User Origin works almost exactly the same as Current Position, except that the starting location is 'programmable'. Using Current Position and Job Origin together lets you line up a cut on a piece of material with ease, once you understand how it works. If you position the laser directly over the center of the item you want to cut, the resulting image will be centered on the item.

Now the job is going to be cut centered around the current position of the laser head. If you change the Job Origin setting to 'Center', you get this instead: Imagine that you wanted to cut this amazing two-circle pattern onto a beverage coaster or a phone case. This represents the position of the laser when you start the job, so the laser is going to move slightly up and to the right from wherever it is, cut the two circles, and go back to where it started. Notice that the green 'Job Origin' indicator has moved. In this image, we're starting from the Current Position, with the Job Origin set to the lower left: You use the 'Job Origin' control in the Laser window to tell LightBurn how to position the job relative to the laser. Your job cuts relative to the current position of the laser head when you hit the Start button. In 'Absolute Coordinates' these are always in the same place.Ĭurrent Position is probably the next easiest to use. The green square in the lower-left of the image represents the Job Origin, and the red square in the same place shows the Machine Origin. In the image below, the two circles placed in the middle of the work area will be cut in the middle of the machine work area. See Machines without homing sensors / limit switches.

If you have a small diode laser that does not have homing sensors, you will need to manually zero the machine. Note: Using absolute positioning requires a laser with homing switches and a fixed origin. Users with small lasers like the K40 will likely find this the simplest and most intuitive option. Anything you place in that area will be cut in the corresponding place on your machine. You choose them in the 'Start From' box on the Laser tab:Ībsolute Coordinates is the simplest - The page grid you see in the main editing window represents your machine's work area. There are a few ways to tell LightBurn how to place the project within the work area of your machine.

K40 lightburn