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View Full Version : use flash cut software for laser??



Jim Huston
10-17-2006, 6:55 PM
Has anyone used the flash cut software for lasers? i use it on my plasma cutter and understand it. Would be nice to not learn a new one!

Joe Pelonio
10-17-2006, 7:04 PM
Has anyone used the flash cut software for lasers? i use it on my plasma cutter and understand it. Would be nice to not learn a new one!
While it might work the one problem I think of is that it's cnc software so would have an additional axis, the laser only has two and it would have 3?

Keith Outten
10-17-2006, 8:41 PM
Most CNC software is capable of 2D, 2.5D and 3D graphics work. I would guess that your flash cut software could do 2D without a problem. The only question is will your software work with the laser drivers provided by the manufacturer. I would contact any manufacturer that has a machine you are interested in and ask the question.

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Richard Rumancik
10-18-2006, 12:31 PM
Jim, if you have a laser system typical of "awards and engraving" systems I would say it is unlikely that FlashCut would be suitable. If you have a vector-based laser more typical of a machine shop, then the answer is maybe.

The UPS - Epilog - GCC style lasers expect to see a "printer file" not step and direction signals. A laser engraver may have steppers but you don't have access to connections to drive the steppers directly. The printer file is interpreted by the hardware/firmware on the mainboard of the laser system and sent to the motor driver circuitry as well as to pulse the laser at the appropriate time.

The FlashCut software and control box produces step and direction signals which are normally used for stepper motor systems (although they can be adapted to servos in some cases). Note that the FlashCut software is pretty much useless without the proprietary control box. The control box is intented to be connected to stepper motor drivers, not a printer (which is how the laser front end is seen by Windows.)

If you were building a special vector based laser cutting system FlashCut can work; it does support lasers. But I don't think it would help you on a typical vector/raster cutting & engraving system.

Dave Chase
10-18-2006, 12:51 PM
I would think that it would depend on what you want from the software. If you're using it simply to draw geometry, I would think that you would be able to use the print function from the Flashcut software and set the engraver as the default printer. I'm not familiar with Flashcut, but it sounds like it's a CNC program like MasterCAM and such. While Mastercam can't post the code to control the laser motion, it has a print function which should allow you to print the geometry to the laser just as you would in Corel. I may be oversimplifying things but it seems to make sense....

Jim A. Walters
10-18-2006, 8:19 PM
I know that my Mercury will accept HPGL plotter code. I would try to find an export format that CorelDRAW supports. It would be nice to have the nesting capabilities of plasma cutter software!

Jim

Richard Rumancik
10-19-2006, 12:19 AM
FlashCut is not like the normal PC applications members are used to using. The FlashCut software is part of the FlashCut package, which consists of the software and a "signal generator". FlashCut takes G-code from any external source and converts it into step and direction signals in the signal generator box to drive steppers or servos. The PC running FlashCut connects to the computer via serial port. The reason for the separate signal generator box is to ensure that proper timing is maintained. You can't allow a machine tool to "hesitate" while Windows is busy doing some housekeeping.

The software is pretty much useless without the control box. It cannot output a file to a printer (or laser). In addition, you need another program to generate your g-code from the CAD file. (FlashCut will accept dxf files directly.)

I think the FlashCut system is really innovative, but for awards and engraving type equipment I doubt that it would be suitable. Also, it is not very suitable for raster engraving work at all. If you were developing a large bed laser system for vector cutting only, you could use a FlashCut front end to run your motor drivers and hence the steppers/servos/laser tube. FlashCut would replace what is normally buried in the printer driver and on the laser system mainboard (hardware/firmware).

You would also need a CAD program for drawing and software to create the g-code. (Nesting software is usually sold separately.) CorelDraw would probably not be the best choice for a drawing program in this case as there is no simple way to make g-code files from a CorelDraw file.