LaserCAD - Multiple Passes Possible?

[rbjem]

Hi,

I am investigating software for a new laser. Is it possible to do multiple passes (or rerun the program multiple times) during vector cutting with LaserCAD?

Some material i cut is very heat sensitive and I have to do 5-6 passes to cut through it. I have found demo versions of a few laser softwares and LaserCUT 5.3 seems to be the only one that has the option to rerun the program. I havent been able to get ahold of laserCAD though to see if it is possible.

Maybe there is a simple workaround if it is not directly supported (but I would really prefer to not have to manually press start 5 times waiting 5 minutes in between).

Any help or advice is appreciated.

[waltfl]

hi there
yes you can run the file as many times as you like you just put the number of times in the submenue and run it.
greetings
waltfl

Hi,

I am investigating software for a new laser. Is it possible to do multiple passes (or rerun the program multiple times) during vector cutting with LaserCAD?

Some material i cut is very heat sensitive and I have to do 5-6 passes to cut through it. I have found demo versions of a few laser softwares and LaserCUT 5.3 seems to be the only one that has the option to rerun the program. I havent been able to get ahold of laserCAD though to see if it is possible.

Maybe there is a simple workaround if it is not directly supported (but I would really prefer to not have to manually press start 5 times waiting 5 minutes in between).

Any help or advice is appreciated.

[rbjem]

Awesome!!!!

Thanks for your response.

[rbjem]

Another question about the DSP.

Can it run g-code? I came across a post on the zone regarding running g-code on a DSP controlled router. I would love this ability if it can do it, since I already have hundreds of files already in g-code for my current laser (mach3 controlled).

[Tech_Marco]

No G-Code. Graphics interface only. It take vector image for cutting (like G-code) or raster (.jpg, .bmp) for engraving.
Can take files from CorelDraw or AutoCAD (DXF) or some Illustrator file


Marco

[Greolt]

yes you can run the file as many times as you like you just put the number of times in the submenu and run it.

Yes that is available but for some jobs there is a better way.

Often I have cut material that for any number of reasons is better cut with two passes.

If you do that via the "work times" it cuts once, goes back to the origin and then returns to the cut for a second go. Wasting time.

Another way is to duplicate the vector. Have the duplicate sitting directly on top of the original and cut it that way.

It will cut once and immediately proceed to cut a second time without any delay or wasted moves. Those delays matter when you have a large number of an item to cut.

[rbjem]

Thanks for the tip Greolt. That may work nicely, but I run the same job with multiple materials and am trying to not have material specific programs. I'll play around with that technique and see if I can get it to work for me.

Just for clarification:
Can you set the laser to rerun a program multiple times if the job is started at the DSP control panel (pretty sure this is a yes)?
Can you set the laser to rerun a program multiple times if the job is started directly from LaserCAD (not sure about this one yet)?

Thanks!

ETA: Did some more reading and I see Marco made a comment that about adding the ability to set number of passes/repeats by layer color not quite a year ago. Has this been implemented? I dont have a demo of LaserCAD (but have found many other softwares to demo). I am trying to decide to leave a new machine as is, upgrade to the newest Light Object DSP, or convert to Mach3.

[daniel.macke]

Hello,
I have a laser cutter, all built with parts from lightobject... Except the DSP just because I prefer using G-code!
My machine is controlled by LinuxCNC software, it has very powerfull G code interpreter and advanced movement control, plus it is perfectly stable.
I only do cutting from DXF files using the DXF to Gcode open source converter, but I know there is an extension to convert Jpeg files for engraving (never tested it...)
Regards.
Daniel

[AndyKunz]

ETA: Did some more reading and I see Marco made a comment that about adding the ability to set number of passes/repeats by layer color not quite a year ago. Has this been implemented?

Yes, I use this feature myself.

Andy

[rbjem]

Thanks for the clarification Andy. That would be extremely useful. Im a bit more confident now that I can get things working the way I need.

As far as LinuxCNC, I've heard good things about it and think it is probably equal or superior to Mach3. I just have a lot of experience with mach3. If I cant get DSP working the way I want I will think hard about converting the laser to run off LinuxCNC before making another Mach3 machine.

Thanks!