Strange error message. Continue sending ? (Solved)

[donwatson]

Hi All,
I have been fitting air assist to try out on my Banggood 650 x 500 Laser Engraver. I have it connected up with an aquarium pump that I hope will work. I loaded T2 and loaded the 10mm square from the Help menu to try it out but have came up against an error message that I have not seen before. When I click on the envelope to run the g-code there is a message box that says :-
"Continue Sending ? No will restart from beginning"   YES/NO
If I hit Yes, another box opens that says" Index was out of range. Must be non-negative and less than the size of the collection.
Parameter name: Index.
If I choose NO, a box comes up that says "Continue sending from the beginning ??" I say Yes and the square burns and when finished the screen is greyed out and I can't select anything.
I don't know what has happened. an anyone help ??
Don W
 

[Zax]

It sounds like something has been corrupted, in the Help menu click Restore Defaults or if that doesn't fix it you may need to remove and reinstall T2Laser.

The message means the machine is still running a previous G-code so it is asking if you want to continue that job or send a new one.

[donwatson]

Thanks Zax, Will try that this morning.
take care
Don W

[donwatson]

Hi Zax,
I have cleared that problem and know what happened (I think). Earlier, I had found a picture I wanted to engrave on plywood about A4 size. I had opened it in T2 and ran it with greyscale, dithered to have a look. When I opened laser control it said there was over 2,000,000 lines and around 11 hours to etch this so I stopped the process. I think this is when I confused the programme as after that when I opened  something to etch it had the mysterious message. All is now well and when this rain stops I will get into the shed and get some work done on my laser engraver.
On another note, has anyone written anything about how to create pictures in T2 ?? I like some of the work I have seen on the Facebook site that was created by members and wondered if there was anything available or if anyone was willing to share their experiences ??
Thanks for your help (again).
take care
Don W
 

[Zax]

The default settings and my firmware produce the best images I have seen, all you need to adjust is the resolution to match your laser spot size and the feed rate based on the material.

Air assist helps to prevent burning and gives a cleaner image and of course a well setup machine is essential.

[ggallant571]

I have been fiddling with the GIMP plug-in by Sean Murray. So far not great on wood, yet to try tile. Current issue is related to getting the script not to process the background. I don't want the black dots applied to a solid white. There is some image scaling that I do not understand. Have found that there are issues with transparent layers and the order of layers is important. Sean has been responsive. Lucky for my sanity, there are others reporting similar problems.

Sean has a well tuned CO2 laser and regularly works at 600DPI. My diode lasers seem to do photos best at 127DPI (0.2mm line spacing).

[donwatson]

Thanks again Zax, I will go and fiddle with resolution and the feed rate.

" Air assist helps to prevent burning and gives a cleaner image and of course a well setup machine is essential."
I have setup air assist and it seems to work well but for the 'well setup machine' I don't know so much. It is working well and for the price paid I reckon it is pretty marvelous.
To explain, I have been working with a CNC router/milling machine for some time now and had some success in cutting 6mm ply to make a wooden geared clock. Recently the software that drives the CNC machine was updated and they have added a (paid for) laser module. I had a laser unit that came with the CNC machine and thought I would give it a go. Total disaster and much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
This is why I am back here, I should never have left. I have tried to find what I need on this (and other) forums and hopefully will get back to speed soon but it is a bit of a struggle. I was 80 years old last year and things seem to take a bit longer to fit into place now. I think my mind is like a HD it has absorbed years of info and is slowing down, it takes a little longer to retrieve the info because of the amount that is in there. I think I need a defrag.
Thanks for listening, I will carry on with getting this machine setup at its best.
take care
Don W
PS The setup I have here is a bangggood 650x500 laser engraver with T2 laser, total cost (so far) less than £200. The other CNC machine is a Stepcraft 420 V1 with Vectric V-Carve desktop software, cost (so far) just over £600.

[donwatson]

Hi George,
I am glad to be back here amongst people who share. It seems a shame having to re-invent the wheel. I realise everyone is going to experience problems as there is such a variation in materials to burn on coupled with feeds and speeds it becomes quite difficult to keep up with all that is happening.
I saw the Gimp plugin by Sean Murray mentioned on the facebook and was wondering if it would help and where to get it, I think you have answered that. I will pop off now that the rain has stopped and see what I can do in the shed.
I wonder if it will be any use trying to apply this plugin when only using a 2.5W diode laser ??
thanks again
Don W