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[whitb38]

Is there a video or thread somewhere to help me figure out how to engrave exactly where i need it to on my material? I can not figure this out for the life of me. Im using an eleksmaker A3 pro with t2 software. Any help would be much appreciated.

[ggallant571]

I don't use T2 but suspect Zax has some built in features. A very useful add-on is limit or home switches. Allows you to get to 0,0 with some degree of precision. Another simple extra is a straight metal bar on either the X or Y axis. BTW - the laser dot can have significant movement in X/Y when doing a manual focus.

I use GIMP as my primary drawing tool and will often create a layer that matches the size of the material. Then place the image inside it. When exporting the burn image I do not include that extra layer but the resulting image has the proper coordinates. I will also 3d print align fixtures that get screwed to the waste board.

Another helpful technique is to burn the image on a large sheet of cardstock that is taped to the wasteboard,

I have a one machine setup with an extruded steel plate over the wasteboard. Lets the laser beam pass thru without burning the bottom side. Also great for using magnets to hold the material in place.

If I was doing small images on really large media I probably would add a center point feature the the host application. The use the weak laser motion control to locate the desired point and call that 0,0.

I do lots of slate etchings. The slate tiles are a nominal 100x100mm. Most are a little smaller. Quick measurement and adjust the starting X,Y by a few mm as needed. Getting the image within 2mm is fine for slate.

A few not so proper Engineering solutions that have evolved for me over that past three years. Someplace in the future there might be a camera. Seeing magnet tool changers for 3D printers makes me wonder if that might work with diode lasers.
 

[Zax]

It's very simple, just set the workpiece origin (0,0) and that point will correspond with the starting position.

So if you have it set on the default lower left start, move the laser to the lower left corner of the material and then right click the house icon to set home and then run the G-code.

[whitb38]

Thanks so much, yall are life savers!!! 

[whitb38]

Ok so i did the set home and then used the trace option to pinpoint where it would engrave. That worked perfect on images and unfilled text. When i fill the text and set home, then use trace its tracing out my whole burn grid. How do i get just the area its engraving for the filled text?

[Zax]

It sounds like you are creating a Sketch the entire size of your machine? That's incorrect, you create a Sketch to match your material / job.

When you convert a vector to raster (which is what filling does) it treats the entire areas as an image so will show you the whole grid (if I understand what you mean by that).

It may help to add pictures or if it's easier just email me, this would be quick to resolve and I respond to supprt email before any forums.

[CaseyP]

This was a problem I had when I was starting as well.  The canvas size should be the area you want to work in, and the trace outline will outline that canvas size. 

You can move the laser around with the up down left right buttons on the T2 control panel, and just set the laser power really low (like 25) and turn on the laser, so see where it's located. 

Once you have it where you want your bottom left to be, right-click the home icon in the middle of the direction buttons.   That will re-set the coordinates to 0,0, and that will become your new bottom left (assuming you are starting from bottom left.)