dwyl / workshop

โšก Learn how to create things in the workshop using hand tools, CAD CAM/CNC & lasers!
GNU General Public License v2.0
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LightBurn? #44

Closed nelsonic closed 2 years ago

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

At present the software we use to create our laser designs is literally in Chinese. I can make it out with my poor Mandarin, but it's basically useless to anyone else and I'm not going to invest any time in creating a tutorial for it.

According to my research, LightBurn (which wasn't available when we bought our laser) is the best in 2021.

https://lightburnsoftware.com/ image

https://lightburnsoftware.com/collections/frontpage/products/lightburn-dsp image

The releases are available on GitHub: https://github.com/LightBurnSoftware/deployment/releases image

But the software itself is Closed Source. ๐Ÿ™„ I would obviously prefer it to be Open Source, but at the same time I totally understand why it isn't. If it were Open Source and relied on "donations" the developer would 100% starve. The community of people using the software might donate $20 for it but they almost certainly wouldn't pay the โ‚ฌ105 asking price ... I actually think โ‚ฌ105 ($120) is a good deal for this kind of industrial control software if it makes life easier. And if it means the Developer can afford to do it full-time to support it into the future, it's great!

https://lightburnsoftware.com/pages/how-the-lightburn-license-works image

The forum seem friendly and informative: https://forum.lightburnsoftware.com/ image

Intro: https://youtu.be/BkNeVjbZncc image

Todo

Really wish I had infinite time to do creative things ...

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

This is a photo of the DSP (Digital Signal Processor) unit of our Laser: it's a Ruida 6442 99AEED39-E2B8-4A60-8D1E-330ABBB8BC78 FDB5D16B-FF07-4D26-848F-E453F7BD6011

Read more: https://lasergods.com/controller-dsp-identification/

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

For reference, the DSP + Interface costs $375: https://www.cloudraylaser.com/products/cloudray-ruida-controller-rdc6442g-6442s?variant=12906003857459

ruida-controller-price-375

So let's not break it. ๐Ÿ˜œ

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

Downloaded the Free Trial of LightBurn this evening and it worked flawelessly. ๐ŸŽ‰ lightburn-start-free-trial

Going to do a few more tests this weekend. โณ My initial impression is that the software is worth every penny of the purchase price. ๐Ÿ˜

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

Been using Lightburn for the last couple of weeks and it's been a revelation! ๐ŸŽ‰ It's fine for basic 2D design work e.g: #43 ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ But I still need to properly learn FreeCAD #35 to do more complex (3D/Furniture) design work ... ๐Ÿ’ญ Meanwhile my "30 day free trial" of Lightburn is running out in the new year. I will be buying the App and running it on both my Mac Laptop and the Windows Desktop.

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

10 Tips and Tricks for New Laser owners that use LightBurn: https://youtu.be/svqLw94RjYQ

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

ยฃ90 ... https://lightburnsoftware.com/collections/frontpage/products/lightburn-dsp image

Buying the license in GBP using the UK cash/company.

image

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

Added the license to the CAD (Windows) PCs. Working well. Closing. โœ…

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

image

https://lightburnsoftware.com/pages/manage-your-license-activations-with-the-license-portal image

https://lightburn.cryptlex.app/auth/login image

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

All about Lightburn : Interview with Jason from Lightburn: https://youtu.be/Uctq4kuu77I

image

Worth watching (or listening to) in the background to get the history/context of Lightburn. ๐Ÿ’ญ

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

I consider myself reasonably proficient in LightBurn now. That's more of a testament to Jason's superb software engineering skills than my abilities. The program has the ease-of-use / no-brainer interface of MS Paint and the power/precision we need.

Recent example of a project created in LightBurn: https://github.com/nelsonic/vinyl-record-carry-storage-box/issues/1#issuecomment-1120317357

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

@LuchoTurtle this is the thread that might be relevant to you if you're going to try and use LightBurn for your Battery Bank. ๐Ÿ”‹ ๐Ÿ’ญ

LuchoTurtle commented 2 years ago

@nelsonic cheers! Hopefully, some of my Blender skills can be ported into Lightburn to get up to speed faster ๐Ÿ˜›

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

TIL: how to cut a circle down to a semi-circle, 3/4 or 1/4. it's super easy, now that I know! https://forum.lightburnsoftware.com/t/cutting-a-circle-in-half/5968

nelsonic commented 1 year ago

image

lame.

nelsonic commented 1 year ago

This is lame. But they sneakily don't include the duration of the license on their website! https://lightburnsoftware.com/collections/frontpage/products/lightburn-dsp image

nelsonic commented 1 year ago

Wanna keep using the thing that you thought was a one-time payment? Well, there's an "Upgrade Fee" ... ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ lighburn-license-renewal-scam

iteles commented 11 months ago

Can we only use this on one computer?

I'm wondering if we can design some stuff during nap time this week with @stephanymtr but it would have to be upstairs (portable). Just wondering if we can install on another computer or if we should move the one it's on up and down.

nelsonic commented 11 months ago

@iteles just download the App and use the 30 day Free Trial on the M1 MacBook Air (that @Stephanymtr is using). Happy to pay for more licenses if needed longer-term.

Stephanymtr commented 11 months ago

Hi! I have downloaded LightBurn. Here are the messages showing on my screen that stops me from doing any work on the program:

Screenshot 2023-11-30 at 15 23 05 Screenshot 2023-11-30 at 15 25 32
nelsonic commented 11 months ago

Yeah, we need to connect the Mac to the Laser and auto-detect the settings. ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ’ปโšก๏ธ