrator files are very well supported in Lightburn and always import to scale automatically. Some information may not be retained, but this is unlikely to raise issues. If your .ai file is missing shapes upon import, try applying “Create Outlines” to convert any text to vector shapes. Failing that, try ungrouping shapes. |
| Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) | Vector + Raster (often just raster) | You’ve no doubt encountered many PDF files – they are the de facto format for documents, books, forms, and anything else that’s made to be printed. PDF files are a mixed bag – the format supports both vector and raster content and many different compression algorithms – meaning there’s no broadly excepted standard of quality and low-quality compressed raster photos can sneak in among vector shapes, causing confusion. In addition to this, extra baked-in data such as color profiles, page size, printing & registration marks, and extensive metadata are unlikely to be of any use Illustrator can use PDF files as a project file format by saving with “Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities” checked. | |
| .dxf | Drawing Interchange Format | Vector | DXF files are a vector format developed by Autodesk designed for CAD and CAM applications. Many digital assets purchased online will likely be delivered as DXF files. Compatibility issues are unlikely. |
| .svg | Scalable Vector Graphics | Vector (limited raster support) | SVG files are an open source format for vector images and are fully supported by Lightburn. Inkscape uses SVG as its native format. Be certain to double check the scale of all of your objects before running your job – SVG files may not be exactly to scale after import depending on how they were made – Inkscape’s default DPI setting is different from Illustrator’s, and that information is not retained in the format. |
| .gc / .gcode | G-Code | Machine Instructions | G-Code files don’t represent a design – they contain instructions compiled for a specific machine that, when executed, result in the machine creating/cutting out/engraving/otherwise operating based on the shape of a given design. It is possible in some cases to use G-Code to reverse engineer the design they were generated with, but your mileage may vary. Because it does not support more than 30 layers with their own speed and power settings, LightBurn saves the material swatch tests it generates as G-Code rather than its own project format. |
| .nc | netCDF | Machine Instructions | netCDF is a legacy machine-independent data interchange format – in this case, some laser cutters use it instead of G-Code |
| .hpgl / plt | Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language | Machine Instructions | Line G-Code and netCDF, HP-GL is a format used to store machine instructions – specifically plotters. |
| .rd | RDWorks | Machine Instructions | A G-Code like format for laser cutters with RuiDa control boards. |
| .mage | MillMage | Project File/Machine Instructions (?) | An obscure file format used for some CNC software and/or control boards. Documentation is sparse. |
| .bmp | Bitmap | Raster | BMP files are uncompressed image files – perfect preservation of all details, but very large. |
| .jpg / .jpeg | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Raster | JPEG files are the most common image file type – highly optimized, they are as ubiquitous as they are notorious for their distinctive compression artifacts. Your mileage may vary – depending on the image, quality can range from perfectly spotless to irrevocably deep fried. |
| .png | Portable Network Graphics | Raster | PNG files are exceptionally high fidelity, being a lossless image format with support for transparency. If you’re engraving a raster design or photo, use a PNG file if one is available. |
| .gif | Graphics Interchange Format | Raster | GIF files are best known for supporting animations. As a static image format, their limited support for color palette and primitive transparency mean they’re rarely the most ideal choice. |
| .tif / .tiff | Tagged Image File Format | Raster | TIFF is a raster image format often used for printing and reproducing designs and photographs. It is known for high quality and support for a wide range of tagged metadata. |
| .tga | Truevision Advanced Raster Graphics Adapter (TARGA) | Raster | TGA is a legacy raster image format designed for robust support for images saved at different levels of pixel bit depth. It isn’t uniquely useful for laser crafting, but it can be imported if need be. |
| .webp | WebP | Raster | WebP is an oft-misunderstood and not-yet-universally-adopted image format with support for multiple compression algorithms as well as transparency and animation. Many websites have started to deliver most of their images in this format due to its efficiency and the range of features offered. |
There are several ways to import artwork into LightBurn:
- Find the menu bar at the top of the window and navigate to File > Import
- Press CTRL + I (I for Import)
- Drag-and-drop your file into the LightBurn window directly from the file explorer
Doing so should result in your design showing up on the canvas. For the sake of example, this is what LightBurn would show if you imported a file containing one 10cm square:
Once this is done, you’ll want to double check to make sure everything came in at the right size – and that it’ll end up getting cut out in the right place.
2. Coordinates, Job Origin, & Focus
Size and positioning can be checked in several different ways as well. First, let’s start with the transform controls in the toolbar, known within LightBurn as Numeric Edits:
From this, we can see (and adjust) the following:
- The selected object’s current position (at its anchor point, which we’ll go over in a moment)
- Within our Lightburn setup, the lower left corner of the canvas (and work area) is considered (0,0). Increasing an object’s X position moves it further to the right while a higher Y value moves it further back into the work area away from the user.
- During normal use, these position values should not be taken literally – all movements and operations take place relative to the current actual position of the toolhead, not the surface area of the honeycomb as the interface of Lightburn might seem to imply.
- The selected object’s width and height
- Whether or not the object’s width and height are currently proportionally locked (if resized, the aspect ratio will be maintained with no stretching)
- The selected object’s anchor point
- The current object’s rotation
- The current unit of measurement.
This should be set to millimeters – please refrain from changing this setting as it is likely to invite user error when determining operation settings.
The anchor point of an object is not an immutable property – it simply acts as a point of reference for any information displayed or adjusted in the Numeric Edits panel.
Imagine holding a piece of paper down on a table in the exact center with one finger and rotating it. The position of that finger would be the paper’s anchor point. Now imagine holding it down in the upper left corner and rotating from there. Lightburn allows you to move, scale, or rotate any shape in that way from any of the corners, edges, or the center of its bounding box.
Any of the above information can be adjusted in order to ensure all of your shapes are at the expected scale and arranged as expected in comparison to one another.
3. Layers & Cut Settings
- [suggest making test cuts]
