Laser Raster Engraving.

[Tweakie.CNC]

I have already posted this under the laser project thread but it is perhaps helpful to have video's all in the same place.

This is my video of laser cutting the Mayan calendar into Obechi. It's really quite boring, like watching paint dry, but the music is good 

                                                          http://www.cooperman.talktalk.net/Aztec2.wmv

Tweakie.

[robotmar]

Hi Tweakie

What program you use to make a raster?

Is it the plugin DDL that Art write, or is it another program?

Andrea

[Tweakie.CNC]

Andrea,

Yes Sir, it is Art's DLL.

Tweakie.

[robotmar]

Hi Tweakie

Can I ask which interface (hardware) you use to drive the laser beem?

Have you ever tried to drive a magnet to make the incisions?

I read all the messages related to the DLL but I do not understand now if someone was able to use it.

I would use the DLL to control a magnet for reproducing images, like the Roland Metaza MPX-70 machine.

Can you help me?

Andrea

[Tweakie.CNC]

Hi Andrea,

I am sorry but I do not fully understand your question.

I have made a bracket to mount a hand held engraver pen to the Z Axis of my machine and then used virtually the same GCode I would use for routing to Impact Engrave but this method is only really suitable for vector work http://www.cooperman.talktalk.net/impact5.wmv

Art's impact engraver / laser plugin was originally designed for raster magnet work and as far as I can see Mach's 'Digital Trigger' output is configured to an output pin of your choice which in turn, through an appropriate driver circuit (transistor) fires the magnet for one stroke. This action gets repeated according to the plugin's pulse repetition frequency until the image has been completed, one line at a time in much the same way as I use it to trigger my laser.

Hope this helps.

Tweakie.

[robotmar]

Hi Tweakie

We'd already seen your movie and as you say you can only work with vector (like my "Graffio" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guznzKtkJTI)).

The problem with the DLL of ART is that the working speed of the magnet is too high, which is why ART recommends using only laser that has a major response.

I read all the old messages on yahoo group to relet DLL, and so I asked if any person using Mach3 was never able to work with a magnet.

Or, if any person using Mach3 have changed the DLL (as there are sources code).

---I am sorry but I do not fully understand your question.---

This is what I wont to do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OesDMMbdUYA

Andrea

[Tweakie.CNC]

Hi Andrea,

Looking at the video of the Metaza that seems to be operating at (as near as I can tell) the same speed as my laser (1 second per line). Then how, I wonder, does it manage to fire all the dots per line that quickly ?.

Some alternatives to look at;

Have you tried drastically reducing the feedrate of the Mach plugin and seeing if you can get the pulses far enough apart to operate your magnet (I suspect that the Metaza magnet wire only travels a max of 0.025mm) ?
Can you redesign your magnet (reduce the mass) to make it faster ?

Tweakie.