Skip to main content

Camera Integration

Rayforge supports USB camera integration for precise material alignment and positioning. The camera overlay feature allows you to see exactly where your laser will cut or engrave on the material, eliminating guesswork and reducing material waste.

Camera Settings

Setup Workflow​

Setting up a camera can be done either through the guided Camera Wizard — a single flow covering image settings, lens calibration, and alignment — or by configuring each area manually from the camera properties panel. Either way, the setup covers four areas:

  1. Add a camera — Connect your camera and add it to the machine configuration
  2. Adjust image settings — Tune brightness, contrast, white balance, and noise reduction
  3. Calibrate the lens — Correct distortion with the camera wizard's automatic calibration or manual coefficients
  4. Align the camera — Map camera pixels to machine coordinates for accurate positioning

The camera properties panel shows status icons for calibration and alignment at a glance:

  • ✓ Lens Calibration — Calibration has been performed
  • ⚠ Image Alignment — Warning when alignment must be redone (e.g., after lens calibration)
  • ✓ Image Alignment — Alignment is current and valid

Step 1: Add a Camera​

Hardware Requirements​

Compatible cameras:

  • USB webcams (most common)
  • Laptop built-in cameras (if running Rayforge on laptop near machine)
  • Any camera supported by Video4Linux2 (V4L2) on Linux or DirectShow on Windows

Recommended setup:

  • Camera mounted above the work area with clear view of material
  • Consistent lighting conditions
  • Camera positioned to capture the laser work area
  • Secure mounting to prevent camera movement

Adding a Camera​

  1. Connect your camera to your computer via USB

  2. Open Camera Settings:

    • Navigate to Settings → Preferences → Camera
    • Or use the camera toolbar button

  3. Add a new camera:

    • Click the + button to add a camera
    • Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Top Camera", "Work Area Cam")
    • Select the device from the dropdown
      • On Linux: /dev/video0, /dev/video1, etc.
      • On Windows: Camera 0, Camera 1, etc.

  4. Enable the camera:

    • Toggle the camera enable switch
    • The live feed should appear on your canvas

Step 2: Camera Wizard​

The Camera Wizard runs the full camera setup in a single guided flow, covering all three areas in order — image settings, lens calibration, and image alignment. It is started from:

  • The Camera Wizard row in the camera properties panel — click Start
  • Automatically from the configuration wizard when you enable a camera on its camera step and continue

Step 2.1: Adjust Image Settings​

Image Settings Dialog

Image settings is the camera wizard's first stage — it opens there and lets you set the resolution, white balance, brightness, contrast, and noise reduction. If you didn't run the wizard, or want to tweak the values it set, click Configure next to Image Settings in the camera properties to open the image settings dialog. Adjust these parameters to get a clear camera view:

SettingDescription
BrightnessOverall image brightness (-100 to +100)
ContrastEdge definition and contrast (0 to 100)
Prefer YUYVUse uncompressed YUYV instead of MJPEG. Slower but can fix some glitches
TransparencyOverlay opacity on canvas (0% opaque to 100% transparent)
White BalanceColor temperature correction (Auto or 2500–10000K)
DenoiseTemporal noise reduction (0.0 to 0.95)

The YUYV option is useful if your camera produces green-tinted images with the default MJPEG format. Note that YUYV is uncompressed and may reduce the available resolution or frame rate on USB 2.0 connections.

Step 2.2: Lens Calibration​

If your camera has a wide-angle lens or is mounted at an angle, the image may show visible curvature — straight lines appear bent, especially near the edges of the frame. This is called lens distortion, and it can throw off alignment even if your alignment points are carefully measured.

Lens calibration is the camera wizard's second stage. It lets you choose how to correct the distortion:

  • Automatic — capture frames of a printed calibration card; the wizard computes the distortion model for you
  • Manual — enter the radial (k1–k3) and tangential (p1–p2) coefficients by hand
  • Skip — leave the distortion uncorrected; you can calibrate later

Automatic Calibration​

For Automatic calibration, the wizard walks you through capturing several images of a printed calibration card from different positions on the bed, then computes a distortion model automatically.

Wizard — Card Settings

  1. Set the Width and Height of your printed card. The preview updates in real-time — the card should cover about 70% of the camera view.
  2. Click Save to PDF to export the card for printing, then print it and place it on the laser bed.

Wizard — Capture

  1. Move the card to different positions and angles within the camera view and click Capture Frame for each position. Aim for at least 8 captures covering the entire frame, including corners and edges. The progress bar and status indicators show capture quality.
  2. When enough frames are captured, the wizard computes the distortion model and applies it — the camera overlay now shows a corrected, straight image.

Manual Calibration​

Lens Calibration Dialog

For manual coefficients or to fine-tune the result after an automatic calibration, open the lens calibration dialog by clicking Configure next to Lens Calibration in the camera properties. From here you can adjust the distortion coefficients manually — fine-tune the radial (k1–k3) and tangential (p1–p2) parameters.

Step 2.3: Image Alignment​

Image Alignment Dialog

Image alignment is the camera wizard's final stage. Camera alignment calibrates the relationship between camera pixels and real-world coordinates, enabling accurate positioning. The wizard uses the same procedure described here, and applying the alignment finishes the wizard.

Why Alignment is Necessary​

The camera sees the work area from above, but the image may be:

  • Rotated relative to the machine axes
  • Scaled differently in X and Y directions
  • Distorted by lens perspective

Alignment creates a transformation matrix that maps camera pixels to machine coordinates.

Alignment Procedure​

  1. Open the Alignment Dialog:

    • Click the Configure button next to Image Alignment in the camera properties
    • The dialog shows the camera feed with the current alignment overlay

  2. Place alignment markers:

    • You need at least 3 reference points (4 recommended for better accuracy)
    • Alignment points should be spread across the work area
    • Use known positions like:
      • Machine home position
      • Ruler markings
      • Pre-cut alignment holes
      • Calibration grid

  3. Mark image points:

    • Click on the camera image to place a point at a known location
    • The bubble widget appears showing point coordinates
    • Repeat for each reference point

  4. Enter world coordinates:

    • For each image point, enter the real-world X/Y coordinates in mm
    • These are the actual machine coordinates where each point is located
    • Measure accurately with a ruler or use known machine positions

  5. Apply alignment:

    • Click Apply to calculate the transformation
    • The camera overlay will now be properly aligned

  6. Verify alignment:

    • Move the laser head to a known position
    • Check that the laser dot aligns with the expected position in the camera view
    • Fine-tune by re-aligning if needed

Alignment Status​

The camera properties panel shows the alignment status with an icon:

  • Checkmark — Alignment is current and valid
  • Warning — Alignment must be redone. This happens when lens calibration is updated, because the distortion correction changes the camera image and invalidates the existing alignment. Your alignment points are preserved — simply open the dialog and click Apply again.

Example Workflow​

  1. Move laser to home position (0, 0) and mark in camera
  2. Move laser to (100, 0) and mark in camera
  3. Move laser to (100, 100) and mark in camera
  4. Move laser to (0, 100) and mark in camera
  5. Enter exact coordinates for each point
  6. Click Apply and verify
Best Practices
  • Use points at the corners of your work area for maximum coverage
  • Avoid clustering points in one area
  • Measure world coordinates carefully — accuracy here determines overall alignment quality
  • Re-align if you move the camera or change the focus distance
  • Re-align after updating lens calibration
  • Save your alignment — it persists across sessions

Using the Camera Overlay​

Once aligned, the camera overlay helps position jobs accurately. Toggle it by clicking the camera icon in the main window toolbar.

Multiple Cameras​

Rayforge supports multiple cameras for different views or machines:

  • Add multiple cameras in preferences
  • Each camera can have independent alignment
  • Switch between cameras using the camera selector
  • Use cases:
    • Top view + side view for 3D objects
    • Different cameras for different machines
    • Wide angle + detail camera

Troubleshooting​

Camera Not Detected​

Problem: Camera doesn't appear in device list.

Solutions:

Linux: Check if the camera is recognized by the system:

# List video devices
ls -l /dev/video*

# Check camera with v4l2
v4l2-ctl --list-devices

# Test with another application
cheese  # or VLC, etc.

For Snap users:

# Grant camera access
sudo snap connect rayforge:camera

Windows:

  • Check Device Manager for camera under "Cameras" or "Imaging devices"
  • Ensure no other application is using the camera (close Zoom, Skype, etc.)
  • Try a different USB port
  • Update camera drivers

Camera Shows Black Screen​

Problem: Camera detected but shows no image.

Possible causes:

  1. Camera in use by another application — Close other video apps
  2. Incorrect device selected — Try different device IDs
  3. Camera permissions — On Linux Snap, ensure camera interface connected
  4. Hardware issue — Test camera with another application

Solutions:

# Linux: Release camera device
sudo killall cheese  # or other camera apps

# Check which process is using the camera
sudo lsof /dev/video0

Alignment Not Accurate​

Problem: Camera overlay doesn't match real laser position.

Diagnosis:

  1. Insufficient alignment points — Use at least 4 points
  2. Measurement errors — Double-check world coordinates
  3. Camera moved — Re-align if camera position changed
  4. Non-linear distortion — May need lens calibration

Improve accuracy:

  • Use more alignment points (6–8 for very large areas)
  • Spread points across entire work area
  • Measure world coordinates very carefully
  • Use machine movement commands to precisely position laser at known coordinates
  • Re-align after any camera adjustments

Poor Image Quality​

Problem: Camera image is blurry, dark, or washed out.

Solutions:

  1. Adjust brightness/contrast in camera settings
  2. Improve lighting — Add consistent work area lighting
  3. Clean camera lens — Dust and debris reduce clarity
  4. Check focus — Auto-focus may not work well; use manual if possible
  5. Reduce transparency temporarily to see camera image more clearly
  6. Try different white balance settings
  7. Adjust denoise setting if image appears grainy

Camera Lag or Stuttering​

Problem: Live camera feed is choppy or delayed.

Solutions:

  • Lower camera resolution in device settings (if accessible)
  • Close other applications using CPU/GPU
  • Update graphics drivers