Resetting material defaults in Job Control?

[Steve Crawford]

Firstly how can I get back to the Trotec factory settings for each material?

I've looked for the answer to this question, but can't seem to find it.

I'm totally new to using my Speedy 300 which I've had for less than 10 days, so still experimenting with what I can and can't do with it... Learning a lot. But in the course of my experimentation I've made a lot of changes to engraving and settings. This happens when for example I find that a particular cutting setting does not cut all the way through some 3mm ply on a single pass. But then I go back to a job I sent through with ply that I had set up perfectly before, and it messes it up by burning the edges too much.

I would have thought the settings would be saved with each job, so when I reload the job for a repeat it would use the settings I used for it last time, rather than the ones I used for the last time I used a piece of ply and changed the settings again. Am I missing something?

Or is it best to create and save new materials if I ever want to make a change to the normal setting for any material and save it to be associated with a job?

I'm a bit confused....

cheers, Steve

[Scott Shepherd]

Hi Steve, yes, you need to create new materials for different conditions. I'll be doing a video clip soon of setting the materials up, so stay tuned to the Trotec Training thread.

The material settings don't stay with the job, so it takes some thought on how to set it all up right. I wouldn't worry about resetting it to the defaults, just start your new materials now and move forward.

[Scott Shepherd]

Steve, one more note. Go ahead now and export all your material settings to a safe place. Make a Materials backup folder or something, and then just export all your materials into that. If you reload them and they already exist, it'll make duplicates, it won't write over what you have.

[Steve Crawford]

Thanks for the reply Scott, I will. Meanwhile rather than having to re-do all the work and testing that I've done in the last week, is there a 'recommendations' list for settings for the Speedy 300 anywhere for different materials, or is it just a shot in the dark each time until I get it right?

Cheers, Steve

[Mike Null]

Steve

I've found that other peoples' settings are not very helpful as each machine varies a bit. Additionally, I've found that different colors of plastic laminate require different settings for both engraving and cutting. One setting will work but doesn't optimize the job. That's something you have to determine for yourself.

Carrying that a bit further, some people use mostly Rowmark laminates while I prefer IPI. Even though they're the same thickness they may engrave differently.

[Scott Shepherd]

Thanks for the reply Scott, I will. Meanwhile rather than having to re-do all the work and testing that I've done in the last week, is there a 'recommendations' list for settings for the Speedy 300 anywhere for different materials, or is it just a shot in the dark each time until I get it right?

Cheers, Steve

It's really up to you to set that. Every processes jobs different. What you like for your look might be something different than what other use. However, you can get to pretty good starting points and work from there. It's going to take some time. We're still developing material settings 2 years after the machine got here. And on our Universal, we're still tweaking things after 6 years, so it's something that takes effort and a lot of trial and error.

If you have specific things you want, post them here. With so many Speedy 300 owners, I'm sure someone will post the info. The cool thing about the Trotec's Job Control is that you can export a material, post it on here, and then people can download and import it. So we could be sharing a LOT of stuff among ourselves.

What are you looking for at the moment? I'll see if I have it.

[Steve Crawford]

Thanks again Scott. I'm looking for the best settings for cutting regular plywood of a thickness of 3.34mm as that's what the stuff I'm using measures. For some reason at the settings I have it either burns the edge too much (power 100, speed 1%, 25000, offset -0.25) or does not cut all the way through (power 100%, speed 1.8%, 25000, offset 0)' so I have to use two passes.

[Scott Shepherd]

Thanks again Scott. I'm looking for the best settings for cutting regular plywood of a thickness of 3.34mm as that's what the stuff I'm using measures. For some reason at the settings I have it either burns the edge too much (power 100, speed 1%, 25000, offset -0.25) or does not cut all the way through (power 100%, speed 1.8%, 25000, offset 0)' so I have to use two passes.

Try no offset, 100% power, 1.4% speed and 1000Hz. You do NOT want 25,000 for that. That's what's burning your edges. With material that thickness, you have no need to do the offset on the Z-Axis. It should cut like butter and leave a darkish, honey colored edge.