Need help with engraving and lasercut 5.3

[bonedoc]

Well, I have had some issues with lasercut, but I am not sure what is going on. My cutting surface is 500x400mm. I am using Corel X5 to make a 500x400mm image. I export it as a bitmap. I then open it in paint and resave it as a monochrome so that it fits the 2-bit standard for lasercut engraving. I assume 2-bit means that the lasercut software can only give a 4 level variation on the PWM levels of the laser.

My first problem was that when I inspected the final bitmap, it was saved just over 500x400mm. So, I resized the bitmap to 450x350mm to allow for software and conversion errors. I also centered my image so there is a 25mm boundary all around, to avoid soft errors for the time being.

So....here is my problem. I import the bitmap to lasercut. I then click download and select current. It complies just fine. When I run the laser....my image looks almost *nothing* like what I am seeing on the lasercut screen.

I attached my bitmap file and lasercut file below. Can someone tell me what may be going on?

Also, does anyone have basic setting recommendations for etching glass with an 80w reci tube? Thanks!!!!

Here is a link to my files:

Free File Sharing Made Simple - MediaFire

[Asynchronism]

I don't have it installed yet, otherwise I'd love to help there...

I would be curious to hear any feedback or tips you might have doing the LaserCut setup... especially if you're using a newer version of Windows. Did everything set up ok?

[dazn]

Originally Posted by bonedoc So....here is my problem. I import the bitmap to lasercut. I then click download and select current. It complies just fine. When I run the laser....my image looks almost *nothing* like what I am seeing on the lasercut screen. I attached my bitmap file and lasercut file below. Can someone tell me what may be going on?

Hi bonedoc -

I think your bitmap is too small to get very good results. I'm not sure what the mechanical resolution is on your machine, but when raster engraving I generally use files that are at least 300 dpi. So if you want to engrave a 500mmx400mm image the bitmap needs to be about 5900 pixels x 4724 pixels.

In many cases it's a better idea to use a vector format supported by lasercut instead of a bitmap. I export in illustrator version 10 format with no compression, no pdf compatibility and that works 90% of the time.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about with bitmap vs vector, try reading this:

About Bitmap Images - Two Types of Graphics - Vector and Bitmap

Regards,

Dan

[bonedoc]

Hey guys, thanks for the input. I am going to read and digest that.

My etching was for a detailed image. I slowed my speed to 50 and increase the laser output to 35%, and it looks MUCH better. What was happening is that most of the drawing had lines in the direction of the laser etching travel. The lines in the other direction were there, but were barely visible.

As far as computer, I am running lasercut on a windows 7 started on a netbook and it works great!