Відео

In the "Window" menu, make sure "Color Palette" is checked. If it is, it could be moved somewhere else accidentally. If you can't find it, use Window->Reset to Default Layout

Awesome.

Fantastic!

Always welcome. Sorry for the poor quality, this video is on the list of ones to re-record using my updated process.

Glad I could help! Sorry for the poor video quality, this video is on a list of vids I need to re-record.

Thank you!

Yeah, creating them during the process can help keep track of them in order. I found it easier to do as shown. Thanks for the suggestion on the audio, I plan on re-recording these earlier tutorials soon.

Glad it helped!

This may change how much you have to fix after tracing using node editor. It doesn't really change the process, but if it blends with the background, you may need to fix tracing blemishes to get a proper outline of it.

Starting from "current position" can be problematic. If you are using a DSP based controller, what you are actually describing on your CNC is "User Origin". This is my normal operational mode for my CO2 laser. I move it to a position and press the "Origin" button. This sets my user origin, which I use for aligning materials (sometimes the center of an item, sometimes an arbitrary corner). If I stop my laser part-way through the job, as long as I am still using "User Origin", it will start from the same location. I can move the laser back to that spot in the Move window by clicking the "Go to Origin" button in the Laser window. Alternatively, if you save a "current location" in the Move window, you can go back to that position. You can use the "Get Position" to get the current coords, then save it and go back to that position at any time, but setting an origin on the machine is FAR easier, if possible.

@@milaserguy Thanks for the reply, it seems when I click on the stop button, it looses all positions. I have a Ikier 70 watt diode laser and use Lightburn (1.6) but in this instance it acts different from the software I use on my CNC table. When I zero the DROs that is the current position and for any reason I stop I can just return to the zero, zero (current) position with a click of a button (macro). I tried to make a macro in Lightburn but it looks at that like move to home limits not a current position.

On a diode laser (likely GRBL based), you probably would want to use absolute positioning, which is a reference to the 0,0 home position of the laser. The machine should home itself at poweron, so that it understands absolute positions (as well as being able to go to saved positions), however, user origin is not likely available on these machines.

You're very welcome!

Glad I could help

You bet!

You are so welcome!

Glad it was helpful!

Hi Matt. Sorry for the late reply. Did you confirm that the shape you are trying to mask with is not a group (should be dashes, not the ants on a log outline)? This only works with single shapes and not grouped shapes.

The trial should include all features, it is not restricted. Masking requires an image and a shape, minimally, to apply.

Yeah, not sure what I’m doing! I’m on day three trying to figure it out. I did eventually figure something out and it worked!

Generally, you can just add an additional offset to the original offset, but it might lose some detail in the process.

As I described in my comment then, make your masking shape (the center) and another shape around the entire image. Group the two shapes. You now have a shape that is the space between the center and the outside. Use this as your mask.

Like, you only want to keep the center, or you want to remove the center? You can create a shape (lets say a "ring") and use that as your masking shape, and only the space between the inside and outside will be visible after masking.

Not sure I understand your question, but yet, this is precisely what image masking is supposed to do.

If I understand correctly, you make an array of items that you want to be your background (for example, an array of small squares), which would only be inside another shape. To do this, build your array of background shapes. The array should not be virtual, so it creates copies of the original shape. Make a duplicate of the outline shape that you want to fill, then select all the background shapes, followed by the outline shape. Use the Tools->Cut Shapes (alt-shift-c) tool to clip the background shapes using the outline shape, then the extras can be deleted, leaving only the background shapes that were inside the outline. The ones inside the outline will be de-selected, and the ones outside the outline will be selected, and can be deleted. If you have trouble following this, let me know and I can record a video for it.

Make sure your shape you want to mask with is a single object, not a group. (It should be a single dashed line outline).

@@milaserguy Thanks. I will double check. Its typically one of the first things I check whenever anything doesn't work as I expect, but when I get a chance I will load an image in and see if that works.

Thanks! Should be able to start getting more out soon, been tied up on a project last several weeks.

Cut shapes is also useful for when you need to re-cut a part of a design (before you move it) in case you hit a glue pocket or whatnot.

Break apart and auto-join was a game changer for me for time saving.

Glad it helped!

Glad you liked it!

Unfortunately, there isn't a way to enter a new position for individual nodes (currently). What I usually do is have my settings configured for some standard increment sizes that I use. I use metric, but in the settings panel, I use "Shape Move Increments" where CTRL-Arrow is 1mm, Arrow is 5mm, and Shift-Arrow is 0.005mm. If I am working on a job where I need to make a lot of changes for the same increment, I will just pop into those settings and change the arrow increment to make it easy. Then, you can select the node (or multiple nodes) and hit the arrow keys to move them that increment.

West side, North of Grand Rapids.

Glad it helped!

Sorry about that. I am working on improving my production quality and will likely re-record this in the future.

Fantastic!

Glad it was helpful!

@@milaserguy is there a way to join the end of one line into the middle of another line and make them into a single object it seems the only work when I do end-to-end. I can always group the two objects, but I wanted to make them a single entity

@@toddnester5743 because of the nature of vector shapes, this can only be done with a group unless you want an overlapping line segment to get from the end back to the mid point.

Did I answer this on another video? I suspected that the items were grouped (ants on a log rather than dashed lines)

Ctrl-D will duplicate the shape in exactly the same location.

Glad it helped!

Correct, I did not commentary on my project video.

Awesome.. LB did a great job of including all the most important stuff.

If you draw a square with a circle inside it, put them on the same layer, and set the layer to fill, it should fill the space between.

Thank you, that was what I needed. I really appreciate your help. Hope you have a wonderful new year.

Glad to hear it!

Not sure exactly what you mean. Depending on what you are trying to do, node editing may create single shapes or multiple shapes, so it may be desirable to group them in some cases.

@@milaserguy I am learning laser design. I thought all the nods should be connected to engrave or the laser to travel the path. In your example you have 3 different broken paths and I don't know how it will engrave. I believe you just covered only how the path will work, and your covered very well. Thanks again.

Ok, I think I get what you are asking.. If you are doing a "fill", then yes, you need a closed shape. If you are engraving a line, no such requirement exists.

@@milaserguy Yep, that's it

Because of the nature of the "Auto-Join" function, it should work most of the time. Sometimes shapes can be quite complicated though, so this could create a LOT of segments on large complicated shapes and may not be desirable. I generally fix crosslinked nodes manually, but it requires some practice how to identify them quickly.

@@milaserguyYes, I have fought them diligently at times, trying all sorts of things from other videos. Even the tip of using the offset to find them will help immensely. Thanks again!

You got this!

You are most welcome