I have a simple cut program using simple shapes. The way I have drawn it is not in the way it needs to be cut. So, using the Preview window as my true guide, no matter what I do, I cannot change the cut order.
No matter what I do, in the Arrange Menu: Push forward/back in draw order makes no difference. The preview window shows exactly the same cut sequence. I want to rely on the preview window.
I know I can use layers for the sequence, but just asking.
There must be something simple and fundamental that I have missed? Surely?
Thatās going to take some doing, but I will try if it makes a difference. āThisā is my iMac. I use my Mac as my main machine for access to the internet and most every day-to-day activities.
The machine I use for running LB and running my Laser is a Win7 machine. It is ābrickedā and I prefer it not/never being connected to the internet.
Surely my simple question can be resolved without posting code? But I will do so if that gets me to resolving this issue.
If youāre looking to force a specific order then I suggest you use āCut Priorityā in Shape Properties by assigning a lower value to vertical lines than the outer rectangle.
As youāve indicated, layering could also be used for this.
Keep in mind also that your āOptimization Settingsā in Laser window can further influence cut order.
This was a simple template I created at my last job to help other people I worked with to understand what kerf was and how to measure it. The fact that you can account for Kerf in LB without altering your artwork is simply brilliant!
But in this instance, I was just wanting to cut out some simple squares to use as shims under my honeycomb bed. This was the first proper useful job I wanted to cut. Iāve finally got my laser working with my new controller and LB.
Anyway, the cut ordering feature in the menu doesnāt appear to work as expected:
Itās all good now. Iām not going to cry about the menu feature not working - but it does appear to be a bug.
On a positive note, LightBurnās capabilities are far far far beyond that of K40 Whisperer and the insanity of Trotecās JobControl. I absolutely love it!
Nevertheless, at this point Iām not going to mark this post as solved.
I went into the āoptimizingā menu and turned off āCut in direction orderā and it works properly. This is probably why it didnāt work with the drop down menuā¦
Iāve never used the options you specified and they did not work for me. Iām assuming what they do and have not read the documentation so I will reserve comment on if itās a bug or not. @LightBurn will have to clarify if possible. I couldnāt find this in the documentation.
Most of the time I fix these type of issue via the optimization menu, although it can be confusing. I think how you draw it also impacts how itās interpreted.
I donāt think itās a bug, bug rather does exactly what it says itāll do: change the drawing order, not the cutting order. Purely optical when designing, but doesnāt impact the laser path planning.
If you want to change the cutting order within the same layer, then use the tool that says it will do just that: cut order priority.
The former works as it should, and the latter isnāt a workaround, itās the exact solution to your question, as intended.
Personally, Iād rather handle those things on separate layers, as thatās much more obvious and much less prone to failure by forgetting a setting hidden in a menu.
Ah Ha!!!.. Thanks Jordy. You are indeed correct. I was misinterpreting āDrawā order for āCutā order - if only I had read what it actually says in the menu properly.
@jkwilborn Thanks for that, Itās something Iāll look into in the future. Looks like there more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.
With more complex artwork Iāll definitely be using layers as suggested.
One of the issues with Lightburn, many ways to skin a cat. Itās sometimes very difficult to do the āsimpleā way. These people will give you 20+ when you have maybe one way of doing itā¦
Most of us probably just use layers as I first posted as itās pretty simple and intuitive. I rarely use priorities as I donāt see it as clearly.
Jordy is indeed correct. The draw order is intended to let you push items backward / forward, so you can move vectors in front of bitmaps, for example, to be able to see them.
Unless you have optimizations completely disabled, drawing order does not affect the cutting order. If you do have optimizations disabled, the cutting order will match the drawing order.
For lightburn, you could skip the ascending and descending lines, and just draw the 10 boxes next to each other. Use path optimisation, selecting remove overlapping lines.
Or, draw the outside rectangle in one color, and the separation lines in another. Ive been working with laser and corel for almost 10 years now, and never have tried to use layers to work with objects for cutting out.
I find that the layer tool in Draw does goofy things and can make the drawing get corrupted, and its a problem that we saw at the sign company where I worked. That and a lot of other dumb issues came around after CD9 and them buying up a ton of other programs.
Lightburn also has kerf settings. I might look at those before changing your drawings.
