Specifications

GRAPHICS SOFTWARE SETUP
Section 3-21
Rotary Rotation
If you have purchased the optional Rotary fixture, you may feel the need to calibrate your fixture if your
application requires you to engrave or cut completely around the cylinder at least 360 degrees. Only use
this option if you completely understand and have used the Rotary Fixture in the past. If you are familiar
with the operation of the Rotary Fixture and as an application you create a vector line or raster graphic
that extends from the top of the page (in your graphic software) all the way to the bottom of the page, you
should expect that the Rotary Fixture would rotate a full 360 degrees. If the fixture comes up short or
long by a few degrees, you can compensate for this in the driver. If your application comes up short,
increase the number past 360 as much as you need to and run your sample again. If your application
rotates past 360, then decrease the number of degrees below 360 to get the ends to line up.
Vector Scaling
This feature allows you to calibrate your vector cutting or vector engraving to your particular application.
To calibrate the system, draw a precise, 5” x 5” square in your graphics software. In the printer driver, set
the laser power and speed setting to vector mark (do not cut through) this square onto some scrap
material. After marking, remove the material and with a precision measuring device such as a caliper,
measure the square in both the horizontal (x) and vertical (y) directions. As an example, let’s say that the
measurement was 4.997”x and 4.996”y. Enter these measured values into the Virtual X and Virtual Y
boxes respectively. This altered setting forces the printer driver to compensate for the difference.
Numbers less than 5 will cause the driver to stretch the image and numbers greater than 5 will cause the
driver to compress the image graphically. Repeat the marking procedure and verify that the square is
scaled correctly. This procedure uses a 5” by 5” reference to scale the vectors across the entire table.
Keep in mind that this feature DOES NOT scale raster images so if you combine raster and vector images
in one file, the raster image may not align with your vectors. You will need to manually position your
raster images in their desired position.
CAUTION: Do not attempt to use the vector-scaling feature when your graphic extends out to the
absolute edge of the engraving field. You may accidentally cause the driver to attempt to print past the
edge of the maximum allowable page size. Unexpected results may occur. If you use this feature, the
actual allowable page size decreases by the same amount that you are attempting to offset.
View Tab
When using programs such as CorelDRAW and/or AutoCAD, there is a file preview feature that is part of
the graphics program itself. Refer to your software program’s manual on how to use the file preview
feature. File preview can be a very useful tool. It can help you determine if you have set up your graphic
properly BEFORE trying to print to the laser system. But what about AFTER you send the file to the laser
system? Since the laser system itself does not have the ability to graphically display the downloaded file
that has already been printed, this “View” feature, which is actually a post-viewer, was added to the driver
so that you can view the last 10 files that were printed to the laser system.
The file displayed is the last file that was sent to the laser system. It shows the name of the file as well as
the date and time that you printed it. In the above example, if you were to click on an object such as the
“Test” graphic or the rectangle around the graphic, the color as well as the Power and Speed for that
color will be displayed. Also, if there were a check mark in the “R” and “V” boxes, then the raster images
as well as the vector images would be visually displayed, respectively. The “<<” and the “>>” will toggle
you backwards and forward through the last 10 files. When the 11
th
file is printed, printer driver deletes
the first file automatically, which maintains the list of the last 10 files.