unexplained line

[Bert Kemp]

I cut this out several times on paper to get the sizing right then when I did it on leather I got this line. its not in the drawing and when I run test box the size is corect but when I cut I get this line. I can't get rid of it if I don't know why its there.any ideas.IMG_20160828_121902905 (Copy).jpg

[David Somers]

Hey Bert!!

Is that a vector or a bitmap? If it is a bitmap, and you did it in Corel, I have been running into that a bunch going from Corel to Rdworks. I found that if I use the Corel option under the Bitmap menu to convert to Bitmap (even though the file is already a bitmap) the problem is corrected. I also found this is the solution to having a bitmap go from Corel to RDWorks and ending up with an "image" in RDWorks that either has nothing visible in it, or will never successfully transfer over, remaining stuck in the importing phase forever. Or until I got tired of waiting, whichever came first. No idea why. Someday I will dig into these and see what the cause is. But until then I just "convert to bitmap" and get on with life and engraving in general.

We got to 90 for two days in a row here in town! I can hear sympathy oozing from your pores already at the very thought. We are back down in the 70's though without too many of us spontaneously combusting. I hope AZ is staying well under 150 now that summer is almost over for you. <grin> And of course, hope everything else is going great for you!

Dave

[Bert Kemp]

Dave thanks for the reply. Its mostly a vector the spider is a bitmap but the rest is vector.

We have been cooling down some, days running 90's now still some 104 - 105 days but not as many, nights cool off into 70's now so its nice in the evenings

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

So the only thing different is the speed & power settings when you went from paper to leather? Or did you make size changes between the paper test and leather run?

[Bert Kemp]

Mike I made spd, pwr, and focus changes and rotated the design 90 degree's. I got doing other stuff so I haven't got back to laser yet to try it again.Was kind waiting to see what was said here.
hr later
ok I loaded the file again and cut in on scrap wood so I could leave settings the same and the same thing happened got the line. then I rotated it back 270 and cut it again and the line was gone.So I rotated it again back to the position that the line showed up and now the line is gone. I don't understand whats going on here. I've rotated many design before to get them to fit and never had a line show up.Its going to be a slow process if I have do do every job twice, once on scrap then the real thing just to see its gonna work right.

[Joseph Shawa]

Bert,
A couple things to try.
Select, carefully, all of your desired work in Lasercut. Cut to clipboard. Select ALL even if nothing is there. Delete. Paste from clipboard (ctl+V). Sometimes I get "invisible" stuff when I import .dxf files.
Also make sure that you are using short file names in Lasercut. It may look like it is making changes but goofy things happen with long file names. Only download short file names to your machine.

[Bert Kemp]

I really don't do anything in lasercut. I do all my work in corel then import the dxf file. Don't know what you mean by cut to clipboard.

Bert,
A couple things to try.
Select, carefully, all of your desired work in Lasercut. Cut to clipboard. Select ALL even if nothing is there. Delete. Paste from clipboard (ctl+V). Sometimes I get "invisible" stuff when I import .dxf files.
Also make sure that you are using short file names in Lasercut. It may look like it is making changes but goofy things happen with long file names. Only download short file names to your machine.

[Mike Null]

Bert
Cut means the same as copy but it removes the selected item from the source drawing.

[Bert Kemp]

Thanks Mike. I'll have to look in lascercut and see how it works.
In corel I select the whole table area to see if there is anything outside my design area and in this case there was nothing there. yet that line cut.

[Kev Williams]

On occasion when engraving from a bitmap, one of the bitmap's borders will engrave. Very frustrating... Only occasionally, most times a particular image is fine, then one day I'll load it up and it'll fire a line. No idea why, and it's done it from Corel to my metal lasers, so I believe it's a Corel issue. The borders of bitmaps are part OF the bitmap as it's the only reference to the bitmap's size. Normally the border is ignored, obviously.

One may think the border has 4 points, but to an X-Y-Z machine it has FIVE points:
top left corner start
top right corner
bottom right corner
bottom left corner
top left corner stop

--it's my understanding that the software automatically ignores the first- or the last- 5 points of an object. I work with a logo program that has you state whether the FIRST 5 points of the 'bounding box' should be ignored. Makes perfect sense; ignore the bounding box and follow all other coordinates...

But what I'm thinking, is that maybe some software for whatever reason, ignores the LAST 5 points. But what if it ignores only 4 points? It seems plausible (to me anyway) that the machine will create a line between point 4 and point 5-- and every time I've gotten an errant line, it WAS the last thing to engrave...

Pure conjecture, but why else would it happen? That one point is just one data bit in a stream of millions...

What can be done about it? I haven't the slightest clue...

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Hey Bert, this is off subject, but are you running your raster at 100% black fill? I've had good results engraving leathers at 70% or 80% black...seems to be less charring. Again, my results only, your mileage may vary and in no way am I pickin' on your work. (Your work is good.)

Edit: is that a holster with a thumb break?

[Dave Sheldrake]

2 possibles bert, either a legacy node from using splines or the tube is getting a tickle charge

If you want to fire over the file I'll see if it has anything that hasn't been purged in it?

[Bert Kemp]

Yes 100% blk I'll have to try 70 % Not a thumb break holster, altho it could be I guess LOL

Hey Bert, this is off subject, but are you running your raster at 100% black fill? I've had good results engraving leathers at 70% or 80% black...seems to be less charring. Again, my results only, your mileage may vary and in no way am I pickin' on your work. (Your work is good.)

Edit: is that a holster with a thumb break?

[Bert Kemp]

Thanks Dave but like I said the problem seems to be gone now. I'll post the file anyway tho maybe you'll see some thing. I'll try to post it Saturday I'm gone all day tomorrow with the PGR.and to late tonight.

2 possibles bert, either a legacy node from using splines or the tube is getting a tickle charge

If you want to fire over the file I'll see if it has anything that hasn't been purged in it?