Laser cut 5.3 stalling with large dxf files

[lemontreehouse]

Hi everyone
I run my 1290 from my laptop using laser cut 5.3 and win 10
I have noticed a few times now that if I import a large dxf file, that has maybe been created in another program, it causes problems in 5.3 which hangs the program. When I click the import button in 5.3, the selection box opens. I then choose the file from the relevant folder. Then I tick the preview box. Then the software hangs for a while and starts to draw out the vectors very slowly in the preview pane. Once done I click the open button to load them into 5.3. The swirly circle comes on for a while until it starts to draw out the vectors on the bed representation. Then when it's maybe a quarter of the way through drawing them on the bed, the circle comes on again. When it goes off after a split second, the bed is clear and it starts drawing them out again. This goes on and on. Sometimes it gets to a half way through before it sticks. Eventually I have to use task manager to quit 5.3 and start again, breaking the dxf file into smaller less complicated segments, but that can't be right. I started out with a sheet of 100 small Xmas tree shaped vectors to import. It couldn't manage that so I kept breaking it down in size. It was about 15 trees before it would finish loading.
The laptop is a few years old. Do I just need a better more up to date one or could it be something I am missing?

Thanks for looking
Jon

[PhillyDee]

Use the array function and just repeat the one christmas tree. And mine does this too. I have noticed it is worse on the one with the laptop, than the desktop based one. Assuming down to hard drive speed.

[llamalasers]

I had similar issues with large multiples of the same detailed design on a large sheet.. 2.6ghz dual core i5 laptop, 8GB RAM and MX200 SSD so I don't think it's computer power issues rather software limitation.

[lemontreehouse]

Thanks for the advice. The problem with the array function is that it doesn't nest the items which means my costs can sometimes double.

[Lightnin]

perhaps you could nest a 1/4 sheet size, and array that ?
would cut the file size and still be effecient

[Tom]

perhaps you could nest a 1/4 sheet size, and array that ?
would cut the file size and still be effecient

This^^^^^^^^^^^^

[PhillyDee]

You can nest if they are just a one off. There are 2 boxes at the bottom Gap along X, and gap along Y. this will offset the next line. you can also specify a negative in the gap to get them all closer together. With triangles, You copy the one you have, and flip it. Then you can specify a negative gap so the arrays come closer together.