Typical 1 Hour Training for Thunder Laser DSP Controlled CO2 Gantry Machines

Scope of Training

Each instructor will have their own style and methods depending on their strengths, experience, expertise, and these methods evolve and adapt with each training and each user.

We have identified some common things that accelerate the training, as well as common things that seriously impede or completely derail your training session. We will cover all these things below.

Some instructors have found great success in going over everything without firing the machine or cutting a project, as its actually very difficult to try to walk you through a cut this way and is very time intensive, to the point where training time runs out before all the info you should have can be provided.

Other instructors may do a 'live burn' dependent on the specific case, but its usually better to examine your first cut as opposed to running a project form scratch during the training. Again this can vary case by case, but rest assured we will prepare you and get you confident in yourself and the machine.

Training Prerequisites

To maximize your success and satisfaction of your training session these conditions must be met prior to the training:

1. The machine needs to be installed, set up, configured, and tested as per the Cheat Sheet.
2. You must have a firm grasp on the Usual Suspects and ensure that all best practices are applied.
3. You should have completed your First Cut and Engrave Project.
4. You should have Scheduled a Training Session and received a confirmation email.
5. You should have read and understood the important notes on Joining the Remote Session.

If you run into any obstacles don't wait for the training, that's where your lifetime free tech comes in to play. Simply email [email protected] with a brief description of your issue and a ticket will be created so the team can quickly assist. For more information on support please see the Best Practices For Utilizing Remote Support article.

Training Workflow

For most first-time thunder laser users, even if you already operate similar lasers/machines, you should just follow our lead and we will get to anything you specifically want to address.

The instructor will evaluate your specific needs as the training progresses and can customize the workflow to best fit your needs once we get a few things out of the way.

We find that people coming from another laser, especially a Ruida DSP controlled CO2 Gantry Laser can accelerate a good bit once the basics of some Thunder-specific systems have been covered first.

We also find that people coming from CNC routers, Vinyl cutters, and even 3d printers can also accelerate the training. The instructor will be able to accelerate your session based on your experience.

Joining The Session

The instructor will log in as close to the scheduled time as possible, and we are usually very prompt, so please initiate your session from the computer that is connected to your laser and set up with Lightburn a few minutes before the session so you can successfully initiate the session for the join link, allow permissions, etc.

Once you are joined, the instructor will text chat with you in the remote session to verify and establish audio communication via phone or computer speaker/mic. Then you can begin.

Here is the info on Joining the Remote Session again for your reference.

Intro & Precursory Check

The first part of the session will likely involve us looking through your Lightburn scanning offsets and settings while we talk about what you want to get out of the training, your background with this type of equipment, the types of projects you complete, etc.… and if you have specific things to cover.

Accessories & Peripherals

Accessories and peripherals, like rotary devices, cameras, external air compressors, etc.… are not usually set up during the training, or the training turns into a support session. Issues with connecting and using these accessories is better handled in our ticket system by emailing [email protected].

If they are already correctly connected and configured, then we can certainly go over them with you. And if they are not, we will go over a few important considerations when installing this equipment as well as links and resources for connecting and configuring them. Of course you can contact support if you have any trouble and the team will be happy to assist.

The Usual Suspects

Then the instructor will usually reference the Usual Suspects just to make sure you have a good understanding of them all, then begin to steer the training more in your specific direction.

Machine Basics

You should know how the dual stage air works at this point, but now we need to talk about when to use high and low air in general, covering the differences between organics (wood, for example) and composites (acrylic, for example). Then we can expand on it when we discuss Materials and Settings.

Lightburn Basics

Backing Up Settings in Lightburn

Materials and Settings

We will discuss the material(s) you are using and plan to use and go over best practices for finding and dialing in the settings for different materials using material test files and other means, to get the best resultant output.