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Center Finder

The Center Finder is a useful tool for finding the center of circular stock, as well as defining that stock in your LightBurn Workspace.

By jogging your laser to three positions on a circle (or other regular shape), and setting those positions in the Center Finder Wizard, LightBurn can calculate the circle that passes through those three points, jog your laser to its center, and create a circle in your LightBurn Workspace matching those dimensions, to represent your stock.

The Center Finder is available in the Laser Tools Menu.

Laser Tools Menu

Using the Center Finder

First Steps

  • Home your machine.
  • If your machine does not have homing switches, make sure to start the machine with the laser head at the 0,0 point of your work space — that is typically the lower left corner for GCode-based devices.
  • If the stock you are referencing is light or can be moved easily, make sure to secure it so it does not get bumped during the operations.

Set the Points

Point 1

Jog the laser head to the first position on the edge of your circle, as shown in the wizard, then click Set First Circle Point.

Warning

You must jog the laser head with the laser control panel or from the Move Window. Center Finder will not work if you move the laser head by hand.

Center Finder Wizard Point 1 Center Fidner Physical Point 1

Point 2

Jog the laser head to the next position on the edge of your circle, as shown in the wizard, then click Set Second Circle Point.

Center Finder Wizard Point 2 Center Fidner Physical Point 2

Point 3

Jog the laser head to the last position on the edge of your circle, as shown in the wizard, then click Set Third Circle Point.

Center Finder Wizard Point 3 Center Fidner Physical Point 3

Align to Center

Move to Center

The last step will show you the calculated center of your circle and allow you to jog to that point.

Move to Center Wizard Move to Center Physical

Create Guide Circle

Toggle on Add Guide Circle to Project to create a circle on the T1 Tool layer, that will provide a representation of your stock in your LightBurn Workspace.

Guide Circle

Set Origin

Absolute Coordinates

If you use Absolute Coordinates for your workflow, move your design to the guide circle, and make sure your Start From mode is set to Absolute Coords.

User Origin — Center

If you use User Origin make sure the center radio button is selected as Job Origin.

Center_Origin

After you move the laser to the center of your stock, press the Origin button on your DSP control panel or the Set Origin Button in the Move Window.

Set Origin

Notes

  • You can set the points in any order, and they do not need to be positioned exactly as shown in the reference photos — they need only be far enough apart from one another along the perimeter of the shape that they are valid for calculating the center. The reference photos are meant as guidelines for acceptable distance.

  • This tool can find the center of any shape that can be described with a circle diameter:

    • Squares (pick 3 corners)
      square

    • Equilateral Triangles
      triangle

    • Hexagons
      hexagon

Error Messages

Unable to Query the Current Position of the Laser

unable_to_query

This happens when LightBurn is unable to get the position of the laser from the controller.

  • Often, the laser is still moving, or another command is still in process. Click OK, and try again after waiting a few seconds.

  • If the warning persists, make sure the controller is still connected and is showing Ready at the top of the Laser Window. If you are unable to connect, see Troubleshooting: Connection Problems.

Not Enough Separation Between Points

separate

You have not moved the laser away from the last point or have not moved it far enough to make an acceptable calculation.

  • Try moving farther away and setting the point again.

  • You must jog the laser using its control panel or the Move Window, and not by hand.

Unable to Calculate Center

LightBurn can't calculate center, or it would be outside your laser's work area.

  • This typically happens on machines without homing switches that were not manually homed properly.

  • Restart your machine with the head at your machine origin and try to run the wizard again.

Troubleshooting

  • The accuracy of the Center Finder depends on the accuracy of your point placement. If you have a red dot laser that is accurate, one trick is to try to split the dot on the edges of your stock.

  • If you set a point incorrectly, hit the Reset button. This will clear all points saved. After, restart from the current point. You can set the points in any order.

For more help using LightBurn, please visit our forum to talk with LightBurn staff and users, or email support.