If you have a laser engraver at home – no matter if it’s a simple diode laser or a powerful CO₂ – sooner or later you’re going to want it to just work. No tambourine dancing. That’s where LightBurn comes in. It’s not a magic wand, but it seems to be the most adequate program for working with a laser right now.
What’s that all about?
LightBurn is a program for preparing and sending projects to a laser engraver. It can do everything: draw, import, customize, cut, engrave, and even tell you if you’ve done something wrong. And best of all, it’s all in one window, not fifteen different software programs like this.
You can load SVG, DXF, AI, BMP, PNG – almost everything you have. And not just load it, but process it right away. LightBurn knows how to distinguish between cutting and engraving.
Equipment Support
Works with most popular controllers: Ruida, GRBL, Smoothieware, TopWisdom. If you have Ortur, xTool, Atomstack, NEJE – it will almost certainly work. You just need to select the right device type during installation – LightBurn will recognize it itself in most cases.
If your laser is on GRBL – everything is simple. You plug it in, the program finds the device, and in a minute you can start a test cut.
Settings that don’t piss you off
In other programs, you might spend 20 minutes trying to figure out why a laser is burning through wood when you just wanted to draw a logo. Here, everything is human. In the settings for each layer you can specify:
- laser speed and power,
- number of passes,
- mode (cutting, engraving, scanning),
- and even things like z-offset or rotary setup.
Another cool feature is Material Library. You can store your parameters for each type of material: plywood, acrylic, leather, glass. You can set it up once and forget it.
Working with designs
LightBurn can not only cut, but also draw. Right in the program itself you can make a logo, business card or label. There are basic tools: lines, circles, text, knots. It works stably – does not hang, does not crash.
Plus – you can do image tracing (tracing a bitmap image into a vector). For example, you took a hand-drawn picture, threw it into LightBurn, the program itself turned it into lines that the laser will understand. Or you want to engrave a photo – no problem either: you throw it in, select the engraving mode and test the parameters via material test grid.
Camera and positioning
If you want to engrave exactly where you want it, the LightBurn camera comes in handy. It helps you align the workpiece and see where the engraving will go. It doesn’t work perfectly, but it’s better than guessing.
There is also a preview function that shows you exactly how the laser will follow the path. This saves material and nerves.
Which is a good thing
- Supports a lot of controllers and lasers
- Simple interface, understandable even for beginners
- Many video tutorials and manuals
- You can do both cutting and engraving
- Supports vector and raster files
- Works on Windows, macOS and Linux
- There is a test version for 30 days.
What’s not so good
- No support for some firmware (e.g. Marlin)
- Camera may require calibration and is not always accurate
- The interface is old-fashioned in some places, but stable.
Who should try it
- Those who are just starting out with laser engraving and want everything in one place
- Owners of Ruida, GRBL, xTool and other popular machines
- Those who are tired of crooked Chinese programs
- Those who sell products and want them to look consistently beautiful.
Who might not be a good fit.
- For those with exotic or homemade controllers
- For those looking for something completely free
- If you only work with 3D engraving – there are more specialized solutions available
Conclusion
LightBurn is like a universal remote control for a laser. Not perfect, but definitely one of the most convenient. Plug it in and you’re up and running. You don’t need to understand millions of tabs, you just do what you want: cut, engrave, experiment.
