Trotec Training

[Mayo Pardo]

Has anyone here downloaded the latest Job Control ver. 10.5 ?
I'm wondering if there is anything new in it that will be of benefit versus running 10.3 or 10.4...
for a Speedy 300 30W ? Or is the latest version primarily for newer machines with additional features like sonic focus or job vision camera etc.

[Dan Hintz]

When it comes to these machines, I'm of the following opinion: "Don't upgrade the firmware unless you need to fix a bug or a new feature would seriously impact your workflow for the better."

[Scott Shepherd]

You can move the colors around, so they aren't hard coded in now. That's quite helpful.

Vector sorting now cuts the inner parts before the outer parts.

If either of those help you, it might be worth considering.

[Andrew Holloway]

For me this is a very worthy update.
The inner geometries first is the best part for me. Although, I do seem to have problems with it with files that have a lot of vector lines. They seem to never get through to the job queue and cause the print spooler service to fail.
I find resorting the colours quite useful too.
I don't have sonar focus or vision so can't comment on those.

[Keith Outten]

The vector sorting option was one that I asked for several years ago. It makes cutting large numbers of small letters and numbers much easier for ADA signs.
.

[Jack Clague]

Vector sorting is something I was about to ask for as i was finding it a pain that the outer cut was being done first then the inner cuts, this will be an immediate upgrade for me.

[Scott Shepherd]

Vector sorting is something I was about to ask for as i was finding it a pain that the outer cut was being done first then the inner cuts, this will be an immediate upgrade for me.

I beta tested JCX and ran it for about 6 months or so before it was released. I know Keith got it about the same time I did to test as well. I did a conference call with the guy who wrote the software after using it for about 4-5 months, I guess, if memory serves me well. At that time, we're talking about 3 years ago, I said a few things to them....

1) You need to cut the inner before the outer
2) You need to be able to move the order of the colors (it was a massive problem for me, since the colors on our files from years of using other lasers weren't in those color orders.
3) You need to be able to change the speed/power settings on the fly for all colors, not just red and black. Just red and black makes no sense at all.
4) You need to be able to change settings for a one time run, without overwriting the master material file (some times you just need to change something for THAT piece of material)


Those were my big ones. It's sad that it's taken 3 years to get some of them into place (while others still aren't incorporated), but they are a very methodical company. I'm also sure that some changes are much deeper than we believe. We might think something is quite simple and easy to put into place, but in reality, it might be rewriting massive amounts of code that impacts the entire system because it wasn't written that was in the beginning.

They do tend to fix things right, which is a very good thing. I just wish they fixed them quicker!

When I complained to Universal about being able to move colors around, and why (we went from Epilog to Universal) it needed to be an option, less than a few months passed and it was an option.

[Mayo Pardo]

Thanks for the replies everyone -

I've had vector sorting in ver. 10.22 so unless it's been further improved, that wouldn't cause me to update.
Did they get rid of the annoying non related message about the plate size that pops up when you click to engrave from the bottom up?
The ability to change color order would be good if I ever started making files with multiple settings linked to the colors but so far I get by on everything with just red (cutting), black (engraving), and blue (positioning).

It would be nice if the paste feature did not automatically snap to the top left corner.
Right-click where you want to paste, then select paste would save a little time when manually laying out multiples.

Can you move selected objects on the plate by using the arrow keys? I know how to do it numerically but not with the arrow keys...

[Scott Shepherd]

Thanks for the replies everyone -

I've had vector sorting in ver. 10.22 so unless it's been further improved, that wouldn't cause me to update.

Mayo, it's not Vector Sorting that is new, that's been out since day 1 of JCX. It's the sorting by cutting the inside before cutting the outside of shapes which is new (and years overdue). That alone wrecked my job flow years ago. On all files from our Universal, we used 1 color for vector cutting because it cut the inside of small items before cutting the outside. Thinking about cutting something like a ring shape. It would cut the inside before the outside automatically. Then comes the Trotec and if you use the same color, it may cut the outside before cutting the inside. If it's a small item, that's a major problem because you just cut the outside, the part falls into the grid, then it comes back later to cut the inside. It meant we had to redo every file we ran on the Trotec to have 2 colors for vector cutting, one color for the inside, one for the outside. It might not seem like a big deal, but if you are doing ADA signs and cutting out a 12" x 24" piece of material that's completely full of 3/4" tall letters, you've got a major issue.

As for the other things you mentioned, I don't believe you'll see any fixes for those in this release.

[Jack Clague]

Thanks for the replies everyone -

I've had vector sorting in ver. 10.22 so unless it's been further improved, that wouldn't cause me to update.
Did they get rid of the annoying non related message about the plate size that pops up when you click to engrave from the bottom up?
The ability to change color order would be good if I ever started making files with multiple settings linked to the colors but so far I get by on everything with just red (cutting), black (engraving), and blue (positioning).

It would be nice if the paste feature did not automatically snap to the top left corner.
Right-click where you want to paste, then select paste would save a little time when manually laying out multiples.

Can you move selected objects on the plate by using the arrow keys? I know how to do it numerically but not with the arrow keys...

Hi Mayo,

I'm getting that error recently as well, when I move a job to the plate is said that it does not match the current plate settings and would I like to continue using the current plate settings, i've only seen this recently, what causes this?

[Mayo Pardo]

Scott, I don't know if I got lucky or what but when I selected Vector Sorting, most of the time it did cut the centers before the outer shapes.

Jack - the error message you mentioned I believe is coming from a setting that you haven't selected.
If I'm talking about a different error message here then this may not apply!

A couple places to check in Corel -
First go to File, then Print Setup, and with the Trotec printer/driver selected, it will open a window - within the Page: box see if you have "Match orientation and size" as your selection. If not, change it to that.

Next, with sample text entered in Corel, and placed within your defined page area, select the text and then go to File, Print.
In the screen that opens, under the General tab, select Preferences. The Trotec engraver properties window opens. Select the tab marked "Print". You should have either "Bed Size" or "User Defined Size" and put a check mark next to "Take from application" and also "Minimize to job size". Click OK. Now you're back to the Print window. Under the setting for Print Range, select "Selection" then click Apply, then click Print if you want to print the test text.

People also say this error comes from having your page size in Corel the exact same size as the Trotec bed. If you reduce your Corel page size to slightly under the actual bed size, this can also eliminate the problem however making the changes I mentioned above worked for me permanently. Merely changing the page size in Corel did not always eliminate the error message for me.

Also, make sure you are not accidentally sending to the printer a page border or other objects that you don't intend to engrave or cut. If the above printer settings are not made, you could be sending objects to the printer that are outside of your Corel page and when included with the objects within the page, it's too big for the Trotec bed.

[Glen Monaghan]

Scott, I don't know if I got lucky or what but when I selected Vector Sorting, most of the time it did cut the centers before the outer shapes.

I think you just got lucky. I was running a job a couple of days ago and forgot to turn off vector sorting first (I have everything sorted in object manager the way I want them cut). A minute or so into the cutting, I realized my mistake but noticed that it was cutting the insides first, then outsides, so I let it continue. About half way through the job, though, it cut an outside first, and the small shape dropped down onto the bed and bounced slightly to one side. When the beam started the interior cuts, it was out of focus and offset, ruining that part. Happened again a couple more times before I just stopped the job and selectively ran the rest with sorting turned off.

[Raphael Weil]

Great videos. Man this system is a quantum leap from the Full Spectrum I'm used to.

I'd love to know a bit more about this setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33uWTYtE9SI


It's something like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8T6S5eFpqE

[Raphael Weil]

Question for you job control guys. My rep showed me the setting to have the laser trace the perimeter of the job to help aligning your work. My question is this:

on an FSL it's smart enough to run the perimeter once and end back where you started. On the Speedy 300 when I do it it will only stop tracing the perimeter when you hit cancel and it'll stop at whatever random point the laser head was in when it received the stop order. Is there a smarter way to do that other than logging the laser coordinates when you started placing your piece? I wish Trotec would make the laser go back to where it started when you hit cancel.

[Mike Null]

Raphael

I'm not sure I understand why you need to "trace" the perimeter nor do I understand why you use cancel. Is it something the pause button would do?

The machine can be set to return to start when you finish the job.