How to use BurnBadger

Never used a laser before? You’re in the right place. Here’s your first burn in seven steps. Everything else is further down, in plain English, for when you want it.

Video how-tos

1. The tour: connect to first burn

2. Test grid: settings for a new material

3. Layers: two settings in one job

Your first burn in seven steps

1
Set up safely
Put on the safety glasses that came with your laser (they’re made for its light; sunglasses aren’t). Open a window or run a fan, since burning makes smoke. Put a honeycomb bed or a scrap board under your material so you don’t mark the table. Stay with the laser the whole time it’s burning.
2
Connect
Windows or Mac: plug the laser in with its USB cable, switch it on, and click Connect.
iPhone or iPad: switch the laser on, tap Connect, and tap Join when asked to join the laser’s Wi-Fi (its name starts with “artilume”).
3
Home
Press Home (the house button). The laser moves to its front-left corner so it knows exactly where everything is. The laser stays off. Do this every time you switch it on.
4
Make a design
Add text, pick something from the art library, or add a photo. On a computer you can drag a picture straight onto the bed. Not sure where to start? The Projects and the test card are ready to burn.
5
Pick your material
Choose what you’re burning on (plywood, slate, leatherette, anodized aluminum, denim and more). BurnBadger fills in the power and speed for you. Trying something new? Burn the test card on a scrap first and you’ll see what it does.
6
Place it
Click Fit to material and type your piece’s size: the design fills it without stretching. Then use the arrows to move the laser over the middle of your piece and press Center design here.
7
Frame, then burn
Press Frame. The laser head traces the outline of your design with the laser off, so you can see exactly where it will land (if your laser has no red pointer, switch on the faint framing line). Frame as many times as you like. Happy? Press Burn, tick the safety checklist, and watch it go. Pause any time; Stop switches the laser off straight away.

That’s it. Push-button when you want it, and every setting is still there when you’re ready for more.

Engrave, Score and Photo

Everything you add goes on a layer, and BurnBadger picks the right one for you: text and shapes on Engrave, outlines on Score, pictures on Photo. You can move things between layers any time.

EngraveFills in text and shapes solid. Use it for names, logos and most designs.

ScoreTraces just the outline with a thin line. Good for borders, and for cutting thin things out.

PhotoTurns a picture into tiny dots (or shades) that look like a photo when burned.

Power, speed and passes

Picking your material sets these for you. Change them whenever you like (it’s free): BurnBadger won’t stop you experimenting.

PowerHow hot the laser runs, from 0 to 100%. More power = darker, deeper burn.

SpeedHow fast the head moves, in mm per minute. Slower = darker. If something is too dark, speed up or lower the power.

PassesHow many times it goes over the same spot. Two passes at lower power often look cleaner than one hot pass.

Fast / Normal / FineHow close together the burn lines are. Fine is sharper but takes longer; Fast is quicker and a little coarser.

Burning photos

Photos work best with a clear subject and good contrast. Crop close, and let BurnBadger lift the subject off the background (on iPhone, iPad and Mac). Then pick a style:

Stucki (the default)Smooth, detailed dots. Start here; it suits most photos.

Jarvis, Floyd–SteinbergSimilar to Stucki with a slightly different grain. Worth a try if a photo looks blotchy.

AtkinsonPunchier, higher contrast. Good for faces and pets on light wood.

ThresholdPure black and white, no shading. Best for logos, clip art and line drawings.

GrayscaleShades by changing the power instead of using dots. Can look lovely on wood; test it first.

Small or blurry photo? Make it bigger and sharper first with the free upscaler: it runs in your browser and shows a laser preview.

Materials

Plywood and basswoodThe easiest place to start. Cheap, forgiving and they look great.

SlateBurns light on dark. BurnBadger shows you a negative preview so you see what you’ll get. Photos look amazing on slate.

Leatherette patchesLow power. Great for hat patches and keychains.

Anodized aluminumThe laser removes the colored coating and leaves a bright mark. Bare, shiny metal won’t mark with a diode laser.

Fabric and denimVery low power: it burns through easily. Slide a piece of cardboard inside clothing so you don’t mark the other side.

Never burn PVC or vinyl (it gives off a poisonous, corrosive gas), and avoid anything shiny or mirror-like (it can bounce the beam). If you don’t know what something is made of, don’t burn it.

Inches to millimeters

BurnBadger measures in millimeters. Type the mm number into Width or Height: the other side follows on its own, so nothing stretches.

1″25.4 mm

2″50.8 mm

3″76.2 mm

3.5″88.9 mm

4″101.6 mm

5″127 mm

6″152.4 mm

8″203.2 mm

Any other size: inches × 25.4 = millimeters.

When something goes wrong

It can’t find my laserMake sure the laser is switched on. With USB, try another cable or port, and close other laser programs (they can hold onto the laser). On Windows, wait a minute after plugging in the first time while it installs the USB driver. On a MacBook with only USB-C ports, a USB-C to USB-C cable sometimes isn’t seen: plug the laser’s cable into a USB-C to USB-A adapter or a USB hub instead. With Wi-Fi, check you joined the laser’s network.

My laser isn’t on the listMost GRBL diode lasers work. In the Laser menu choose Add My Laser: BurnBadger reads your laser’s settings, you burn the test card, and we add your laser for everyone. See which lasers work.

The burn landed in the wrong spotPress Home, move the laser over the middle of your piece, press Center design here, then Frame to check before you burn.

It’s too dark or too lightToo dark: speed up or lower the power. Too light: slow down or raise the power. The test card shows you the right setting in one go.

A burn stopped part-wayWi-Fi burns run from the laser’s own memory card, so they keep going even if your phone sleeps. With USB, keep the cable connected the whole time: unplugging it, or a USB switch on your monitor flipping to another computer, stops the burn. If that happens on Windows, leave the material where it is, reconnect, press Home, and click Continue burn: it picks up right where it stopped.

Windows says “Windows protected your PC”That shows for new apps Windows hasn’t seen much yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.

Still stuck? Email support@burnbadger.com with a photo of the screen and we’ll help. Have an idea for BurnBadger? Tell us.

Laser words, explained

HomeSends the laser to its corner so it knows where it is.

JogMoving the laser head around with the arrow buttons.

FrameA dry run around the outline with the laser off, to check placement.

BedThe area the laser can reach. Your design is placed on it.

G-codeThe list of instructions BurnBadger sends to the laser. You never have to touch it.

DitherTurning a photo’s grays into tiny dots a laser can burn.

Ready to burn?

Windows and Mac are available now. iPhone and iPad are coming very soon to the App Store, and Android very soon after.

Get it for Windows Get it for Mac Support