LightBurn is the most popular laser control software for hobbyists and it's worth learning properly. The interface looks complex at first but once you understand the core settings — speed, power, passes, and modes — everything else falls into place. Here's what you actually need to know to get started.
LightBurn uses a color-coded layer system. Every shape in your design is assigned to a layer — identified by color in the Cuts/Layers panel on the right side of the screen. Each layer has its own settings: speed, power, mode, and number of passes. This lets you cut and engrave in the same job with different settings for each operation.
The order layers run is controlled by the priority number in the Cuts/Layers panel. Engrave operations (Fill mode) typically run before cut operations (Line mode) so the piece stays flat until it's fully cut. This is the most important layer ordering principle for beginners to understand.
Speed and power are the two primary controls you will adjust for every material and operation. Speed is measured in mm/min on most diode lasers and mm/s on CO2 machines. Power is expressed as a percentage of your machine's maximum output.
These two settings work in inverse relationship — higher speed requires more power to achieve the same result. Slower speed with lower power is generally better for engraving quality. Higher speed with higher power is used for cutting to minimize heat buildup in surrounding material.
LightBurn has a Min Power and Max Power setting. For cutting, set both to the same value. For engraving, the Min Power setting controls how the laser behaves when slowing down for direction changes — typically set Min Power to 10–20% below Max Power for engraving.
Passes tells LightBurn how many times to repeat the operation. For cutting through thick material, multiple passes at moderate power produce cleaner results than one slow high-power pass. Each pass follows exactly the same path.
Z-Step (available on machines with motorized Z-axis) drops the focus slightly with each pass. This keeps the focus point at the bottom of the cut as the laser works through the material — useful for cutting material thicker than 6mm. For most hobbyist work without a motorized Z-axis, set Z-Step to zero.
Line mode (Cut) traces the outline of your shape. It's used for cutting and for outline engraving. Fill mode engraves the interior of a shape by scanning back and forth — similar to how a printer works. Fill mode is used for area engraving, photos, and shading.
Fill+Line mode does both — fills the interior and then traces the outline. This is useful for engraved designs where you want a crisp defined edge after the fill.
Line interval (also called scan gap or line gap) controls how far apart the engraving scan lines are. A smaller interval means denser, smoother engraving at the cost of more time. A larger interval is faster but shows visible lines between passes.
For most wood engraving, 0.1mm interval produces good results. For detailed photo engraving, 0.07mm or 0.05mm gives finer results but significantly increases run time. For draft quality or large fills where detail is not critical, 0.15mm or 0.2mm is adequate.
LightBurn has a built-in Material Test generator under the Laser Tools menu. It creates a grid of squares with different power and speed combinations — essentially a power/speed matrix burned onto your material. This is the fastest way to dial in settings for a new material without manually testing each combination.
Set your power range (e.g., 30% to 90%), speed range (e.g., 1000–5000 mm/min), and grid size, then run it on a scrap piece. The resulting grid shows you exactly how your machine responds to different combinations on that specific material, letting you pick the settings that produce the result you want.
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