Input into Corel doesn't match output on table

[Larry Bratton]

Today, I had reason to cut some vector lines in specific places on some paper like material. In order to locate them where I needed them to be, I disabled the XY axis. Turned on the red pointer, moved to my spots and took my co-ordinates from the window. I pulled guidelines in Corel and set them to the corresponding locations I took off the machine and drew my lines,snapping them to the guides. When I did a run with just the pointer , they were off a good 1/8" of an inch. Anybody have any advice on what's going on here?

[Darren Null]

Beam alignment, probably.

Easiest way is to put something (cheap) like plywood down, burn yourself a paper-shaped square from corel; then put the paper in it. Perfect aim every time.

[John Noell]

Beam alignment? I am not too sure about that. I think you would see other symptoms. When lasering in specific places as you describe, I either use the center-center option or put my upper left-most drawing point in the upper left corner of my Corel document, then manually move the red dot to the corresponding starting point and hit Set Home..

[Martin Boekers]

The laser pointer and the "burning beam" may not be aligned to each other.

Although an 1/8" is pretty much.


Marty

[Darren Null]

That's what I meant. The burning beam and the red beam can only ever be close and parallel, because they come from different places.

Also, if the red beam is slightly skew, it's going to drift a bit as it travels over the table.

The problem here, if consistent, is obviously your laser and corel having different ideas of where home is.

I'd still recommend burning an outline though- nothing can go wrong, as it's calibrating to where your laser beam actually is at that moment; and it works down to chopstick (and smaller) accuracy.

[Dan Hintz]

That's what I meant. The burning beam and the red beam can only ever be close and parallel, because they come from different places.
By the time the beam gets into the table (i.e., past the first lens), the beams are coaxial via a beam combiner optic.

[Darren Null]

Not on my machine. We don't hold with that new-fangled combiner optic stuff round these parts. That's for you flash city slickers.

[Gary Hair]

By the time the beam gets into the table (i.e., past the first lens), the beams are coaxial via a beam combiner optic.

That totally depends on your laser - mine doesn't have a combiner either.

[Dan Hintz]

the OP has an Epilog Legend, which I believe does have it, though I could be off base...

[Mark Ross]

I have a hand held laser pointer duct taped to my unit, do you think maybe I have a chinese counterfeit?:)

[Kim Vellore]

I am not sure if this will help but here is my experience. My project requires I print something on paper using a laser printer and I put that paper on my laser cutter and cut where I have to cut after aligning everything and what I noticed is the size of the cutting of the laser cutter is different from what the laser printer printed.
It starts of perfect from the left side and the error increases as it moves further away. so I have a template in corel that I use, I group all objects inside a rectangle and and expand in X and Y around 1/8" for a A4 size paper.
The laser printer prints accurately I measured it. The laser cutter has a slight error. If you print a 7.5" X 10" square with the printer and cut it with a laser it will be smaller. I have a legend 24. I dont know the exact percentage but spent a day to come up with a alignment procedure in Corel. Now I have it dead on and repeatable.

Kim

[Larry Bratton]

Beam alignment? I am not too sure about that. I think you would see other symptoms. When lasering in specific places as you describe, I either use the center-center option or put my upper left-most drawing point in the upper left corner of my Corel document, then manually move the red dot to the corresponding starting point and hit Set Home..
Does the Center to Center function work with vectoring as well as rastering? I have used it with raster engraving but don't recall using it with vector cutting.

[John Noell]

Does the Center to Center function work with vectoring as well as rastering? Absolutely. Most of what I cut is done on odd-shaped rounded coconut shell and I exclusively hand-align and then vector.

[Larry Bratton]

Thanks John, I'll give it a go. Maybe increase my accuracy.

[william kaminsky]

I happen to do a lot of my work in Autocad. Gave Corell a telephone call, after the surprizing shift came up. Corel will bring in the lines, but that is about the end there. It distorts along the X or the Y axis, and it placed some artificial border around the raw part I was going to cut.

If I had started at some random location near the center, it would then alter the X or the Y axis to make the lines fit the artificial border.

It also swung the initial point from lower left corner to UPPER left corner. According to vendor, that is so no one gets confused. The spokes person for Corel knew less how to use their designed software then was cited in their manual.



Wm.

[Larry Bratton]

I am not sure if this will help but here is my experience. My project requires I print something on paper using a laser printer and I put that paper on my laser cutter and cut where I have to cut after aligning everything and what I noticed is the size of the cutting of the laser cutter is different from what the laser printer printed.
It starts of perfect from the left side and the error increases as it moves further away. so I have a template in corel that I use, I group all objects inside a rectangle and and expand in X and Y around 1/8" for a A4 size paper.
The laser printer prints accurately I measured it. The laser cutter has a slight error. If you print a 7.5" X 10" square with the printer and cut it with a laser it will be smaller. I have a legend 24. I dont know the exact percentage but spent a day to come up with a alignment procedure in Corel. Now I have it dead on and repeatable.

Kim
Kim:
I too have somewhat of the same problem. I need to cut out letters that have been printed on a large format printer. For the life of me..I cannot seem to make this happen. I am almost to the point of giving up. I thought I had found the solution on a project printed from Photoshop. Photoshop allows paths to be made from text and then exported as an AI file, then import the "exact" document into Corel. You would think this would match the printed output ..but it doesn't. The printer apparently resizes slightly and repositions to fit the media. I'm going to keep at it though, because I know it can be done, I just have to find a way. Thanks for your input.