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You're reading from  A Tinkerer's Guide to CNC Basics

Product typeBook
Published inJan 2024
PublisherPackt
ISBN-139781803247496
Edition1st Edition
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Samer Najia
Samer Najia
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Samer Najia

Samer has been extremely interested in things that fly since he was six years old. An avid pilot, flight instructor, rocketeer and plastic modeler, he has been building things that fly or look like they might for as long as he can remember, including a full scale aircraft in the garage. Samer has a background in Mechanical Engineering and is a CNC and Laser hobbyist, but currently is working in IT – specifically software development. Samer resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife and two children and participates in his local maker space by teaching metal shaping techniques, rocketry and homebuilt aircraft construction.
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Laser-cutting software

Unlike standard CNC software, such as sending G-code using UGS, there are quite a few applications that are very specific to laser-cutting operations. I am a big fan of LightBurn, which is not free, but very affordable. There are others, of course, some free, others paid. Here is a list of some of them:

  • LightBurn: My local makerspace makes heavy use of this software with a number of laser cutters, including some larger machines. You get to use it free of charge for a short trial period, but a license is very reasonably priced.
  • LaserGRBL: This is free software, with some good features. This software is geared toward the hobbyist, making it ideal for many users.
  • T2Laser: I have this installed on my computer as well as LightBurn because it has a great utility to flash the controller. It isn’t free, but I have found it very useful with some of my smaller laser cutters.
  • BenBox: This is also free, but I have found this to be temperamental...
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A Tinkerer's Guide to CNC Basics
Published in: Jan 2024Publisher: PacktISBN-13: 9781803247496

Author (1)

author image
Samer Najia

Samer has been extremely interested in things that fly since he was six years old. An avid pilot, flight instructor, rocketeer and plastic modeler, he has been building things that fly or look like they might for as long as he can remember, including a full scale aircraft in the garage. Samer has a background in Mechanical Engineering and is a CNC and Laser hobbyist, but currently is working in IT – specifically software development. Samer resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife and two children and participates in his local maker space by teaching metal shaping techniques, rocketry and homebuilt aircraft construction.
Read more about Samer Najia