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This step by step section of the guide will run through how to assign the 

 in 2D Design to create a print order on the laser cutter. This will be how you can

custom colours

then determine if a section of the design is engraved, scorn or cut out.

The recommended use of how to setup up colours with the laser cutter is: 
 

 Black  (1st)  = for engraving and/or scoring material.

 Red   (2nd)  = for inside cuts.

 Green (3rd) = for outside cuts.

Project 1

Example

2. Inside cut

3. Outside cut

1. Engrave

Note:

 The colours assigned to your project do not represent cuts or engraves, they simply represent an order for the laser to operate in. ie: black is the first job, 

            red is the second job and green is your third job. It’s by inputting the power and speed settings that determine whether the colour will be cut or engraved 

 

along with setting either a fine line for cutting and solid objects for engraving.

These colours are recommended in this order so that your project will be printed working from the inside out and always starting with the engrave. This is the safest way to

work with the laser as some material, after being cut, can drop out of position (ie: when using slightly warped material). By cutting in this recommended order your design will

be held in focus until the final part of the project has been completed. 

Step 2

. Once you press ENTER your CorelDRAW page size will now adjust and represent the size of the material in the laser cutter. 

Assigning the Colours to CorelDraw

Summary of Contents for Spirit GLS

Page 1: ...hine This can be found on the GCC CD ROM supplied with your s user manual r conjunction with the manufacture a manual It should therefore be read in This document is designed as a quick step training guide and NOT 2021 www technologysupplies co uk content visit drivers and downloadable For hints tips FAQ s ...

Page 2: ...y account Please notify us of any shortages or damage within 3 days of delivery and in the case of non delivery with 10 days of the date of invoice Any goods conveyed to customers remain the property of WF Education group until paid for in full but liability for those goods transfers to the customer upon receipt All business is transacted under our Terms and Conditions of Business copies of which ...

Page 3: ...n Colours In 2D Design 27 How To Engrave A Photo Using 2D Design 29 CorelDraw Setup 35 Example Project Using CorelDraw 38 How To Engrave A Photograph Using CoerlDraw 41 Setting Up The Laser Machine 43 Setting Up The Printer Driver To Send A File 48 Using The Rotary Attachment 52 Page Setup For Rotary Attachment Using CorelDraw 53 Printer Driver Setup For Rotary Attachment 54 Manual Focus Probe 55 ...

Page 4: ...e to arrange a technician s visit Becasue of the nature of the product if your laser needs repair after the warranty period the repair must only be carried out by an authorised service technician Further damage to the machine and also risks to health may occur when working with laser cutters if correct procedures and parts are not used In the event of a defect occurring please first contact the WF...

Page 5: ...efully before operation E F T P d n a n o l f e T C V P s a h c u s s e c n a t s b u s c i x o t e c u d o r p y a m t a h t s l a i r e t a m r e h t o r o s e c a f r u s e v i t i s n e s t a e h s l a t e m e v i t c e l f e r h t i w k r o w t o n o D 5 1 Do not attempt to modify or disassemble the laser system at any time as invisable laser radiation may cause physical burns or severe eye d...

Page 6: ...o Balsa Greyboard Cardboard Ceramics Kevlar Vinyl GEFF Plastazote Plastazote Below is a list of known materials which are to be used in the laser cutter as they will produce corrosive fumes that will be harmful to health damage the NOT mechanics of the machine and invalidate the warranty Material PVC This material is extremely toxic the resulting fumes will pass through most extraction filters PTF...

Page 7: ...lock if fitted to all models to prevent access to the working area during laser operation whilst the laser is firing The interlock system will also not allow the laser to be fired without the extraction unit on This device is essential and it must not be over ridden Servicing MUST only be carried out by a manufacture authorised and trained technician to control the high voltage risk as well as ris...

Page 8: ...lid particles may need changing every couple of months The main filter which is a combined activated carbon and HEPA filter which is for fine particles and odour may last six months to a year all depending on material usage The latest extraction units are equipped with air flow warning devices to aid the monitoring of efficient filter life Please refer to the separate section within the manual We ...

Page 9: ...clean Any staining on the bed can be removed with cream cleaners such as Cif on a damp cloth and then dried Ensure that the machine is disconnected from the mains power These are the most important parts of the laser for ensuring efficient cutting and engraving operations If there is any sign of dirt or marks on any of these the lasers power and cutting efficiency will decrease Only use the manufa...

Page 10: ...CHINE IS DISCONNECTED FROM THE MAINS POWER BEFORE OPENING THE TUBE ACCESS PANEL Step 2 Simply remove the three screws and loosen the fourth screw to allow you to raise the dust tube then you will be able to remove the black dust cover off the mirror 1 housing See Below Remove these three screws in order to lower the laser tube access panel 1 2 3 4 Accessing Mirror 1 Black casing Location Of The Sp...

Page 11: ...Red Beam mirror and only has to be cleaned if you can no longer see the red beam on the laser bed or material as this mirror only bounces the red light beam NOT the laser cutting beam The mirror labelled B is mirror 1 which is the first of the f our mirrors which the laser beam hits as it passes through the machine To remove this for cleaning simply loosen the screw and slide the mirror out A B Co...

Page 12: ...ut Ensure that the mirror is replaced correctly when reassembling To remove the dust cover containing mirror 2 loosen the screw on the bottom flat section of the cover and lift the cover off over the bracket Once the cover has Fig 1 been removed loosen the screw on mirror 2 and slide it out of the bracket Fig 2 Fig 1 Fig 2 thumb Releasing Mirror 2 Accessing Mirror 3 ...

Page 13: ...re replaced correctly before reassembly Note To remove mirror 4 for cleaning you will need to loosen the screw above the mirror located at Correct Positioning of Mirror 4 and the 2 Inch Lens A common problem for first time users is that after cleaning they insert mirror 4 and the lens into the wrong locations Please see pictures below explaining how to locate these parts correctly Mirror 4 locatio...

Page 14: ... n e e n o y a l h t o l c f o p i r t s e d i w m m 0 2 a f f o r a e T IMPORTANT USE ONLY THE SPECIFIED CLOTH S B A W S G N I N A E L C E H T E S U T O N O D G N I N A E L C R O F Step 3 Support the mirror to prevent it moving during cleaning and holding the dry end slowly drag the damp cloth across the mirror s surface as show below If the mirror is dirty you may have to repeat this process sev...

Page 15: ... forth to clean out the dust particles DO NOT apply grease or oil to the motion system tracks The grid bed cutting table will over time take on a black stained appearance around the area most used for cutting In most cases this will be localised around the top left hand quarter You will find that you will also start to get an odour from the machine itself during and after processing We have found ...

Page 16: ...nce it has finished Press F4 Function on the laser main menu control panel Step 2 In the next screen you will see a black diamond to the left hand side of your options Move the diamond using the up and down directional keys either side of the enter button on the control panel navigate to the option Machine Settings and press Enter Step 3 Again using the up and down controls scroll through the opti...

Page 17: ...ng this screen up is by selecting restart from the power options menu on Windows 8 that s under Charms or on the login screen and in Windows 10 it s on the Start Menu Hold down the SHIFT key while you click Restart Once your computer has rebooted you will be able to choose the Troubleshoot option Then head into Advanced options then choose Start up Settings Since we are modifying boot time configu...

Page 18: ...h the driver select Do Not Share and Do Not Print A Test Page Step 7 Click OK then Select Next Step 8 Then select Next and then click OK To test that the machine is connected correctly you should go back to the devices and printers section in Windows You will first see an unspecified device at the bottom of your screen and you will also see your laser cutter printer driver in the printers section ...

Page 19: ...FULL ADMINISTRATION RIGHTS Step 1 Go to the Windows start button in the bottom left hand corner of Windows Then go to Devices and Printers in Windows 7 Step 2 Right click on your laser cutters printer driver and select properties at the bottom of the drop down menu it will be printer properties on Windows 7 Step 3 The printer properties will now open Go to the Ports tab and set the laser driver to...

Page 20: ...r cutters power and speeds Note Once the recommended setup has been completed it will be applied to any software that you will be using in Windows ie Coral Draw 2D Design etc Step 7 Option Manual Colour Fill Finally go to the tab in the printer properties Select the mode Once this has been completed you simply need to click then Save to Default Apply OK Position mode We usually recommend RELATIVE ...

Page 21: ...2D Design V2 on your computer and select from the tool bar at the top of the screen Step 2 customise operation On the drop down menu that appears simply go down to and then across to the right to this will open up a new window Note If you are unsure whether or not you are operating from Version 2 of Techsoft 2D Design then simply open up 2D Design and select from the top tool bar and then select T...

Page 22: ...de 2 to the and Bitmap modes mode 1 Step 4 Click OK which will take you back to the main screen Step 5 Setup Set as Default Once you are back at the main screen go up to on the top tool bar of 2D Design and select This will save the setup you have just completed and as long as 2D Design is not removed from your computer then you should not have to repeat this process again ...

Page 23: ...he laser cutter How to assign the custom colours to define the order in which the design will be cut and or engraved For how to perform the design process itself please use the training demonstrations within the 2D Design Software Note Step 1 Setup Once you have opened up 2D Design go to on the top tool bar Step 2 Drawing Layout Then proceed to then across to This will open up a new window This st...

Page 24: ...a later stage in the printer driv er setup Then you can click OK Step 5 Your 2D Design page will now represent the size of the material in the laser cutter Y axis X axis Step 3 User Defined Select the fourth option down in this new Window called Once you tick this box it will enable you to input your X and Y axis As default the dots on the page will be 10mm apart this is useful for gauging the siz...

Page 25: ...ur design will be held in focus until the final part of the project has been completed Step 1 After you have designed or loaded up your project you will need to select the parts of the design you want to assign a particular colour to To do this click the left mouse button on the part you are wanting to select Once selected it will change the colour of the line to to indicate which part parts are s...

Page 26: ... will see that the first three of the Custom Colours are in the recommended order Simply click on the colour you want to assign to the part parts selected and then click OK Once you deselect the lines you will now see that they have changed to the assigned colour Simply repeat this process until you have all the colours you need assigned to your project Once this has been done you will be ready to...

Page 27: ...d then Select your photo from the saved location Step 1 File Import File on your computer Note You can also use the copy and paste option to import a bitmap colour images can be used Once you have imported your image you will need to change the bitmap into a greyscale image To do this firstly by selecting it Step 2 Highlight Your Image Then go to on the top tool bar of 2D Design then select Bitmap...

Page 28: ...as you normally would but in the Options tab when you select the greyscale engrave mode called Black and White a new tab called Raster will appear in the print properties Contrast This is where you can adjust the darkness and lightness of your image by using the slider bar Error Diffusion For best results when engraving bitmaps tick on error diffusion Dithering This engrave mode will print in a do...

Page 29: ...vector functions correctly The colour pallet that you use to set up your project cut order will not match up with the printer driver colours and finally the program will not let you engrave a photograph and cut at the same time The below step by step guide will ensure that the software will match the printers requirements for issue free operation Step 1 Open Up CorelDRAW and start a new blank page...

Page 30: ...select the pen tip icon then select the same icon from the menu that appears If the pen icon is not present please press F12 on the keyboard Step 3 From the pop up window that appears make sure that the Graphic tick box is selected and then click ok ...

Page 31: ...at the software will communicate the correct line thickness to the laser cutter This setting needs to be changed on every computer that a student is using to design if it isn t then files that have been designed will always try and engrave on the laser instead of cut Note Please be aware there is a bug in CorelDraw which stops this setting from being saved the first time Please repeat steps 1 5 ...

Page 32: ... on the top toolbar and then Color Management then across to Default Settings Step 7 From the window that opens up select the Presets drop down menu and from the list select the option Simulate Color Management Off then Click OK You will now notice that the CorelDRAW colour pallet has changed ...

Page 33: ...t out at the same time then you will firstly need to draw something on the design page This will enable you to select the Print option from the File menu on the top toolbar Step 9 Select your laser cutter from the Printer list then click on the Colour tab Draw anything on the page ...

Page 34: ...reformed by drop down menu select your laser cutter then click Apply then select Cancel Step 11 Finally go to Tools on the top toolbar and select Save Settings As Default CorelDRAW X7 will now be setup to function correctly with your laser cutter ...

Page 35: ...the laser cutter How to assign the colours to define the order in which the design will be cut and or engraved For how to perform the design process itself please use the training demonstrations within the CorelDRAW Software Note This guide will run through how to set your page size in CorelDRAW so that it matches the size of the material you will be working with in the laser cutter Step 1 Open up...

Page 36: ...e first job red is the second job and green is your third job It s by inputting the power and speed settings that determine whether the colour will be cut or engraved along with setting either a fine line for cutting and solid objects for engraving These colours are recommended in this order so that your project will be printed working from the inside out and always starting with the engrave This ...

Page 37: ...r you would like to change your selected part to Right clicking the colour will change the colour and left clicking on the colour will change the colour Tip line fill Black Green Red Simply repeat this process until you have all the colours you need assigned to your project Once this has been done you will be ready to print Note The recommended Black Red and Green to use on your project with the l...

Page 38: ...ave a photograph bitmap image using your CorelDRAW software Step 1 With your CorelDRAW page open go to File on the top toolbar then select Import from the drop down menu Step 2 Select the image from its saved location on your computer and click Import How to Engrave a Photograph Using CorelDRAW ...

Page 39: ...image and go to Bitmaps on the top toolbar From the drop down menu that now appears select the first option Convert to Bitmap Step 4 A pop up window will appear on screen From the drop down menu select the Colour mode section and choose the Grayscale 8 bit option then click OK ...

Page 40: ...up the printer driver the same as you normally would but when you select the options tab select the greyscale engrave mode called Black and White and a new tab called Raster will appear in the print properties Contrast This is where you can adjust the darkness and lightness of your image by using the slider bar Error Diffusion For best results when engraving bitmaps tick on error diffusion Ditheri...

Page 41: ...terial To do this press any directional key located around the enter button once this will bring up the carriage moving screen on the lasers LCD panel Then press and hold a directional button to move the head in that direction These two buttons control the X axis control of the laser head These two buttons control the Y axis control of the laser head F4 can be used to control the Z axis s upwards ...

Page 42: ...ugh the grid bed Step 5 Auto Focus button on the control panel Shown below this will raise the material to contact the auto focus probe which will in turn lower the material ensuring that the lens inside the head is at its optimum distance a way from the material 2 inches Press the The machine setup has now been completed Auto Focus Probe When the auto focusing is complete 0 0mm will be displayed ...

Page 43: ...in 2D Design or CorelDRAW simply select File and then Print Step 2 Select the name of your laser cutter from the Printer name section A and then proceed to properties B Note When you select Properties the window above right will open You will need to work through tabs A B C and D clicking OK If you click OK after each tab you will keep getting returned back to the Print menu Before A B C D Setting...

Page 44: ...t images 3D Mode This is for use with Images that have a black background and a white foreground Stamp Mode This allows you to taper the sides of the engrave so that the base of your design will have more support so that it can used as a stamp This part of the Option tab will let you invert and or mirror you design This can be useful when producing engraving for stamps or printing DPI stands for D...

Page 45: ...s at the back of this manual To input the settings simply move the slider bars left or right for the required settings Adjust the slider bars here to set the speed power and PPI Pulses Per Inch The PPI numeric setting is used for ENGRAVING For CUTTING adjust the slider to the far right this will change from a numeric value to X X equals a constant firing beam Leave the raster and vector boxes tick...

Page 46: ...tom or bottom to top WF Education Group recommend bottom to top mode as this will reveal the image whereas top to bottom can obstruct your view Position Mode This mode will determine the start point of your project in the laser cutter Out of the 4 modes available we would recommend that you will only need to use either or Home Relative position means that the top left hand corner of your design pa...

Page 47: ...n See rotary section of the manual for details D Please note that the paper size is not required to be changed as the installed laser driver will automatically set this paper size to the laser bed size which is the maximum working area Step 7 OK OK Once you have completed your file setup you can then click and this will take you back to the print menu Click at the print menu to send the file to th...

Page 48: ...ough a different initialisation process The rotary attachment is an optional item for GCC Laser cutters It adds a 4th axis that provides the capability of engraving onto cylindrical objects suchs as glasses vases and tubes The unit can handle objects up to the maximum lenght of 450mm and has a padded rubber drive wheel and a clamp for holding and rotating the workpiece The wheel has a maximum diam...

Page 49: ...n of the rotary attachment To do this simply remove the bottom two screws and loosen the top screw then swivel the face plate clockwise This will enable access to the cone which slides out of the front of the laser head Once the cone has been removed replace the face plate to its original position and tighten the screws back up Loosen this screw Remove these two screws Before the cone has been rem...

Page 50: ...n arrows will now rotate the cone on the rotary attachment Note not If the laser does activate the lower trip switch then turn the laser power This OFF will mean that the laser cutter has not recognised the rotary attachment Simply make sure the cable from the attachment is correctly connected and restart the laser cutter Step 9 Using the directional arrows on the laser control panel rotate the ro...

Page 51: ...r stage To get this measurement you will need to move the laser head to the right until the red beam pointer hits the edge of your glass on the cone see Fig 1 You can then obtain the offset reading by looking at the X axis on the laser control panel The X measurement is your offset see Fig 2 make a note of this offset as you will need it during the printer driver setup Fig 1 Fig 2 X axis offset re...

Page 52: ...the your Y axis will be the width of the object multiplied by 3 14 Once you have entered these values your page size now represents your object unravelled as a flat piece of material Step 3 Rotate your design by 90 degrees if you would like it to wrap around the object Then you are ready to send the project to print A visual representation of how your page will sit in the rotary attachment The hei...

Page 53: ... 51 X being the length of your object and the diameter Step 3 Insert the offset acquired at step 12 on page 52 The smallest diameter that can be fitted to the rubber cone pad is 56mm The largest diameter that can be fitted to the rubber cone pad is 94mm The maximum diameter of object that can be engraved is 180mm The maximum length of object that can be engraved is 450mm 56 94 mm 180 mm 450 mm 1 2...

Page 54: ...tc and simply means that the upper trip switch in the laser cutter has been triggered before the auto focus probe could focus Step 2 Press the up arrow on the laser control panel to raise the laser bed until the material touches the underside of the manual probe as shown in the image above This can be gauged easier by looking for the points A and B to meet as shown in figure 1 on the right Step 1 ...

Page 55: ...use this button to stop a job if you do not want it to finish Useful control panel commands from the main menu Deleting a file F4 Enter then press either F3 to delete a single file or F4 to delete all files Press F4 twice Sending the laser head to HOME During operation either press the Pause or F1 Pause and resuming a job buttons To resume press F1 Power LED The power LED will light up when the ma...

Page 56: ...ish any fire that may break out Therefore NOT do not leave the laser unattended during operation If you have to disable the SMART Guard we would always recommend that you enable it after finishing your project To enable disable your machines SMART Guard follow the below guide From the Empty file screen as shown left Step 1 press F4 Move the down to the Advanced Settings and press Step 2 Enter Agai...

Page 57: ...ecked By Checked By Checked By Checked By Mirror 1 Mirror 2 Mirror 3 Mirror 4 2 Inch Lens Collimating Lens Motion System Tracks Auto Focus Probe Grid Bed Stainless Steel Bed Underneath the bed Extraction Filters Minimum Every 6 8 weeks Minimum Every 2 3 weeks Minimum Every 2 3 weeks Minimum Every 2 3 weeks Minimum Every 2 3 weeks Minimum Every 6 8 weeks Minimum Every 2 3 weeks Once a day minimum O...

Page 58: ... See Right Note If your enhanced vector box is ticked then all you need to do when inputting your cut settings is multiply your by two cut settings only Eg If the chart recommends 2 0 Speed and 100 Power on Enhanced vector the settings will be 4 0 Speed and 100 Power Acrylic Polypropylene Fabric Balsa Wood Laser Ply Thin Card Boxcard 475mic Lino Cork Glass Correx Leather Speed 100 50 100 100 100 1...

Page 59: ...mm HIPS 1 5mm HIPS 2 0mm HIPS 3 0mm Polyproylene Fabric Greyboard 3 2mm Correx Speed 1 3 1 4 0 5 0 2 1 3 3 6 1 8 1 2 Power 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 PPI X X X X X X X X Acrylic 2mm Acrylic 3mm Acrylic 5mm Acrylic 12mm Acrylic 20mm Thin Card Balsa Speed 2 4 1 6 0 8 0 3 0 1 55 18 Power 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 PPI X X X X X X X MDF 4mm MDF 6mm MDF 9mm MDF 12mm Laser Ply 4mm Laser Ply 6mm La...

Page 60: ...1 5mm HIPS 2 0mm HIPS 3 0mm Polyproylene Fabric Greyboard 3 2mm Correx Speed 3 5 2 8 2 1 1 1 6 4 9 2 4 4 2 9 Power 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 PPI X X X X X X X X Acrylic 2mm Acrylic 3mm Acrylic 5mm Acrylic 12mm Acrylic 20mm Thin Card Balsa Speed 4 7 3 2 1 8 0 9 0 3 100 4 Power 100 100 100 100 100 60 100 PPI X X X X X X X MDF 4mm MDF 6mm MDF 9mm MDF 12mm Laser Ply 4mm Laser Ply 6mm Laser Ply 9...

Page 61: ...Page 61 Speed Power PPI Material Speed Power PPI Material Speed Power PPI Material Speed Power PPI Material Speed Power PPI Material Speed Power PPI Material Personal Material Settings Sheet ...

Page 62: ...asurement this can also be left at the maximum laser bed size if preferred An error warning will be displayed on the Print window if this size is smaller than the page paper size in your design software Once you are satisfied with your selected settings press the ok button which takes you back to the Print window click Apply and then Print Enter your specific laser job settings on the four tabs in...

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