Trotec raster engraving problems

[Jarami Reid]

Hey,

I'm a trotec Speedy 500 owner - I'm having problems rastering images and cutting outlines at the same time. Specifically when I send a bitmap inside a circular vector cut, the image inside the circle is offset. I assume it has some easy fix like my DPI settindgs are off or a jobcontrol option needs to be set properly - but I'm stumped.

There is a bunch of other details I should add but maybe I don't need to and somebody has a solution based on this information.

Thanks,

I just registered yesterday, I'm excited to be a new member of the community.

[Mike Null]

Jarami

Welcome to SMC. It would help if you could post a picture of what's happening.

[Frank Corker]

Welcome to the Creek Jarami. Is it only happening with bitmaps or with everything that you put into the circle? Definitely better if you post a picture.

[Mike Null]

Jarami

If you are in the US give Trotec tech support a call 1 866-226-8505 and speak with Scott Hutchison. He may be able to solve your problem.

[Jarami Reid]

Wow thanks for the quick reply I'll post a picture as soon as I get a chance probably tonight - I'm in Canada and I'll get some more info up about my setup asap.

[Jon Colley]

Hi Jarami,

Welcome to the Creek. Turn off High Quality Engraving Mode and this should fix the problem.

Jon

[Mike Null]

Jon

The high quality engraving mode is, I think, unique to Trotec. If you have a minute you might explain it.

It is a feature I rarely use though.

[Jarami Reid]

Hey Jon,

nice to see you here,

I'll try turning the high quality engraving off - when would one want to use that setting?

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Jarami,
Welcome to the Creek. High Quality engraving is, I think, just what it says. Unlike some bit maps that may allow the the laser to skip down if there is no area to raster, in high quality mode it does the ENTIRE AREA, from TOP 2 BOTTOM or BOTTOM 2 TOP.

So if you are engraving a 12 x 12 tile, it will engrave the entire area regardless of what your B&W or greyscale bitmap looks like. In regular mode if you are engraving say Text, you know how it skips forward if there is white space in between each line of text? Well it does not skip the white space in high quality mode and therefore increasing your lasering time sometimes by double.

Hope unchecking the High Quality engraving box solves it for you.

Show us what it looks like with a before and after.

Thanks and ...

[Jarami Reid]

Hey guys, I almost feel like I'm letting you all down by not posting pics and testing out this solution tonight, but I just got home from an eleven hour work day and can't imagine going into my shop right now. I'll have to wait until tomorrow, the suspense is killing me.

it's pretty exciting/comforting to see that this communtiy exists.

[Jon Colley]

High quality engraving mode forces the laser head to travel the full width of the job. This ensures that the head is always moving the same speed when engraving details in the same area. A good example is the word "lawyer". The head will not reach the same speed when engraving the top of the "l" and the bottom of the "y" in "normal" mode. On very sensitive materials, you may find a slight difference in the depth of engraving on these details. The system has built in compensation for this speed difference but depending on a number of factors (tube power, material, settings) you may see a slight difference. High quality engraving mode fixes this. The downside of this mode is that the job will take longer to run so it is only used on the most sensitive materials for the most decerning clients.

High Quality Engraving mode also does some additional steps which improve the quality of the output but may cause a slight distortion in the dimensions of the output. This size distortion depend on the graphic but are typically <2%. Of course, this becomes more of an issue with larger graphics and larger tables, like Jarami's 49"x28" Speedy 500. This means it is truly an engraving mode only and should not be used when engraving and cutting need to match up perfectly.

[Dan Hintz]

High Quality Engraving mode also does some additional steps which improve the quality of the output but may cause a slight distortion in the dimensions of the output. This size distortion depend on the graphic but are typically <2%. Of course, this becomes more of an issue with larger graphics and larger tables, like Jarami's 49"x28" Speedy 500. This means it is truly an engraving mode only and should not be used when engraving and cutting need to match up perfectly.
How can it be a high quality mode that matches up engraving and cutting perfectly if it introduces distortions? That seems backward to me...

[Scott Shepherd]

Just a FYI, since Mike asked about it being unique to the Trotec, the ULS has the same thing, it's called "Frame Rasters".

If you select it, it will set and area, left and right and it'll always hit that spot. If it comes to a short area of engraving, it will still maintain that distance.

It can help for certain things for sure. It's a fix for the old work around and putting two vertical lines, one on each side of the graphic to make it engrave better.

[Jon Colley]

How can it be a high quality mode that matches up engraving and cutting perfectly if it introduces distortions? That seems backward to me...

This was the point I was trying to make in this last paragraph: It's called High Quality Engraving Mode and not "high quality mode" because it is meant for engraving only.

There is more to this mode than simply forcing the laser head to travel the full width of the job. Unfortunately, the details of this are not something that can be discussed in a public forum. What matters most is that this mode works very well for its intended purpose of improving engraving quality on very sensitive materials.

[Dan Hintz]

This was the point I was trying to make in this last paragraph: It's called High Quality Engraving Mode and not "high quality mode" because it is meant for engraving only.
Fine, but my question still stands... even if you're just engraving, how is distortion of the original image ever a good thing? What if you're engraving within a defined area? Won't that unknown distortion push it outside of the desired bounds?

I don't like it when a system makes adjustments I have no control over...

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Dan,
Maybe the distortion is the same as when you use a copier. 100% of the original may be 101% on the copy but it is still crisp.

[Dan Hintz]

Crisp and off the page is still off the page...

[Jon Colley]

Crisp and off the page is still off the page...

I'll grant you that. My intention here isn't to make everyone like this feature, but merely to inform anyone who cares to read the thread of how and when it can be used to help them in their production.

I will gladly help out whenever I can to answer any questions that may come up about our products or on other topics where I am knowledgeable.

[Mike Null]

Jon

Thanks for taking the time to answer the question.

[Dan Hintz]

Don't misunderstand my intentions, Jon, it's not to bash your product. I just don't understand how Trotec can write a function to give you great output and at the same time allow it to, for all intents and purposes, be altered. As a programmer, it's a head scratcher...

[Jarami Reid]

Hi folks,

Just to update my situation. I've been working away from my shop this week and have yet to test out Jon's advice - but based on his description of the "high quality engraving" mode, I'm sure he has answered my question. In fact I've had my machine since October and have yet to turn high quality engraving mode off. I've actually had quite a few botched engravings because I was unaware this feature was offsetting my jobs (some more costly than others).

To Jon's credit, I am extremely happy with my Trotec laser cutter - as well as the prompt service I've got from the company. My Speedy 500 really is a great machine.