Post by andrew on Jun 24, 2017 1:06:12 GMT
Thought those who might have the laser kit for their M3 might find this interesting/helpful. I have the laser kit which is super rad.. I just don't really know where to go from there. I did buy PicLaser which is great for burning multi tone images, but what if I just want a solid logo or something? Tried it with PicLaser and it just took a very long time to burn anything because Pic Laser seems to cover the entire work area turning the laser on an off when it needs to, but still travels at the same pace over places while the laser is off. Inkscape can do paths, but not fill in areas really that I've found anyway..
I like things that are cheap, free, and easy. So if you have a laser and aren't sure where to go to burn filled in logo's or whatever.. With a little help, Easel can do it! It turns the laser off and skips around quickly to cover only the places the laser is ON which is a big thing... for me.
In a nut shell, design whatever it is you want to burn in Easel (or in Inkscape and export as a plain .svg and import into Easel). Either way get what you want to burn into the Easel work space. Set your material dimensions to your X & Y and 1mm thick. Set the bit diameter to 0.02mm (that can be adjusted, but 0.02 seems to work alright for the laser I have). Go into the cut settings. Set the feed rate to 1100 mm/min (again adjustable, but this worked good for me. could maybe even speed it up a little and still get good burn). Plunge rate to 1mm/min (even though it won't really matter) and the depth per pass to 1.1mm
Go to "machine" then "advanced". Set the safety height to 0mm and leave the step over at 40%. generate and export/save the Gcode.
Then go HERE: htmlpreview.github.io/?https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AustinSaintAubin/gcode-depths-to-shades/master/index.html
It will turn the Easel Gcode to usable laser laser code in less than a second... I'm not using GRBL 1.1 so unchecked "Enable: GRBL Laser Mode". Unchecked "Convert M3 to M4" because M3 turns the laser on.. Everything else I just left to default. Click Browse under Start Converting and it will prompt you to save the modified code.. Save and run that one on your M3! Seems to work out well.
This is just a test on a piece of scrap maple. Hoping to personalize a DIY wedding gift..
If nothing more than a testament to the M3's precision I thought it was an easy/cheap way to burn graphics with fill..
I like things that are cheap, free, and easy. So if you have a laser and aren't sure where to go to burn filled in logo's or whatever.. With a little help, Easel can do it! It turns the laser off and skips around quickly to cover only the places the laser is ON which is a big thing... for me.
In a nut shell, design whatever it is you want to burn in Easel (or in Inkscape and export as a plain .svg and import into Easel). Either way get what you want to burn into the Easel work space. Set your material dimensions to your X & Y and 1mm thick. Set the bit diameter to 0.02mm (that can be adjusted, but 0.02 seems to work alright for the laser I have). Go into the cut settings. Set the feed rate to 1100 mm/min (again adjustable, but this worked good for me. could maybe even speed it up a little and still get good burn). Plunge rate to 1mm/min (even though it won't really matter) and the depth per pass to 1.1mm
Go to "machine" then "advanced". Set the safety height to 0mm and leave the step over at 40%. generate and export/save the Gcode.
Then go HERE: htmlpreview.github.io/?https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AustinSaintAubin/gcode-depths-to-shades/master/index.html
It will turn the Easel Gcode to usable laser laser code in less than a second... I'm not using GRBL 1.1 so unchecked "Enable: GRBL Laser Mode". Unchecked "Convert M3 to M4" because M3 turns the laser on.. Everything else I just left to default. Click Browse under Start Converting and it will prompt you to save the modified code.. Save and run that one on your M3! Seems to work out well.
This is just a test on a piece of scrap maple. Hoping to personalize a DIY wedding gift..
If nothing more than a testament to the M3's precision I thought it was an easy/cheap way to burn graphics with fill..