ScottW514
562631d9bf
README: replace the stalled REST/GUI roadmap with what the firmware does - GRBL mode over TCP for LightBurn/UGS/cncjs, optional cloud mode, the web control panel, cameras, A/B install beside the factory firmware - plus the supported hardware incl. the 8 MP camera limitation and a real roadmap. kas/README: xvclk is the board's 24 MHz oscillator; the pin/push rule covers every source repo; camera and motion sections are hardware-validated, with the OV8856 caveat spelled out; the device-tree item closes with the control_12v residue named; forgectrl is the machine-services daemon with two supervised controllers. LIGHTBURN.md: drop the pre-first-light status line. BUILD.md: state the NXP firmware licensing and where the EULA lives on the machine. The image now installs firmware-imx-lic, so the EULA text ships beside the VPU/EPDC blobs it covers; a bbappend declares that package at parse time, which is what makes it installable from an image recipe.
5.2 KiB
LightBurn setup & operation (ForgeFIRM)
The laser fires only inside an operator-armed window:
- Starting a job that fires: press the button. At the first
laser-on command of a job the machine unlocks its laser latch,
lights the big button white, and pauses the incoming gcode until
you press the button (the same press the factory firmware
requires). LightBurn simply waits; press the button and the job
runs. If nobody presses within
laser_button_timeout_s(default 300 s) the job aborts with alarm 3. Stop in LightBurn (soft reset) cancels the wait at any time. - One press covers the whole job — power changes and M5/M3 toggles do
not re-prompt. The window relocks after
laser_disarm_s(default 60 s) of idle with the spindle off; the next job prompts again. - S-value scale:
$30defaults to 1000, so set LightBurn's S-max to 1000. 100 % power = S1000. Use M4 (variable/dynamic) mode for cuts and engraves. - The machine forces the cut fan profile on while armed and continuously verifies coolant flow; a flow fault or over-temperature pauses/blocks firing (messages appear in LightBurn's console).
- The hardware safety chain stands above all of this: lid open, interlock open, or power faults make firing physically impossible regardless of software state.
One-time device setup
Prerequisite: the controller is running on the board (see BRINGUP.md;
grblHAL_glowforge on TCP port 23 at 172.16.1.97).
- Laser window → Devices → Create Manually (skip auto-find; it scans serial ports).
- Device type: grblHAL if your LightBurn version lists it, otherwise GRBL — both speak the right protocol.
- Connection: Ethernet/TCP. IP address: 172.16.1.97 (LightBurn uses TCP port 23 for GRBL devices, which is exactly where the controller listens).
- Name: e.g.
Glowforge ForgeFIRM. Work area: X 495 mm, Y 279 mm. - Origin: pick the corner where the head sits after parking at home — rear-left as you face the machine (the top-left dot in the selector). This is what keeps jobs un-mirrored: machine +X runs right, +Y runs from the rear rail toward you.
- Auto-home on startup: NO. Homing is not wired yet;
$Herrors. - Finish. If a stale device profile already exists, edit its IP instead of creating a new one.
- Device Settings (wrench icon): S-Value Max = 1000 (matches $30).
- Optional backup: File → Export Devices → saves a
.lbdevyou can re-import later (the format is not editable text; export is the way to make one).
Job start mode (important on an unhomed machine)
In the Laser window set Start From: Current Position, and set the Job Origin dot to the same corner as the machine origin (top-left dot). The job then runs into the bed from wherever the head currently sits — absolute machine zero never matters, which is the forgiving mode while the machine has no homing switches.
(Absolute Coords also works, but only if the head was parked at the
home corner when the controller started; after any Stop/alarm the
absolute frame is stale until the controller is restarted with the head
re-parked.)
Operating basics
- Frame traces the job's bounding box at travel speed — do it before every Start. There are no limit switches: framing is your crash protection.
- Start runs the job. Travels run up to 200 mm/s; anything faster in a layer is clamped by the controller ($110/$111 = 12000 mm/min).
- Pause = grbl feed hold: motion parks within ~0.4 s (0.2 s stream queue + deceleration); Resume continues exactly.
- Stop = soft reset: motion aborts with a controlled deceleration
and grblHAL raises an alarm with position declared lost (the
stream queue means up to ~40 mm of in-flight difference). Recovery:
unlock (
$Xin Console or LightBurn's prompt), jog the head clear, and carry on in Current Position mode. Restart the controller with the head re-parked if you want a clean absolute frame. - Move tab: jogging (set a sane speed, e.g. 6000 mm/min), Get Position, distance buttons.
- Console tab: raw grbl —
?status,$$settings,$Xunlock,$J=G91X10F1200jog.
Air assist / fans
Each cut/engrave layer has an Air Assist toggle (in the layer's cut settings). Turning it on makes LightBurn emit M8/M9 around that layer, which drives the machine's full cut-profile ventilation: air assist to full, exhaust and intake fans to factory run speeds, then a ~15 s cooldown after the layer before returning to idle. Leave it ON for anything that will eventually involve the beam; expect real fan noise.
A good first job
- Draw a rectangle (~100 × 60 mm) with a circle inside.
- Double-click the layer color bar (bottom): mode Line, speed 50 mm/s (= 3000 mm/min; check Edit → Settings for your speed units), power anything (ignored — nothing fires).
- Park the head where the job's rear-left corner should be (or leave it at home), Frame, watch the perimeter trace, then Start.
Expected behavior: darting travels at up to 200 mm/s, smooth 50 mm/s tracing of the shapes, silky and near-silent motion (factory currents + decay mode), and the head finishing per the job's return setting.