We have a pretty detailed Wiki on https://github.com/openhardwarecoza/LaserWeb3/wiki - with details of Installing LaserWeb, Common application Workflows, Firmware setup tricks, and help for setting up LaserWeb's settings
Link to Support Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/115879488566665599508
Link to Youtube Playlist with LaserWeb videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1JTb6-HQgOyc1eM6eX4v0tdSYpXFLYNT
Link to authors other projects: https://openhardwarecoza.github.io/donate
By using this software, the user accepts complete responsibility for each and every aspect of safety associated with the use of the Laser machine, Laser system and LaserWeb Software.
####You agree that:
- You will not hold the author or contributors of LaserWeb3 liable for any damage to equipment or persons from the use of LaserWeb.
- You know the potential hazards in using high power lasers and high voltages.
- You will wear professional laser-eye-protection when using a laser controlled by LaserWeb.
- You will use the LaserWeb software in a legal and safe manner.
- You relieve the author and contributors from any liability arising from the use or distribution of the LaserWeb software.
- You are entirely operating at your own risk. Lasers can be lethally dangerous.
- A ground up rewrite of the serial comms layer (In progress: Smoothieware support is done, Marlin support is available for testing and further development, and Grbl support needs to be written next)
- A new tabbed multilayer CAM system that allows you to load dxfs, svgs, stls and rasters into the SAME job! (Implemented, needs testing)
- A new costing estimate module - for those of you who make money out of your lasers - should help you qoute just a little more accurate (Already implemented)
- Smoothieware Ethernet support (nearly done)
- Rotary Axis Support (planned)
Note: Ever changing. See the Issues tab above for details.
Firmware | Supported by LW | Raster Grayscale | Realtime Feedback | Pull Requests Accepted |
---|---|---|---|---|
Smoothieware | Fully | Yes | Yes | Yes - improvements |
Marlin | In Alpha | **Yes, but... | No | Yes - test and improve |
Grbl | Implemented Jul'16 | **Yes, but... | almost | Yes - improved error handling |
TinyG | not planned | No | Yes | Yes - please |
Repetier | not planned | No | No | Yes |
Long story short: Smoothieware wins on all fronts. its the ONLY open source firmware which automatically modulates its laser power output according to the realtime acceleration values - ensuring that (de)acceleration does not cause larger kerf / darker engraves - which the other firmwares causes. This is a MUST for good Raster engraving, and is needed for Raster Grayscale!
Smoothieware is also a massively faster (up to 120Mhz vs the 16Mhz of the Arduino based controllers) - which means we can pull near realtime feedback from the controller. This keeps the UI massively responsive, and ensures you are always aware of what your machine is doing.
**
Marlin and Grbl Firmwares support grayscale, but don't modulate power according to acceleration: Thus start/end of raster moves burn a little darker. On some machines / some graphics, this can really look bad, so i'd rather not say "yes" since the experience is not what it could be. Again, Smoothieware is sooo much better at this!