How to Connect LightBurn to a Ruida CO2 Laser (USB and Ethernet)

Ruida controllers power a huge share of CO2 laser cutters, from small desktop machines to large production beds. LightBurn talks to Ruida controllers directly, so you can design, set up and run jobs without the manufacturer's older software. You can connect over USB or Ethernet; both work well.

Add the laser in LightBurn

1. Turn the laser on and connect the cable (USB or network).
2. In LightBurn, open the Devices window and click Find My Laser. LightBurn scans for connected controllers and usually detects a Ruida over USB automatically.
3. If it isn't found, choose Create Manually, select Ruida, then pick the connection type: USB/Serial or Ethernet/UDP.
4. Enter the bed size (width and height) and choose where the origin is. On most Ruida machines it is the top-right corner.
5. Click Finish and select the new device in the drop-down next to the Laser window.

Connecting over USB

USB is the simplest option. On Windows 10 and 11 the driver normally installs on its own the first time you plug the laser in. If LightBurn doesn't see the machine:

• Try a different, shorter USB cable. Long or cheap cables are the most common cause of dropouts.
• Plug directly into the computer, not into a USB hub.
• Close any other laser software (such as RDWorks) that may be holding the port.
• Check Windows Device Manager to confirm the controller appears under Ports or USB devices.

Connecting over Ethernet

Ethernet is more reliable for long jobs and lets you place the computer farther from the machine. The controller and the computer must be on the same network range.

1. On the laser's control panel, find the IP address (often under Menu → System → IP Config). Many Ruida controllers ship with 192.168.1.100.
2. If you connect the laser directly to the computer with a cable, give the computer a fixed IP in the same range, for example 192.168.1.10, subnet mask 255.255.255.0.
3. If the laser is on your router, set its IP to a free address in your router's range (for example 192.168.0.150 if your network uses 192.168.0.x).
4. In LightBurn's Devices window, enter the controller's IP address for the Ruida Ethernet device.

Check the basics before your first job

• Origin and direction: use the arrow buttons in the Move window. If the head moves the opposite way, the origin setting in LightBurn is wrong.
• Frame the job before every run to confirm position and size.
• Power limits: Ruida machines have minimum and maximum power per layer. Very low minimum power values can cause unlit lines on some tubes.
• Speed units: Ruida speeds are in mm/s, not mm/min like most diode lasers.

Troubleshooting

Once you're connected, use a Material Test to build your settings library for the materials you cut most.