Laser Offset Setup

How the Laser Offset Works¶

If your laser has a red dot pointer that is not aligned to the location of your laser's beam, use the Laser Offset in the Device Settings window to shift your laser's output to match the location of the red dot.

With the Laser Offset properly set up, you can use the red dot location to:

• Align output to material using Current Position or User Origin
• Frame output location
• Align output to target positions using Print & Cut
• Find the center of a circle with the Center Finder

When you run your project, the location of the laser head will shift to match the location of the red dot when you performed one of the above actions.

Establishing a Laser Offset¶

1. In the Device Settings window, make sure Enable pointer offset is disabled before beginning this process.

   

2. Load an inexpensive, expendable material into your laser's bed. Place it in a location that both the red dot and laser's beam can reach. Position your laser over the material.

3. Download this 2 square pattern, and Import it into LightBurn.

4. Make sure the pattern is assigned to a layer set to Line mode, and apply appropriate settings to mark it on the material you loaded into your laser, without cutting through.

5. Select Current Position as the Start From mode, and center for the Job Origin position.

   

   Note

   If you are using a DSP device, go to Edit → Machine Settings and make sure Return Position is set to No Return.

6. Press Start in the Laser window to run the job.

7. In the Move window, press Get Position, and record the X and Y positions reported.
8. Jog your laser until your pointer's red dot is perfectly aligned to the center of the 2 square pattern — where the squares' bottom right and top left corners meet.

9. Press Get Position once again, and record the X and Y positions reported.

   

10. To calculate your X and Y offsets, subtract the X and Y positions you recorded in Step 9 from the ones you recorded in Step 7.

    For example, if you recorded X: 180 in Step 7 and X: 200 in Step 9:

        180 - 200 = -20
    

    And if you recorded Y: 200 in Step 7 and Y: 195 in Step 9:

        200 - 195 = 5
    

11. In the Device Settings window, enter the results from Step 10 in the X and Y fields in the Laser Offset section and toggle on Enable pointer offset.

    

    Note

    If you are using a DSP device, reverse the sign of the values you calculated in Step 10 — make negative numbers positive, and vice versa.

12. Test your offset by re-running the same job, exactly as it was set up in Step 6, with the red dot still directly centered over the the pattern, where the points of the 2 squares meet.

    The laser head should shift to match the location of the red dot, and the output should overlap with the first engraving.

Troubleshooting¶

• If output shifts in the wrong direction in one or both dimensions, reverse the sign of the offset you entered in the Device Settings window — make it positive if it is negative, or vice versa.
• If it is close, but slightly misaligned, re-run the setup process, taking care to align the red dot as perfectly as possible to the center of the 2 square pattern in Step 8.
• If alignment is lost between uses, make sure the red dot pointer is mounted securely, so that its location cannot drift, then re-run the setup process.