Fiber laser settings

[Keith Winter]

Hi guys I have a 30w Galvo fiber laser running ez cad 2 (Chinese software).

I'm having an issue with the hatching on my stainless steel. When engraving its creating faint lines on the flask, in between the rows when I do two lines or more using bi directional hatch, optimized two way hatch, and gong optimized hatch. (see faint lines between test rows in photo) The only way we can get it not to make these faint lines on stainless steel is by using uni lateral (too slow) or ring hatch.

How do I prevent these faint lines when using the three prior hatch types? (see photo)


My other question is when I run script fonts some of the letters disappear using ring hatch (kerning too close?) an example of a script font is playball. When I run it on the sample phrase "streaming" part of the letters won't appear. I seemed to fix this by setting the font spacing to 0.2mm but does anyone else have a better solution?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Patrick Smithwick]

As far as the lines are concerned, I don't have an answer for you on that.
I also have a galvo that is using EZ Cad as well. What I have found is that for certain fonts (especially script type) sometimes a bit of the letter will disapprear or fill incorrectly. There is apparantly a glitch in it with some of those fonts so I wind up building those in Corel and just importing them in and running them. It almost appears to be a weld issue with the letters.



Hi guys I have a 30w Galvo fiber laser running ez cad 2 (Chinese software).

I'm having an issue with the hatching on my stainless steel. When engraving its creating faint lines on the flask, in between the rows when I do two lines or more using bi directional hatch, optimized two way hatch, and gong optimized hatch. (see faint lines between test rows in photo) The only way we can get it not to make these faint lines on stainless steel is by using uni lateral (too slow) or ring hatch.

How do I prevent these faint lines when using the three prior hatch types? (see photo)


My other question is when I run script fonts some of the letters disappear using ring hatch (kerning too close?) an example of a script font is playball. When I run it on the sample phrase "streaming" part of the letters won't appear. I seemed to fix this by setting the font spacing to 0.2mm but does anyone else have a better solution?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Scott Shepherd]

Keith, I don't know the setting on the Fiber, but to me, that's what looks like a tickle setting. I'm sure it's not called that, but it looks to me like some setting is wrong that's keeping the beam on when it's moving from letter to letter. It's not on much, just enough to mark it. Does it do it on all things or just that font? Or just that material, any font?

[Mike Clarke]

I don't specifically know either: When hatch filling in rotary engraving sometimes I get lines that connect where they shouldn't. One cure I have found is to alter the hatch angle a degree or so. In my case I do see the hatch "leaks" in the layout match the result - on screen = output.

Another is to break up letters and hatch fill as a collection of letter or even curves and fill all suing same hatch.

[Scott Marquez]

I agree with Scott, it looks like the laser is staying on during the "move", just slightly. Have you tried masking off your product first? Depending on how much power is leaking it might be just enough masking to save your product.
Scott

[Keith Winter]

Keith, I don't know the setting on the Fiber, but to me, that's what looks like a tickle setting. I'm sure it's not called that, but it looks to me like some setting is wrong that's keeping the beam on when it's moving from letter to letter. It's not on much, just enough to mark it. Does it do it on all things or just that font? Or just that material, any font?

That's a keen observation! Does sound like a trickle setting now that I think about it, firing when it should be off. It does it on all fonts and all metals if there is more than one line, I assume it would do it on any substrate. You can also see the lines on the screen many times in ez-cad when you do two lines and the optimized-two-way-hatch but I thought that was just a visual of how the laser would move. It doesn't make any sense for it to actually be firing on those lines since they are not part of the art.

Now I just have to think, if I was Chinese, what would I call such a setting and where would I hide it :confused::D??

[Keith Winter]

I don't specifically know either: When hatch filling in rotary engraving sometimes I get lines that connect where they shouldn't.

Another is to break up letters and hatch fill as a collection of letter or even curves and fill all suing same hatch.

Hi Mike, how do you do this breakup of letters and hatch fill as a collection in ez cad?

[Scott Shepherd]

You can also see the lines on the screen many times in ez-cad when you do two lines and the optimized-two-way-hatch but I thought that was just a visual of how the laser would move. It doesn't make any sense for it to actually be firing on those lines since they are not part of the art.

If you see the line in the art on screen, then it's not tickle related, that's software. The laser appears to be doing exactly what's on the screen, so you need to make the lines go away in the software. It's got to be a file issue. Does it do it if you create the text in ez cad natively, or just on files you import from illustrator? If illustrator, what version of illy are you saving down to? I know Chinese software doesn't like recent versions of illy.

[Mike Clarke]

Hi Mike, how do you do this breakup of letters and hatch fill as a collection in ez cad?

I truly do not know. But my point was if you see a fail in the hatch on screen that matches the out put it is most likely not a laser hardware setting. In rotary or laser it would be a discrete line or cut, not a halfway effort on behalf of the laser. The exception would be on rotary if the Z axis doesn't lift to clear a high spot in material.

Just try altering the hatch angle by a degree and see how it works. In my case this change will make the hatch fill successfully or fail in different spots. The hatch will leak in one place @ 45 and another @ 46 and so on.

Sorry I have no clue on the EZ Cad.

If I am not mistaken on one of my machine you can view the output and it will show all movement paths, even the Up Cutter and Laser Off traversing movements. I don't normally use the function so I am a bit rusty, but I think the paths are color coded. It is not part of the normal production workflow.

Either way what I am guessing is this is not a solution for up and running production. Some stuff I get through to get work out, but know it is not a viable way day in day out.

[Keith Winter]

Hi Steve I'm making the text natively in ez cad no importing.

[Gary Hair]

Hi Steve I'm making the text natively in ez cad no importing.

Keith - send me the file and I'll look at it on my machine. I've never seen that happen with native text but have seen it happen a lot with imported files. if you don't have my email it's ghair at nwlaserimage dot com

[Scott Shepherd]

Keith, try importing the same text from illustrator, converted to outlines, and see if it does the same thing. I suspect it might be a quirk with text in your software. You'll probably have to save it back to something like Illustrator v8 if it's China based software.

That'll isolate it to a bug in the software if the lines don't show up. If they do show up, I'd be looking for some settings that are wrong, or a corrupt file in the software.

[Keith Winter]

Keith, try importing the same text from illustrator, converted to outlines, and see if it does the same thing. I suspect it might be a quirk with text in your software. You'll probably have to save it back to something like Illustrator v8 if it's China based software.

That'll isolate it to a bug in the software if the lines don't show up. If they do show up, I'd be looking for some settings that are wrong, or a corrupt file in the software.

Hi Scott and Mike, it occurs with all fonts. It's definitely something in the software OR a flaw where the laser keeps firing in between lines, possible settings tweak. This only happens on text (any font will do it) when you try to do the basic hatch options (bi directional hatch, optimized two way hatch, and gong optimized hatch). I have the ez cad manual, I've been looking through it and trying different things but no success so far. Even in the 200 pages all the settings are not explained...

Another question, we're doing only metal with this laser, and the exhaust port shrinks down from 6" to 4" then finally to 1" when it enters the laser case. Really it's quite pathetic once it gets down to 1". However I have to extend my extraction pipe quite a ways to it, which decreases the efficiency of my entire system. Question here is do I really need extraction for fiber laser doing only metals? Seems to be no smoke or anything, and the amount it's pulling once it gets down to a 1" is laughable. I cannot see how that would make much if any different if it wasn't exhausted unless you guys know something I don't, or there is some off gas it's producing that the tiny 1" pipe catches a little of?