No improvements with 11.5 Laser Module

[jjneeb]

Sad to see that with version 11.5 there still is no Z axis control for the laser module. Its disappointing that there doesn't seem to be any work being done to improve the laser module since this is a separately purchased module and has little improvement since introduction.

[martindg]

Not sure I fully understand what your issues are with Z axis control for the laser module. I project laser toolpaths to 3D models often and etch in 3D. I have two post processors that I modified for use with the laser; one that strips out all Z movements for etching on flat surfaces and one the includes all generated Z movements for etching onto 3D surfaces. I'm curious what it is you are wanting to do that the laser module won;t let you do.

[adze_cnc]

Perhaps this thread should be renamed to: “No improvements to the laser module with 11.5” ? Care should be taken with such things.

[Tex_Lawrence]

As martindg has implied, somewhere at the beginning of the post processor you are using to save your toolpath there is a grbl command that sets Z movements to zero (ignores them.)

You really have to get into a little grbl stuff to make the laser module work your way for your hardware.

[jjneeb]

Sorry, I figured anyone who has used the laser module would understand the limitation. The laser module toolpaths don't let you set the start depth, or a depth of cut per pass. Z height is fixed to Z=0, unless you are projecting on a model. Profile and Pocketing toolpaths have always had this, and it would be an almost direct copy of the features. There have been requests in here and direction to Vectric support and the answer is always "its not enough of a priority". Honestly, this feature would take 30 minutes to add to the SW.

If your project has multiple levels you want to laser on, or if you want to move the focal point (to either make a different spot size or for example to create a focus test) you have to do a lot of Gcode editing by hand.

Don't get me wrong, I love Vcarve Pro, but the laser module is relatively expensive for what it can do and I believe they should be working on this as well, especially since it really hasn't been improved much since its initial release. I think simple and obviously required feature requests (that should have been in the initial release) should be addressed.

[martindg]

While I have used the Laser Module quite a bit my use has been exclusively projecting to 3D models or simple surface etching. I hadn't considered the Start and Cut Depth issue but I can understand how that could be an issue. I agree that it makes little sense that these aren't settings available for the Laser tool path. Your discussion also reminded me of another feature missing from the Laser Module. Associating Laser tool paths with layers is not available as it is for profiling and pocketing tool paths. For the jobs I do this would be a pretty useful function.

[Tex_Lawrence]

As always with Vectric, send your feature requests in to support@vectric.com and they will respond with questions or comments/news.