I have an AltMill and recently purchased the LaserBeam system. I connect to my SLB-Ext using an IP address which is working perfectly.
First question regarding LightBurn - Does anyone have a config file for LB and the LaserBeam on an AltMill?
Second, can the laser be controlled directly from LB or must I go through gSender? If I can control from LB (like with my Creality Falcon 2), can I connect to it via IP? I have tried connecting it via LB and IP and the device keeps showing connected/disconnected. I’m not sure if I have a seeting wrong, or if this is just not possible.
@DocRM I know next to nothing about the AltMill, but I can confirm that you can run the laser directly from LB. You do not need to export the gcode from LB to gSender. Also, I am running LB on an SLB connected by ethernet. I can’t see why the SLB-EXT would be different since, as I understand it, the main difference between the two boards is the external driver feature of the SLB.
I don’t understand your comment about “connected/disconnected”.
I also don’t understand what “config file” you are looking for.
Thank you for the response! By config file I mean an .lbdev file that contains the specs of the laser. For instance, My Creality Falcon 2 and my xTool D1 pro all had config files that could be downloaded and imported into LB. I was just wondering if anyone had something similar for the LaserBeam on an AtlMill.
The Connected/Disconnected is referring to the staus in LB when I try to connect to the SLB-Ext via IP. I set up the Laser as GRBL using Ethernet, entered the correct address and then tried to connect to it. On the Status line, it says Ready, then Disconnected, Ready - in a loop… I can’t move the laser or fire it.
I have my shop PC, my AltMill SLB, and the gControlPanel all connected to my home Unifi Router, with a segregated VLAN just for the equipment. gSender works just fine controlling the CNC and Laser from either computer so I don’t think it’s a network issue.
@DocRM Interesting. I don’t have the Sienci Laserbeam. My 10w diode laser didn’t come with a config file, so I was not aware that was a feature of LB.
In terms of the connect/disconnect issue, again I can’t be of much help. Sienci’s position is that they do not support anything but a direct connection between the controlling PC and the SLB. So, I added a second nic to my pc to connect to my SLB, ensuring that the ip address was outside the range of those used by the “primary” nic that connects my pc to my home network and the internet. I’ve never had an issue with gSender or LB with this configuration.
You may want to ask on the LB forum and write to LB. They are quite good at responding.
Please report back here when you solve this. It may help others.
Thanks @gwilki, that is how I have my 2 computers set up - 2 nics, one on my home network (for internet and NAS access), and the other on a completely segregated network that cannot pass traffic between them. I’ll try my luck on the LB forums, thank you!
@DocRM Sorry I can’t be of more help. Just a thought, though. Do you have both gsender and LB connected at the same time? If so, you may want to close gSender and try it.
I thnk that was it, I had both systems connected. With Gsender disconnected I am able to connect and at least move the laser around.
I am still a bit confused though - on my Creality the home point is the lower left corner, while on my Altmill it’s the upper left corner. Sienci says to leave the home position in LB to the lower left, otherwise your gcode will show your project flipped. When I startup LB and tell the machine to Home - it homes to the rear left. LB shows the position as 0,0. However, jogging the the laser to the right the reported x position goes from 0 to 25 (the distance I have the jog set to), but the second click to jog shows the position as 149, which makes no sense to me. And even though I don’t move the y, the reported position changes to -49.5.
On my Falcon, the xy position is accurate and correlates the position when I jog the laser. I guess I need to read a little more on how the coordiantes work in LB as it relates to my AltMill.
Or, I can just generate the Gcode in LB and use gSender to run the file. That seems to work just fine.
@DocRM I’m glad that part of your issue is resolved. I can’t take this any further, Rob. I don’t have an AltMill; I don’t have limit/homing switches; and I have no knowledge at all of the Creality. Other than that, I’m your man.
I suggest that, if you can’t find what you are looking for on the LB forum, you may want to open a support ticket with Sienci or LB.
