Need help understanding origin/home/datum

[raptor_demon]

Hi,

so i have been upgrading our hackerspace's k40 to use a awc608 dsp from light object.

its all connected up and the x/y is moving and the laser is firing!

but i am having a real issue with the software.

the limit switches work and are in the top left of the machine.

Lasercad has been told to home to the top left and the motors all move to that position when it is reset, so all of that works.

the issue is when i try to cut it says boundary limit hit.

i also noticed that in the software the 0 is in the bottom left not the top left.


i have attached my settings.

i feel like this is something simple i have overlooked but im not that familiar with lasercad and the whole thing is rather confusing.

is X0 Y0 supposed to be in the top left?

thanks
Raptor

[Techgraphix]

Almost warm....
On the "options / system settings / workspace" tab, you can select where your Page and Machine Zero-point (homing point) should be..:

Clip0001.jpg (36.38 KiB) Viewed 3795 times

When you want to have the zero-point of your work to be the upper-right corner, check the appropriate position in "Options / Position Relative"

Clip0002.jpg (12.02 KiB) Viewed 3795 times

Kees

[DonL]

OK, I decided not to wait and I modified the K40 to the LO-X7... It all went well and I calibrated the X-Y and my 100mm box is 100mm so far so good.

But I have an issue, When I start the machine, it goes to the limit switches, then shoots to what it thinks is 0-0

But I have the Z tavle so 0-0 is overtop the top rails of the Z Table, I want 0-0 to be the top left of the cutting area. I went to manage origin and I set 16 and 6 which takes it to the exact spot I want as the start of any job, But when I turn off the machine, I have to go into the menu and select origin and select origin 1 -> Go to origin then it goes to where I want it.

Is there a way to have it go to the spot at startup and use that as 0-0?

Example in LaserDRW you go in and set the offset, You only have to do that once and it remebers it.


-> Also, there are gaps between lines So when I engrave a solid box it cones out stripped ? -> Figured this out but not the origin issue


Any Ideas?

Also... I set an engrave job that starts at the top left corner... - No problem, However I have an object I need to engrave in the center but since it is the only object, it moves to the top left ruining the job and material

In the following image you can see where I positioned the test and where it actually ended up engraving....


How do I get this software to engrave where I place the objects and not move it to the top left?



Don

[DonL]

I figured the origin problem out on my own... If anyone else would like to see my findings, please see my post on how to set origins on the LO-X7 and LaserCAD

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3002#p14529

Cheers!

[sgopal2]

DonL: thanks for posting this. I had the same problem. I'm glad you posted, as it saved me a lot of grief.

[DonL]

DonL: thanks for posting this. I had the same problem. I'm glad you posted, as it saved me a lot of grief.

Glad it helped... Now that I know how it works I am much happier, at first I was as frustrated as you probably were. I added the beam combiner to get a re dot and now I align the laser to my work not my work to the laser and it is much less hassle.
For example, before I had to place the object to engrave at the top left corner, then in the CAD software make sure it would engrave where I wanted and hope for the best. Now I place the object to engrave anywhere, point the red dot where I want to start like at the top left corner, then I use the box feature to draw a box where the engraving will go, with that I can see if I am closer to the left or right or top/bottom because I can see the red dot as the box is drawn, that way I can perfectly center my work.

for example, before I burn a crest onto a plaque, I use BOX to trace, this shows a box but it is actually just the red dot running aroound the outter edge, but I can see it is where I want it so now I can burn it, second drawing,,,

red dot box.JPG (50.32 KiB) Viewed 3481 times

crest.JPG (59.05 KiB) Viewed 3481 times

Another trick I use is I scan what I want to engrave, like the wood plaque above, then I measure the origional and make sure the image is the same size in Corel or LaserCAD, now I draw or import my graphics and place them on the image of the plaque, I can see exactly how it will look, then just before I send this to the laser, I place a tiny tiny dot in each corner - too small to actually laser but it keeps the formation, then I delete the image of the plaque and send to laser. I end up with a perfect replica of what I had drawn.

The white dots won't actually engrave because they are white and the power is too low. They will keep the origin proper and keep the graphic in position. Place the top left corner of the plaque at the origin and you will have perfect results every time

[Techgraphix]

I do it even more simple:
I just draw a box with the exact size of the object I want to laser on. I place the image to be lasered there where I want it and give it a different color with the power and speed I need.
Then I just uncheck the layer of the box. The image will be processed at the right spot.
When you uncheck the image and check the box you could draw that box on a piece of fixed cardboard to have the material aligned precise..
I do this with aluminum fronts like these

Kees

[DonL]

I see, Nice, But if you scanned the face plate and sized it in Corel to match the real size, you could place the text exactly where you want beside each hole without measuring any distance then keep the image and transfer to LaserCAD and uncheck the image if it is small.

The reason I draw 4 dots is because images (jpg) don't transfer from Corel to LaserCAD well. If it is a small image, it is OK but a larger image such as a plaque 6x8" and the entire image is off screen and off grid so it is essentially gone

Here is what I have in Corel

and when I hit transfer I get this in LaseCAD, Notice the engrave settings and layer boxes are there but no image at all, even if you zoom out to max extent... no image

[Techgraphix]

apart from bitmap images I almost always use DXF-vectors to import in LaserCad.
Every layer gets his own color (and settings) so in your case you would only have two layers: the shield and the drawing
For accuracy, I prefer drawing a rectangle in my CAD-program rather than scanning.
Kees

[DonL]

I do as well, The crest for example is a vector not a Bitmap. I suppose I could draw a box around the image of the plaque, do the layout, then delete the bitmap before exporting to LaserCAD, the box would hold placement. The reason I scan the image is because I can then place text or whatever exactly where it needs to go without having to measure xxmm in from the left and xxmm from the top and xx mm wide... This way I can drop the text exactly where I want it and drag the size until I am satisdfied without ever measuring, for example, the areas of dark brown I do not want any engraving there, so again I would have to measure or draw a secont box to show the text area on my plaque.

Before, if I had a plate with a hole for a potentiometer and I wanted to laser the word VOLUME under the hole and Min - Max with a numbered scale... For example.
I would draw a box the size of the plate on the screen, then measure the X-Y position of the hole and the diameter, draw a hole on my rectangle in the correct place, then add my text and scale. This is relatively east for one hole, but what if I had a plate like you have with a dozen holes... I have to plot each one. By scanning the plate and importing the scanned image, then sizing the image, I don't have to plot the position of the holes at all, I just drop in my text and scales where I want them. It saves time and eliminates the need, for me at least, to measure everything twice

Now in the case of the panel plates you designed, They are nice and rectangular so plotting where the holes are is fairly simple, but if the panel was oddly shaped, it gets more difficult. Not that your way is not correct, it is and likely easy for you since you probably milled the plates so you know where the holes are... For me personally, this way is easier and I have fewer spoiled engravings, I can also just print the project before I commit it and show the client the mock-up for approval or modification.