lasercut software

[bob]

Hi Can anyone help I have an ls6090 and want to accuratly size lettering as the lasercut point height is not as accurate when I am cutting out letters in acrylic for customers ???
would it be better to create letters elsewhere and import ?
Thanks Bob

[laserhut]

hi bob
i use coreldraw 12, there is an add on in the software that came with the machine.
i then set up a custom page to 600mm x 900mm and saved that, i then know how much i can fit on.
Type text with selected font, then click on the arrange tab at top and scroll down to convert to curve,then click back on the pointer tool on the left hand side, then reselect the
text you typed with the pointer.
in the tool bars across the top there will appear a box with the size of the text you have selected you can then type in this box the exact measurements you wish your text to be.
once your finished sizing you must save the file first before you can send it to the machine.
It sounds a bit complicated but once you do it its quite simple and very accurate sizing is possible to the 0.01 of a mil.
hope this helps
col

[David]

If possible, use Corel Draw (I suspect other software has similar functions?) Start with the text editor, then Arrange - Convert to Curves. Lock the proportions, and type in the height: Corel claim accuracy to 0.01mm, but finished (cut) sizes are slightly smaller - at most, any error in size will be the thickness of cut. My students manage as small as 5mm inlaid lettering (as on bonnet of toy car) allowing 0.2mm for the width of cut using the contour function - again in Corel Draw
Hope this helps

[bob]

Thanks for the replies, these are really useful as I use Coreldraw 12 (albeit not very well)

Great Photo Dave

Bob

[HPCLaser]

Help Why is everyone pushing the small race cars ... COOL is it a school thing for projects ???
We should have some of these for the d+t show .
Or a competition who knows the spec???

[David]

The cars originate as an early effort using laser cut gearboxes for battery powered toys at school level - it evolved later into slot cars (scalextric) as a school club, which was in turn taken up by Tim Brotherhood, county advisor for D&T Staffordshire, who used the idea for the Scalextric4schools initiative: they had a stand at the 2008 D&T show. I'll post pictures on the 'school project' thread asap

David

[HPCLaser]

Thanks David Appreciate It.We are looking at the F1 in schools at present to see if we can involve Lasers .
Thanks Chris

[Syman]

Hi

Can anyone tell me the difinative file type for the software? I am using illustrator and saving as illustrator cs3 with no comprestion but the image is not complete. The same file exported as a DXF is fine. I have attached the illustrator file and DXF file.

[HPCLaser]

The file type is always DXF, this is the suggested file type for the software.

Charlotte

[dvdlock]

The file type is always DXF, this is the suggested file type for the software.

Charlotte

As Charlotte says DXF is the suggested file type. However, I personally use illustrator .ai files all the time. I generate most of my artwork in CorelDraw V12 and 'save as' .ai for use in Lasercut.

Your difficulty is going to be saving in a leagcy format (backward version saving). It needs to be no higher than Illustrator V7 which I don't think CS3 will allow.
I also have CS3 and on the rare occasion that I use it I save the file as .ai V10 then open in in CorelDraw 12 and re-save in .ai which defaults to V7 and is ready for LaserCut.