VS3D / VScad3 User's Guide

Contents

Overview

Installation

Guided Tour

VS3D Index

VScad3 Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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VS3D Machine Mode

1.7.3 Cutting Path continued.

Laser Cutting/Engraving/Etching.
Most laser cutting/engraving/etching devices are controlled via an HPGL (".hpgl") plotter file, or they behave like a printer. The depth of a laser cut is usually inconsistent, so they are often driven only by XY coordinates with a "Speed" and "Power" setting on the device itself. Some laser devices can modulate the power (cutting depth) based upon plot colors. VS3D supports this (see below).

To perform laser work in VS3D, set up the Cutting Protocol using the "Laser" Machine Type. Set the Cutting Tool parameters to mimic a laser beam (the tool "D" parameter is the depth of the laser cut at full power and at the intended speed). The "Maximum Path Depth" parameter is ignored for lasers, except that the Maximum Path Depth controls the maximum contouring depth for the Contour Z path type. Click on the "Make Cuts / Add To Protocol..." button to apply the tool path and generate an ".hpgl" file. Or, select "Laser..." from the main File menu to drive the laser device like a printer. The "File -> Laser..." menu button is only active when the active Cutting Protocol Machine Type is set to "Laser".

When a laser path is started, the "Laser Parameters" dialog will appear. It has one field.

  • "Number of Laser Color (Power) Settings" : This controls how many colors that VS3D will output. The color values are scaled from the surface heights. Output color values will range from 0 (black - highest power) to 255 (white - lowest power). This field controls how many discrete colors to output, and it should be set to match the number of available power settings on the laser device. If the laser device does not support color-power modulation, enter a value of 1 in this field. VS3D will output the laser controls in the form of vector moves, with each vector assigned a color based upon the vector's Z coordinate.

By using color-power modulation, it is possible to perform pseudo-3D laser engraving.

The laser output can also be sent to a normal printer to check the results before lasering. To do that, set up the laser path and then select the main "File -> Laser..." menu. Then just select a normal printer instead of a laser device.

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1.7.3 F